Quebec Patriots Inaugurate National Day in 1834
June 24: 1834: Ludger Duvernay and the members of
the Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera Society
establish June 24 as Quebec's National Day. (www.fetenationale.qc.ca)
Referring to a banquet held on June 24, 1834,
the patriot newspaper La Minevre,
whose purpose was to "spread education especially in the agricultural
class and defend the Just Claims of Canadiens,"
published an article which said: "This celebration, the purpose of
which is to cement the union between Canadiens, will not
be fruitless. It will be celebrated every year as the National Day."
Ludger Duvernay, founder of the patriotic
organization Aide-toi et le ciel t'aidera (God helps those who
help themselves) and publisher and editor of La Minerve, led
the initiative.
An explicitly political celebration, the first
National Day was established within the context of the struggle of the
inhabitants of Lower Canada to affirm their rights against the British
Crown. In fact, in February 1834, 92 resolutions were passed by the
House of Assembly of Lower Canada demanding greater control by citizens
over the economic and political decisions made in the colony.
Without waiting for a decision from London, the
celebration of the first National Day was organized in the garden of
the lawyer MacDonnell. More than 37 toasts and speeches were made, all
of them saluting the enlightened ideas of the time and the people
defending them. The first toast was to the people as "the primary
source of all legitimate authority, and the day we are celebrating."
Far from division on the basis of language or
national origin -- which has been imposed on us by the past and present
Anglo-Canadian state arrangements -- participants highlighted the
contribution of the Irish patriots such as Daniel Tracey, founder of
the Irish Vindicator and Canada General Advertiser,
who supported the demands of the people of Lower Canada seeking to
exercise control over their destiny.
The struggle of William Lyon Mackenzie and of the
"other reformers of Upper Canada" to assert the rights of the nascent
nation of the day was also toasted. The arrival of British citizens in
Lower Canada was also welcomed. The Patriots who were present at the
banquet, La Minerve reported, celebrated
"Emigration: May the thousands of British subjects who come every year
to seek asylum on our shores against the abuses and oppression they are
suffering in their native country, such will not take place amongst us
and may they find the welcome they deserve! They will form with the
people of Canada an impenetrable and irresistible phalanx against
tyranny."
A specific toast was also raised to the "artisans
and working classes of Montreal and of this country in general. May
education continue to spread among society's useful members; may they
procure the well-being and ease that their work deserves."
The first National Day also began another
tradition that is alive and well today -- that of offering songs and
poems to celebrate Quebec's nationhood.
Note
1. La
Minerve, February 12, 1827.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 22 - June 20, 2020
Article Link:
Quebec Patriots Inaugurate National Day in 1834
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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