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The October Crisis of 1970 was sparked by the FRONT DE LIBÉRATION DU QUEBEC (FLQ), a group that used violence to try to gain independence for Quebec. On October 5, 1970, some members of the FLQ kidnapped James Cross, the British trade commissioner in Montreal. On October 10, other FLQ members seized Pierre LAPORTE, a Quebec Cabinet minister. The FLQ made various ransom demands, but Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau refused to negotiate. On October 16, he invoked the WAR MEASURES ACT to gain emergency powers, and sent troops to Montreal to assist the police. The emergency regulations allowed people to be arrested without charges being laid, and more than 450 people were arrested. Most were innocent of any crime and were later released. Meanwhile, the FLQ murdered Laporte. His body was found in the trunk of a car on October 17. In early December 1970, the police discovered where James Cross was being held, and his captors released him after they were promised safe passage to Cuba. Laporte's captors were also tracked down, and they eventually served prison sentences for kidnapping and murder. This was the end of the crisis, but it had long-term effects. Although most Canadians at the time approved of the government's firm action, it caused much resentment in Quebec. Many innocent people had been arrested during the crisis just because they were known to favour Quebec SEPARATISM. The democratic and non-violent separatist movement grew in strength, and in 1976 the people of Quebec elected a separatist government, the Parti Québécois. People concerned with civil liberties were also strongly critical of the Trudeau government's actions. They felt that Trudeau had overreacted when he invoked the War Measures Act and that the rights of Canadians should not have been removed during the crisis.
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