The Front de Libération du Québec was an extremist Québec separatist group which was active from 1963 to 1970. They are responsible for many violent acts against government agencies, the Canadian Army and English speaking residents of Québec.
In total, attacks by the FLQ killed 8 people and injured hundreds of others. These attacks include multiple mailbox bombs placed in English speaking communities in Montréal and in the mailboxes of Canadian Forces bases and armouries. It was also responsible for the bombing of the Montréal Stock Exchange in 1969
The FLQ's ideology included Marxist-Leninist ideals and called for the overthrow of the Québec government, independence from Canada and the establishment of a Québec "worker's society". It was influenced by other independence movements at the time, including those for Algeria, Vietnam and Cuba. At the time of the October Crisis, the Soviet Union denounced the group's kidnapping of Cross and the murder of Laporte, labelling the FLQ as a "terrorist separatist organization".
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a provincial political party which advocates soverignty for Québec. It was created in 1968 by the merging of two movements, the Mouvement Souveraineté-Association and the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance National.
The Parti Québécois won the election for the first time in 1976 with 41% of the popular vote and holding 71 seats (out of 125) in the National Assembly
Figure 5: The logo of the Parti Québécois
The PQ currently holds a minority government in the National Assembly of Québec (the equivalent of Queen's Park for Ontario) holding 54 out of the 125 seats and earning 32% of the popular vote.
On the party's website it is quoted " Québec is a nation. The Parti Québécois has always fought for their sovereignty, so that it becomes finally one day, independent."