Robert Bourassa: Political Survivor Robert Bourassa was the youngest person to be elected premier of Quebec when he led his Liberals to victory in May 1970. He faced the October Crisis, was swept from power by the Parti Québécois in 1976, and returned triumphantly to lead the province in the late 1980s. A committed federalist, he championed Quebec as a distinct society within Canada, and was bitterly disappointed by the failure of the Meech Lake Accord. He died of cancer in 1996. In these activities, students will have the opportunity to explore Bourassa’s life and career by preparing a broadcast retrospective and by creating a timeline of major events. They have the opportunity to role-play a federalist-separatist debate between Bourassa and René Lévesque and to prepare for and participate in a symposium on the major developments in the political history of Quebec from 1966 to 1996, the impact of these developments on Canada, and the role played by Robert Bourassa.
To research and analyze primary resource audio-visual files in both of Canada’s official languages; to develop skills in research, computer use, formal writing, debate, and collaborative learning
