Thomas Stroyan
In February 1968, the Quebec authorities agreed to mortgage Chile two Canadair CL-215s (often known as the CANSO). The CL-215 was an amphibious flying boat constructed for the aim of performing firefighting duties similar to waterbombing. The mortgage got here at a second of want for Chile, in 1967 it had skilled a report drought the likes the nation had not seen for the reason that Twenties. This resulted in a local weather emergency which threatened Chile with each crop failure and forest fires. The provincial authorities of Quebec had no situation with loaning the planes to Chile. Because of the Southern and Northern hemispheres having inversed summers, Quebec had no want of the planes whereas Chile was on the highest danger for forest fires and vice versa. Quebec merely made the mortgage conditional on the plane being returned by April of the identical 12 months.[i] Quebec’s provincial authorities additionally had a secondary motive: the mortgage helped the Quebec-based Canadair, who had been pursuing gross sales in Chile for a while, showcase their plane to Chile.[ii] The 2 planes arrived in Chile with out incident and have been used to concurrently practice Chilean pilots and reveal the capabilities of the planes.[iii] The mortgage seemed to be a hit, the Quebec Ministry of Transportation and Communications reported quite a lot of Chilean media curiosity within the two CANSO plane and indicated {that a} main buy was on the horizon.[iv] Ultimately, the mortgage didn’t result in a direct buy however this isn’t to say that the Chileans weren’t grateful, they have been. The federal authorities in Santiago instructed the Chilean embassy in Ottawa to ship a proper thanks to the Quebec authorities. This easy act of gratitude, nevertheless, turned out to be much more diplomatically complicated than one would think about. To grasp why, one should study the phenomena of the Quebec Sovereignty motion and the way it affected Canada’s diplomacy with one other creating nation on the opposite facet of the Atlantic Ocean, Gabon.
Since 1960, Quebec below the Liberal Get together led by Jean Lesage pursued a coverage of ‘Maîtres chez Nous’ – Masters of Our Personal Home. Maîtres chez Nous was the quintessential coverage of the Quiet Revolution, a interval during which Quebec underwent a fast cultural, political, and technical transition. It shed the cultural and institutional supremacy of the Catholic church within the province, elevated the power of the Quebec authorities in inside affairs and more and more pushed in opposition to what it considered colonial domination from Anglo Canada. Maîtres chez Nous was framed as a decolonialization course of during which Quebec fought for rising autonomy over its personal affairs. In 1966, the Lesage Liberals misplaced to Daniel Johnson’s Union Nationale. The celebration left, however the coverage of Maîtres chez Nous endured. Quebec sovereignty had develop into a bipartisan coverage pursuit and by the late Sixties, Quebec’s quest for sovereignty was wanting more and more extra like separation. As such, its quest for autonomy in its inside affairs, with some assist from Charles de Gaulle, was spilling into exterior affairs, which was federal jurisdiction.
Un Canadair CL215 Del 43 Grupo En Plena Descarga. n.d. Personal work. Accessed Might 20, 2026. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CL215_43_Grupo.jpg. – The caption interprets roughly to: “A Canadair CL-215 from the forty third Group in mid-drop.”
