youth culture canada Flashcards
Where was the political activism of students focused in canada?
What was the behaviour of student activists?
focused in unis → many students joined New Left movement + national organisations established by student activists, such as the student Union for Peace Action, 1965.
Political activist were sometimes violent
give an example of a canadian student protest in the 60s.
1969: Williams University in Montreal: students occupied the university for two weeks in protest against racial intolerance + Canadian imperialism in the West Indies. → smashed computers + damaged equipment and records worth several million dollars. 90 were arrested including 41 black students.
Quebec youth dominated the Front de liberation du Quebec (FLQ) → associated its over 200 bombings between 63-70 + kidnapped two government officials (one of which was murdered) in the October crisis of 1970.
Did hippies and the counterculture also exist in canada?
many students were also hippies → most from middle class backgrounds
The counterculture also existed in Canada
What caused counterculture in canada?
great expansion of university education made the universities fertile ground for mass middle class rebellion.
Counterculture as a broader movement, a rebellion by young baby’s boomers against the values of the older generation → much of it inspired by the counterculture and civil rights movement in the USA.
Vietnam war central to Canadian counterculture→ fuelled anti- Americanism
Outline a “protest” anti-war Canadians undertook?
Anti- war Canadians sent 5000 copies of the paperback Manual for draft Age immigrants to Canada to the USA to encourage US citizens to leave their country to avoid fighting in Vietnam → 100 ‘000 arrived, most attended Canadian universities and joined hippies communities.
Why did the youth movement end?
Quebec: many joined a more mainline political party, the Parti québécois established in 1968.
Many were shocked and frightened when Kent State 1970 showed how brutal the authorities could be
Idealistic students simply got older
The Canadian government tried to show some sympathy with the protesters and the counterculture.
What did the federal government offer after students protested against racism at Sir George Williams University?
the federal government offered to fund organisations such as the Black United Front (BUF) set up in 1968
What did president Trudeau do in 1970?
What impact did that have?
Prime minister Trudeau appointed a commission to investigate non- medicinal drug usage.
The 1970 report did not openly advance the legislation of soft drugs such as cannabis, but suggested that it was not the role of the state to enforce morality. → such developments suggest that counterculture contributed to the liberalisation of Canadian society.
