On the Brink of Civil War: The Canadian Government and the Suppression of the 1918 Quebec Easter Riots

Abstract

This article analyzes the Canadian government's use of military force to suppress the anti-conscription Easter Riots that occurred in Quebec City between 28 March and 1 April 1918. The riots demonstrated French-Canadian dissatisfaction with the national war effort and the introduction of conscription, and exacerbated nationwide fears that a state of rebellion existed in the French-speaking province of Quebec. The Canadian government's reaction was immediate and firm; martial law was proclaimed, habeas corpus was suspended, and over six thousand English-speaking soldiers were deployed to Quebec during and after the riots to maintain order and enforce conscription, the last of these troops leaving the province in early 1919. The Easter Riots were extremely violent, causing important destruction of property and over 150 civilian and military casualties, including at least four dead when soldiers opened fire on rioters. This article will demonstrate the extent to which the Canadian government apprehended insurrection in Quebec during the First World War and how determined it was under difficult wartime conditions to prevent the rise of a major national crisis.