In 1967, the Quebec authorities, with the help from France, organized for Quebec to take part instantly, with out first consulting Ottawa, in a gathering of Training Ministers of France and its former colonies to be held in Libreville, the capital of Gabon. A gathering of this nature was contested floor between Quebec and Ottawa as training constitutionally was below provincial jurisdiction; nevertheless, worldwide relations, and thus participation in worldwide conferences, was below federal purview. Quebec, if it succeeded at representing itself at this convention, may start the method of building a world title for itself and additional separatist ambitions. Moreover, these technical conferences have been half of a bigger imaginative and prescient that may be realized in 1970, the creation of a corporation of French-speaking states that may be known as La Francophonie, a corporation related in dimensions to the Commonwealth. Beneath strain from France, the Gabonese authorities agreed to ask Quebec to the convention with out consulting Ottawa and even uncared for to increase an invite to the Canadian ambassador to Gabon. Quebec attended the convention between February 5th and 10th of 1967. The tip results of this convention was quite dramatic and greatest summarized by former minister of the Canadian embassy in Paris, Eldon Black. He said:
“The Convention occurred with Quebec flags flying and congratulations from the French delegation to the Gabonese for having handled Quebec as a full participant. Cardinal, the pinnacle of the Quebec delegation, obtained the ‘Order of the Inexperienced Elephant,’ and Ottawa suspended relations with Gabon.”[v]
The Pearson authorities, in response, punished Gabon on March 4th of 1967 by suspending diplomatic relations with the African nation and with it, all potential help tasks with Canada.[vi] The entire saga has been referred to in Canadian scholarship because the Gabon Affair.[vii]
Within the context of the Gabon Affair, the difficult nature of Chile’s dealings with Quebec makes extra sense. Quebec separatism was manifesting itself within the worldwide enviornment and Gabon was caught within the crossfire of this battle between Ottawa, Quebec, and Paris. If the Canadian federal authorities was prepared to chop relations totally with Gabon in its battle with Quebec separatism, related frictions may develop between Chile and Canada if Santiago didn’t tread calmly. As this unfolded, the Chileans have been Canada with nice curiosity, significantly by way of receiving technical help and overseas help from Ottawa. The Chileans took cautious be aware of the Gabon Affair. In March 1968, the Gabon Affair was reported on intimately to Santiago by the Chilean embassy in Ottawa.[viii] On this manner, the Gabon Affair tremendously formed how the Chilean authorities approached contacting Quebec Metropolis.
The Chilean embassy in Ottawa was instructed to thank the Quebec authorities for loaning Chile the CANSO plane. The Chilean embassy, nevertheless, reported again to Santiago that thanking Quebec was an advanced affair. The embassy made direct reference to the Gabon Affair and defined that if the Chilean embassy contacted the Quebec authorities instantly, it may very well be construed as Santiago supporting Quebec separatism and invoke the fury of Ottawa. Within the context of 1968, for a creating nation similar to Chile, this may very well be as extreme as having diplomatic relations suspended altogether. The Chilean ambassador defined that his preliminary plan was to go to Quebec Metropolis and request an viewers with Quebec Premier, Daniel Johnson, instantly.[ix] Beneath regular circumstances, this could have been the right alternative to thank the Premier. In any case, it was diplomatic protocol for ambassadors to have an viewers with Premiers when visiting their respective provinces. The ambassador, nevertheless, went on to clarify that this could show not possible with out offending Ottawa as Premier Johnson had difficult issues. He decreed that any audiences with him by overseas dignitaries must be requested through his personal protocol, instantly, and never via the middleman of Ottawa. Beneath the troublesome circumstances, the Chilean ambassador reported that he determined to increase Santiago’s gratitude to the Quebec authorities via Chile’s consulate in Montreal as, being located in Quebec, it will not be irregular for the consulate to contact the Quebec authorities instantly.[x]
The sheer problem in navigating one thing so simple as a ‘gracias’ to the Quebec authorities for loaning important firefighting tools to Chile demonstrates simply how a lot of a pressure Quebec Separatism had placed on diplomatic affairs with Canada. It additionally explains, partially, why the Chilean authorities was enthusiastic in regards to the incoming Pierre Trudeau authorities who, after taking workplace in April 1968, promised to take away Quebec separatism type the worldwide sphere and field it into inside affairs. The Chileans have been supportive of Ottawa’s battle with, “divisionist factions” who have been supporting Quebec’s encroachment on federal jurisdiction in worldwide affairs.[xi] And whereas they seen Pierre Trudeau’s intentions positively additionally they concluded that Ottawa risked inducing, “the nations which might be within the particular therapy of Quebec to intensify this coverage, with penalties which might be straightforward to think about.”[xii]
Chile was proper to be cautious. As a creating nation on the periphery of Ottawa’s conventional overseas coverage focus and one wanting towards an expanded help program below the brand new Trudeau authorities, Chile couldn’t afford to take dangers. Quebec’s plane extinguished the bodily flames threatening Chile’s forests, however stopping political fires in Ottawa required a completely totally different type of firefighting. To keep away from Gabon’s destiny, Chile’s diplomacy with Canada needed to stay strictly federal, regardless of who owned the water bombers.
