Quebec

===Canadian province (1867–present)===
[[File:George-Etienne Cartier.jpg|thumb|upright|[[George-Étienne Cartier]], co-premier from [[Canada East]] and a Father of Confederation]]
In 1864, negotiations began for [[Canadian Confederation]] between the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia at the [[Charlottetown Conference]] and [[Quebec Conference, 1864|Quebec Conference]].

After having fought as a Patriote, [[George-Étienne Cartier]] entered politics in the Province of Canada, eventually becoming one of the co-premiers and an advocate for the union of the British North American provinces. He became one of the leading figures at the Quebec Conference, which produced the [[Quebec Resolutions]], the foundation for Canadian Confederation.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-7104-f.html|title= Résolutions de la Conférence de Québec - octobre 1864|accessdate=September 12, 2021}}</ref> Recognized as a [[Father of Confederation]], he successfully argued for the establishment of the province of Quebec, initially composed of the historic heart of the territory of the French Canadian nation and where French Canadians would most likely retain majority status.

Following the [[London Conference of 1866]], the Quebec Resolutions were implemented as the ''[[British North America Act, 1867]]'' and brought into force on July 1, 1867, creating [[Canada]]. Canada was composed of four founding provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, [[Ontario]] and Quebec. These last two came from the splitting of the Province of Canada, and used the old borders of Lower Canada for Quebec, and Upper Canada for Ontario. On July 15, 1867, [[Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau]] became Quebec's [[List of premiers of Quebec|first premier]].

From Confederation until the First World War, the omnipresence of the Roman Catholic Church was at its peak. The objective of clerico-nationalists was promoting the values of traditional society: family, the French language, the Catholic Church and rural life. Also during this time period, events such as the [[North-West Rebellion]], the [[Manitoba Schools Question]] and Ontario's [[Regulation 17]] turned the promotion and defence of the rights of French Canadians into an important concern.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.alloprof.qc.ca/fr/eleves/bv/histoire/le-nationalisme-canadien-francais-h1401|title=Le nationalisme canadien-francais|publisher=Allo Prof|accessdate=July 5, 2021}}</ref> Under the aegis of the Catholic Church and the political action of [[Henri Bourassa]], various symbols of national pride were developed, like the [[Flag of Carillon]], and "[[O Canada]]" &ndash; a patriotic song composed for [[Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day]]. Many organizations went on to consecrate the affirmation of the French-Canadian people, including the [[caisses populaires Desjardins]] in 1900, the {{ill|Catholic Association of French-Canadian Youth|fr|Association catholique de la jeunesse canadienne-française}} in 1904, the [[Club de hockey Canadien]] in 1909, ''[[Le Devoir]]'' in 1910, the [[Congress on the French language in Canada|Congrès de la langue française]] in 1912, ''{{ill|L'Action catholique|fr}}'' in 1915, and ''[[L'Action nationale]]'' in 1917. In 1885, liberal and conservative MPs formed the [[Parti national]] out of anger with the previous government for not having interceded in the execution of [[Louis Riel]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/parti-national|title=Parti national |language=fr|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|date=February 19, 2014}}</ref>

In 1898, the Canadian Parliament enacted the ''[[Quebec Boundary Extension Act, 1898]]'', which gave Quebec part of Rupert's Land, which Canada had bought from the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] in 1870.<ref>{{cite web|first=Jill|last=Wherrett|date=February 1996|title=ABORIGINAL PEOPLES AND THE 1995 QUEBEC REFERENDUM: A SURVEY OF THE ISSUES|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/bp412-e.htm#B|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613195221/http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/bp412-e.htm#B|archivedate=June 13, 2006}}</ref> This act expanded the boundaries of Quebec northward. In 1909, the government passed a law obligating wood and pulp to be transformed in Quebec, which helped slow the {{lang|fr|Grande Hémorragie}} by allowing Quebec to export its finished products to the US instead of its labour force.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Adoption d'une loi sur l'exportation du bois|url=http://bilan.usherbrooke.ca/bilan/pages/evenements/172.html|accessdate=August 4, 2021|publisher=University of Sherbrooke |language=fr}}</ref> In 1910, [[Armand Lavergne]] passed the [[Lavergne Law]], the first language legislation in Quebec. It required the use of French alongside English on tickets, documents, bills and contracts issued by transportation and public utility companies. At this time, companies rarely recognized the majority language of Quebec.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uottawa.ca/calc/loi-lavergne-1910-loi-amendant-code-civil-concernant-contrats-faits-compagnies-services-dutilite|title=Loi Lavergne |series=Compendium de l'aménagement linguistique au Canada (CALC) |language=fr|publisher=University of Ottawa|accessdate=September 12, 2021}}</ref> Clerico-nationalists eventually started to fall out of favour in the [[1911 Canadian federal election|federal elections of 1911]]. In 1912, the Canadian Parliament enacted the ''[[Quebec Boundaries Extension Act, 1912]]'', which gave Quebec another part of Rupert's Land: the [[District of Ungava]].<ref name="Morantz20022">{{cite book|author=Toby Elaine Morantz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLPxHz4tHUUC&pg=PA133|title=The White Man's Gonna Getcha: The Colonial Challenge to the Crees in Québec|year= 2002|publisher=McGill-Queens|isbn=978-0-7735-2299-2|page=133}}</ref> This extended the borders of Quebec northward all the way to the [[Hudson Strait]].

