The Francœur Motion, introduced in the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...

in 1918 by Liberal MLA Joseph-Napoléon Francœur, declared that Quebec would be prepared to leave the

Canadian federation Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by total ...

if English Canadians felt the presence of Quebec was "an obstacle to the union, progress and development of Canada".

(That this House is of the opinion that the Province of Quebec would be prepared to accept the break-up of the Confederation Pact if, in the other provinces, it is believed to be an obstacle to the union, progress and development of Canada.)

Francœur's motion was a response to the harsh reaction in English Canada to Quebec's strong anti-conscription feelings during the

Conscription Crisis of 1917 The Conscription Crisis of 1917 (french: Crise de la conscription de 1917) was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also b ...

of the First World War. Many Quebecers opposed

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

because of anti-imperialist sentiments. The motion attracted widespread attention in the press and was notably approved by the newspaper '' Le Canada''. Premier of Quebec Lomer Gouin finally convinced Francœur to withdraw the motion because he did not wish to see a vote taken on it.

References

"14e législature, 2e session: Analyse des journaux et des sources"
at the National Assembly of Quebec Quebec sovereignty movement 1918 in Canada {{Quebec-hist-stub

See also

References