Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson wanted a distinctively Canadian flag, in part, because he realized that many in Canada no longer celebrated the British connection. It was Pearson who appointed a royal commission to investigate existing policies on bilingualism and biculturalism and to recommend ways of ensuring the wider recognition of cultural dualism in Canada. In particular, there was by the late 1950s a growing unrest among the French in Quebec, arising from a desire for greater protection of their language and culture and for a better opportunity for their participation in Canadian society. In the early '60s there was a rapid social, economic, and political modernizaton of Quebec which came to be known as the "Quiet Revolution". While the vast majority worked within the legitimate democratic process, both to change the nature of Quebec society and to ensure the greater participation of French-speaking citizens in all aspects of life, a small minority insisted on armed insurrection. One such group was the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) who was committed to the independence of Quebec.

In October 1970, the terrorist group FLQ kidnapped two public officials, an act that shocked Quebec and much of the nation given the widespread belief that Canada was the 'peaceable kingdom.' Terrorism was something that Canadians read about in newspapers; it was not supposed to occur in Canada, but the FLQ changed all that. It was reported in August 1970 that FLQ terrorists, then training with the Palestinian terrorists, had vowed a series of political assassinations to further their cause. A series of bombings had occurred over the previous two years. On 5 October, the FLQ abducted James Cross, the British trade commissioner in Montreal, shocking the country. But, when five days later it kidnapped Pierre Laporte, Quebec's popular minister of labour and immigration, Canadians knew that their nation faced a serious crisis. What price would the terrorists exact for the safe return of these victims and if the governments conceded to their demands, where would all this end? At the same time, some prominent Quebecers were advising Premier Robèrt Bourassa to resist any interference from outside of Quebec (meaning the federal government) while others in Quebec openly supported the FLQ. Students in Montreal boycotted classes to show support and some 3000 Quebecers crammed into a popular arena chanting 'FLQ ... FLQ .... FLQ...'

On 15 October the Quebec government invited the Canadian Armed Forces to Quebec to assist the local police; the following day, the federal government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, proclaimed the War Measures Act, claiming that a state of 'apprehended insurrection' existed in the province of Quebec. Under the emergency regulations dating from the First World War in 1914, a whole series of civil liberties were suspended; and anyone suspected of belonging to or, in some cases, supporting the FLQ were arrested and detained. Over the few days immediately following, nearly 500 people were arrested, though most were later released without being charged. On 17 October, just one day after the War Measures Act was invoked, the FLQ killed Pierre Laporte and left his body in a car trunk near Montreal. James Cross was released in early December in exchange for safe passage out of the country for his abductors.

The federal response to the kidnapping in Quebec was very controversial. An overwhelming number of Canadians supported the government's actions, but Quebec nationalists and civil libertarians across the country condemned Ottawa's action as excessive. They claimed that the government acted without sufficient information and over-reacted in large part in dealing with the separatist forces in Quebec. Supporters have argued that the War Measures Act demonstrated to terrorists that their acts would not be tolerated in Canada, while opponents have argued that political terrorism would have declined as a democratic separatist movement grew within the Parti Québécois throughout the 1970s. Still, 87 percent of Canadians supported Prime Minister Trudeau's action during the October Crisis.