Why de Gaulle came to Canada
In 1967 Canada marked the centennial of Confederation, and the year’s main attraction was the world’s fair in Montreal. Expo 67 drew many heads of state and other dignitaries. French President Charles de Gaulle accepted an invitation to visit, but his route was unusual. Instead of arriving in Ottawa first, he travelled by the French cruiser Colbert up the St. Lawrence River and landed at Quebec City on 23 July.
That choice already carried a message. Since the early 1960s, France had been building direct ties with the province of Quebec, which was then in the middle of the Quiet Revolution, a period of rapid modernisation and growing French-Canadian self-confidence. De Gaulle had an emotional and historic view of French Canada, and his government had signed cultural and educational agreements with Quebec, treating it with some of the protocol normally given to a sovereign state. The federal government in Ottawa disliked this approach but tolerated it.
The journey to Montreal
From Quebec City, de Gaulle travelled along the old Chemin du Roy toward Montreal, a route that follows the north shore of the St. Lawrence. Crowds gathered in villages along the way, and the reception was warm. He was accompanied by Quebec’s premier, Daniel Johnson, of the Union Nationale party, who had himself used the slogan “Égalité ou indépendance” in earlier years.
In the evening of 24 July, de Gaulle was received at Montreal city hall by Mayor Jean Drapeau. He stepped onto the balcony to address a large crowd in the square below. Drapeau had apparently not expected an extended political speech and had arranged only a short welcome.
The words themselves
De Gaulle spoke for a few minutes, recalling his journey and telling the crowd about the atmosphere of liberation that he said he had felt, comparing it to the liberation of France in 1944. He ended with a series of exclamations: “Vive Montréal! Vive le Québec! Vive le Québec libre!” and then “Vive le Canada français et vive la France!” The phrase “Québec libre” was a slogan used by separatist groups. The crowd responded loudly.
It is still debated whether he planned the phrase in advance or was swept along by the occasion. Some accounts suggest that he had mentioned similar ideas privately. Others argue that the moment grew out of the mood of the crowd. Either way, the words were broadcast and were reported around the world within hours.
Ottawa’s response
The Canadian prime minister, Lester Pearson, answered the next day with a firm public statement. He said that the remarks tended to encourage the small minority of people in Canada who wanted to destroy the country, and that they were unacceptable. His message included the point that Canadians did not need to be liberated, since they were already free. Pearson also made clear that de Gaulle should not continue to Ottawa.
De Gaulle cancelled the Ottawa leg of the visit, and he flew back to France on 26 July. At home, opinion was divided. Some French commentators criticised him for interfering in the affairs of an allied country, while others admired the gesture. In Canada, English-speaking opinion was largely hostile, and many French Canadians were uneasy even if they sympathised with French-language rights. Quebec’s own leaders gave guarded responses. Daniel Johnson did not endorse independence but avoided condemning his guest.
Aftermath and legacy
The immediate diplomatic damage was real but limited. France and Canada did not break relations, though contacts were cool for some time, and a further quarrel arose in 1968 over Quebec’s separate participation in a francophone education conference in Gabon. De Gaulle’s own government continued to treat Quebec as a special partner. The relationship became less strained after he left office in 1969.
Within Quebec, the speech gave encouragement to those who favoured independence. In 1968 René Lévesque, who had left the Liberal Party, helped form the movement that became the Parti Québécois. The party came to power in the province in 1976. In 1967 sovereignty was still a minority position, and the visit did not by itself create the movement. It did give its supporters international attention and a sense of legitimacy.
Historians often treat the episode as a mixed example of diplomacy. De Gaulle was consistent in his belief that France should speak independently of the United States and Britain, a position that also lay behind his Common Market veto against Britain later in the year. But in Canada, his intervention was widely felt as an intrusion into a domestic matter, and it remains remembered mainly for the controversy.