When the First World War broke out, Canada was automatically involved and many English Canadians volunteered. However, because they did not feel the same connection to the British Empire and there was no direct threat to Canada, French Canadians saw no reason to fight. A few did enlist in the 22nd Battalion, precursor to the [[Royal 22e Régiment|Royal 22<sup>e</sup> Régiment]]. By late 1916, the number of casualties were beginning to cause reinforcement problems. After enormous difficulty in the federal government, because virtually every French-speaking MP opposed conscription while almost all the English-speaking MPs supported it, the ''Military Service Act'' became law on August 29, 1917.<ref name="Conscription au Canada">{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/conscription|title=Conscription au Canada|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia|date=May 6, 2021}}</ref> French Canadians protested in what is now called the [[Conscription Crisis of 1917]], which eventually led to the {{ill|Quebec riot|fr|Émeute de Québec de 1918}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/learn/dispatches/french-canada-and-recruitment-during-the-first-world-war/#tabs|title=FRENCH CANADA AND RECRUITMENT DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR|publisher=Canadian War Museum|accessdate=September 12, 2021}}</ref>

In 1919, the [[prohibition]] of [[Liquor|spirits]] was enacted following [[1919 Quebec prohibition referendum|a provincial referendum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Les années de la prohibition |url=https://www.saq.com/fr/contenu/inspiration/reportages/annees-prohibition |website=www.saq.com |access-date=13 March 2023 |language=fr}}</ref> But, prohibition was quickly abolished in 1921 due to the ''Alcoholic Beverages Act'' which created the [[Société des alcools du Québec|Commission des liqueurs du Québec]].<ref>{{cite web |title=L'histoire de la SAQ : Société d'Alcool du Québec |url=https://chateausuau.com/fr/blog/lhistoire-de-la-saq/ |website=Chateau Suau |access-date=13 March 2023 |language=fr |date=26 February 2016}}</ref> In 1927, the British [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] drew a clear border between northeast Quebec and south [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Labrador]]. However, the Quebec government did not recognize the ruling of the Judicial Committee, resulting in a [[Labrador boundary dispute|boundary dispute]] which [[Border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador|remains ongoing]]. The [[Statute of Westminster 1931]] was enacted, and it confirmed the autonomy of the [[Dominion]]s &ndash; including Canada and its provinces &ndash; from the United Kingdom, as well as their free association in the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/statut-de-westminster|title=Statut de Westminster|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia|date=April 29, 2020}}</ref> In the 1930s, Quebec's economy was affected by the [[Great Depression]] because it greatly reduced American demand for Quebec exports. Between 1929 and 1932 the unemployment rate increased from 7.7% to 26.4%. In an attempt to remedy this, the Quebec government enacted infrastructure projects, campaigns to colonize distant regions (mostly in [[Abitibi-Témiscamingue]] and [[Bas-Saint-Laurent]]), financial assistance to farmers, and the {{lang|fr|secours directs}} &ndash; the ancestor to Canada's [[Employment Insurance]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alloprof aide aux devoirs |url=https://www.alloprof.qc.ca/fr/eleves/bv/histoire/la-grande-depression-h1636|accessdate=July 31, 2021|publisher=Allo Prof}}</ref>

[[File:Maurice Duplessis.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Maurice Duplessis]], premier of Quebec from 1936 to 1939 and during the {{lang|fr|[[Grande Noirceur]]}}]]
French Canadians remained opposed to conscription during the Second World War. When Canada declared war in September 1939, the federal government pledged not to conscript soldiers for overseas service. As the war went on, more and more English Canadians voiced support for conscription, despite firm opposition from French Canada. Following a 1942 poll that showed 72.9% of Quebec's residents were ''against'' conscription, while 80% or more were ''for'' conscription in every other province, the federal government passed ''Bill 80'' for overseas service. [[Conscription Crisis of 1944|Protests exploded]] and the [[Bloc Populaire]] emerged to fight conscription.<ref name="Conscription au Canada"/> The stark differences between the values of French and English Canada popularized the expression the "[[Two Solitudes (Canadian society)|Two Solitudes]]".

In the wake of the conscription crisis, [[Maurice Duplessis]] of the [[Union Nationale (Quebec)|Union Nationale]] ascended to power and implemented a set of conservative policies known as the {{lang|fr|[[Grande Noirceur]]}}. He focused on defending [[Autonomism in Quebec|provincial autonomy]], Quebec's Catholic and francophone heritage, and laissez-faire [[liberalism]] instead of the emerging [[welfare state]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=GÉLINAS|first1= Xavier |first2=Lucia |last2=Ferretti|title=Duplessis : son milieu, son époque|publisher=Septentrion|year= 2010|page=267|isbn=978-2-89448-625-2}}</ref> However, as early as 1948, French Canadian society began to develop new ideologies and desires in response to significant societal changes such as new inventions like the television, the [[Mid-20th century baby boom|baby boom]], [[Strike action|workers' conflicts]], electrification of the countryside, emergence of a [[middle class]], the [[rural exodus]] and [[urbanization]], expansion of universities and bureaucracies, creation of a [[Autoroutes of Quebec|motorway system]], renaissance of literature and poetry, and others.