1970 Murder of Pierre Laporte
In the 1960s the movement for the independence of Quebec developed a violent wing. Among those turning to terrorism or “propaganda by deed” was the Front de libération du Québec or the FLQ, a Marxist-Leninist group that combined a desire for independence with plans for a communist revolution. The FLQ carried out bank robberies, bombings, sabotage, kidnappings and murder to advance their cause. On October 5, 1970 the Libération cell of the FLQ, composed of well-educated activists, kidnapped a British diplomat, James Cross, and held him hostage, demanding money, and the release of FLQ prisoners for his return. A few days later, the Chénier cell, a rather more thuggish bunch, kidnapped Labour Minister Pierre Laporte. These actions prompted the federal government to suspend all civil liberties in Canada under the War Measures Act.
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau won a lot of support for his hard-line stance. “Well, there are a lot of bleeding hearts around who just don’t like to see people with helmets and guns. All I can say is, go on and bleed. But it’s more important to keep law and order in this society than to be worried about weak-kneed people who don’t like the looks of…” A CBC reporter asked: “At any cost? How far would you go with that? How far would you extend that?” Trudeau replied: “Well, just watch me.” The next day Laporte’s body was discovered in the trunk of a car; he had been strangled to death.
The Chénier cell would eventually be tracked down, tried and convicted of murder — though all would eventually be freed and continue their fight for independence in less violent ways. The Libération cell released James Cross in return for safe passage to Cuba; all would eventually return to Quebec.