The October Crisis of 1970

Early in the morning of Monday, October 5, 1970, four armed men, all of them members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ), rang the doorbell at the Westmount home of British Trade Commissioner James Richard Cross. One of the kidnappers ordered the maid, who’d opened the door, to take them to Mr. Cross. Within moments, the diplomat was handcuffed and whisked off in a car. This set into motion a chain of events that led to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoking the War Measures Act — the only time it has been applied during peacetime in Canadian history.

 

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