October Crisis

Italy

The October Crisis (French: Crise d'Octobre) was a chain of political events in Canada that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross from his Montreal residence. These even

ts saw Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoking the War Measures Act for the first time in Canadian history during peacetime. Laporte was assassinated over the course of the crisis. The premier of Quebec, Robert Bourassa, and the mayor of Montreal, Jean Drapeau, supported Trudeau's invocation of the War Measures Act, which limited civil liberties and granted the police far-reaching powers, allowing them to arrest and detain 497 people. The Government of Quebec also requested military aid to support the civil authorities, with the Canadian Armed Forces being deployed throughout Quebec. Although negotiations led to Cross's release, Laporte was murdered by the kidnappers. The crisis affected the province of Quebec, especially the metropolitan area of Montreal. The primary crises ended on December 28, but its ramifications extended across subsequent Canadian political administrations. At the time...

Listen to the audio guide for October Crisis Free on WIP — starts by itself when you arrive, even with the screen off