Thomas Stroyan is a PhD candidate at Western College. He makes a speciality of Canadian – Latin American relations and has taught each pre- and post-confederation Canadian historical past in addition to fashionable Latin American historical past. He’s at the moment ending his dissertation, a comparative evaluation of Canadian relations with Chile and Argentina from 1968-1979, and is engaged on different tasks exploring synthetic intelligence in training and the historic occupation.
[i] Chilean Embassy in Ottawa and Chilean Ministry of Exterior Affairs, “Sobre Viaje Aviones Canadienses a Chile,” February 20, 1968, Fondo Paises, CAN 28, Archivo de la Cancillería de Chile.
[ii] Canadair had at one level had even organized a sale of six CL-215s to the Chilean authorities for $9 million however this sale fell via because of a lack of curiosity on the a part of Chile. Canadian Ministry of Exterior Affairs, “Chile – Provision of Canadian Water Bombers,” February 13, 1968, RG25-A-3-c – Division of Exterior Affairs fonds, Quantity quantity: 13962, File – 37-22-1- Chile (half 1) – Overseas Commerce – Strategic Commerce Controls – Export of Arms and Navy Gear by Canada – Chile, Library and Archives Canada.
[iii] Quebec Ministry of Transport and Chilean Embassy in Ottawa, “Deux Avions Du Quebéc Combattent Les Feux de Forets Au Chili,” February 28, 1968, Fondo Paises, CAN 28, Archivo de la Cancillería de Chile.
[iv] Chilean Embassy in Ottawa and Chilean Ministry of Exterior Affairs, “Información Sobre Los Aviones ‘CANSO,’” March 21, 1968, Fondo Paises, CAN 28, Archivo de la Cancillería de Chile.
[v] Eldon Black, “La Francophonie and the Outbreak of Hostilities: The Gabon Affair,” in Direct Intervention: Canada-France Relations 1967-1974, 1st ed., Carleton Library Collection 187 (Carleton College Press, 1997), 32-33, https://doi.org/10.1515/9780773580923.
[vi] In April 1968, for instance, Ottawa despatched former Minister of Justice, Lionel Chevrier, to go a mission to French Africa to research how Canada may enhance its overseas help programmes within the area. The Chevrier Mission because it got here to be known as didn’t go to Gabon. Chilean Embassy in Ottawa and Chilean Ministry of Exterior Affairs, “Misión Chevrier a Países Africanos de Habla Francesa,” April 8, 1968, Fondo Paises, CAN 28, Archivo de la Cancillería de Chile.
[vii]Readers wishing to study extra in regards to the Gabon Affair are inspired to seek the advice of Eldon Black’s guide chapter, “La Francophonie and the Outbreak of Hostilities: The Gabon Affair,” and David Meren’s guide chapter, “Chapter 8: Disaster: From Montreal to Libreville,” in With Buddies like These: Entangled Nationalisms and the Canada-Quebec-France Triangle, 1944-1970 (UBC Press, 2012), https://doi.org/10.59962/9780774822268.
[viii] Chilean Embassy in Ottawa and Chilean Ministry of Exterior Affairs, “Incidente Con Gabón y Relaciones Con Francia,” March 14, 1968, Fondo Paises, CAN 27, Archivo de la Cancillería de Chile.
[ix] Chilean Embassy in Ottawa and Chilean Ministry of Exterior Affairs, “Agradecimientos al Gobierno de Quebec Por Aviones CANSO,” April 19, 1968, Fondo Paises, CAN 27, Archivo de la Cancillería de Chile.
[x] Chilean Embassy in Ottawa and Chilean Ministry of Exterior Affairs, “Agradecimientos al Gobierno de Quebec Por Aviones CANSO.”
[xi] The Chileans have been nearly actually referring to France after they talked about ‘divisionist factions.’ Chilean Ministry of Exterior Affairs and Chilean Embassy in Ottawa, “Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Nuevo Primer Ministro de Canadá,” Might 6, 1968, Fondo Paises, CAN 27, Archivo de la Cancillería de Chile.
[xii] Chilean Ministry of Exterior Affairs and Chilean Embassy in Ottawa, “Pierre Trudeau y El Problema de Quebec,” June 23, 1968, Fondo Paises, CAN 27, Archivo de la Cancillería de Chile.
Associated
