The Forgotten Few: French Canadians and the Great War

Geoff Keelan is a PhD Candidate at the University of Waterloo under Dr. Whitney Lackenbauer. He studies Quebec and the First World War, specifically the role of Henri Bourassa during the war, French Canadian veterans and other themes that challenge the traditionally understood narrative of Quebec during the Great War

Bourassa’s War: Henri Bourassa and the First World War

This dissertation examines the perspective of French Canadian nationalist Henri Bourassa during the First World War from 1914-1918. Bourassa was one of the best-known voices rejecting the war’s purpose and value in Canada. He consistently offered detailed and in-depth analytical critiques of the war. He first accepted Canadian participation from August 1914 to January 1916, but his position gradually shifted from cautious support to outright rejection. This dissertation argues that Henri Bourassa has traditionally been understood as a domestic commentator in Canada, but during the war years he wrote in the pages of his newspaper Le Devoir to address a wide variety of international issues. He was one of a few Canadians who looked out to the world and interpreted global events for his readers. Historians have already recounted in detail his thoughts about the Ontario bilingual schools crisis, conscription, the December 1917 election, and the Easter Riots of 1918. This work examines Bourassa’s thoughts on diplomacy between the belligerent nations and that of Pope Benedict XV, international events like the Easter Rising in Ireland and the American entry into the war. It re-examines his domestic commentary concerning the Canadian home front in light of his position on international issues, especially his growing anxiety over militarism and the deterioration of Canadian democracy. He believed that the war, which was ostensibly fought for democracy and liberty, was drastically changing the Allied nations and transforming them into the sort of autocratic states against which they fought. This thesis concludes that Bourassa adopted an intellectual approach to the war that deconstructed its impact at home and abroad, and stands as one of Canada’s foremost thinkers during the war years

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Dissenting in the First World War: Henri Bourassa and Transnational Resistance to War

Cet article explore les liens entre le « nationaliste » canadien-français Henri Bourassa et des opposants hors Canada critiquant le conflit mondial de 1914. En effet, des acteurs à l’international partagent des idées communes que l’on retrouve dans le discours défendu par Bourassa (nationaliste et ultramontain), dans celui de la Union of Democratic Control au Royaume-Uni (socialiste) et de la position du pape Benoît XV sur les conséquences de la guerre sur les sociétés, sur l’ordre mondial et sur la militarisation des nations. Cet article soutient que le rôle de dissident que joue Bourassa au Canada doit être compris comme s’inscrivant dans une réaction transnationale à la guerre qui se rejoint sur plusieurs éléments, à travers des analyses du conflit et des propositions de solutions pour répondre aux problèmes causés par la Grande Guerre.This article discusses the connection between French Canadian nationalist, the journalist Henri Bourassa, and other international voices that opposed the First World War. It examines common ideas found in Bourassa’s writing and the writing of the Union of Democratic Control in Britain and the position of Pope Benedict XV about the war’s consequences, militarism and the international system. This article argues that Bourassa’s role as a Canadian dissenter must also be understood as part of a larger transnational reaction to the war that communicated similar solutions to the problems presented by the war

Catholic Neutrality: The Peace of Henri Bourassa

One-time Liberal Member of Parliament, Henri Bourassa (1868-1952) was also a member of the Quebec provincial legislature, French Canadian nationalist and editor of Le Devoir from 1910 to 1932. His enduring career lasted over five decades, during which he discussed a wide range of domestic and political issues. During the First World War, historians have traditionally acknowledged his powerful domestic presence, such as over French language rights, the Conscription Crisis of 1917, or during the Easter riots of 1918. As a result, few scholars have commented on his broad-ranging and critical analyses of the international situation in Europe. This article uses Bourassa’s discussion of the various peace proposals during the war to better understand his ability to engage and understand complex international events. It examines his reaction to the German peace proposal of December 1916, President Wilson’s peace note of December 1916, Lord Lansdowne’s letter of November 1917 and the Papal peace initiatives. It concludes that although Bourassa was greatly influenced by his Catholic religious beliefs, he ultimately displayed an intelligent understanding of the war that far exceeded many other contemporary Canadian observers.Henri Bourassa (1868-1952) a été à la fois député libéral fédéral, député provincial au Québec, héraut du nationalisme canadien-français et éditeur du journal Le Devoir de 1910 à 1932. Au cours de sa longue carrière, qui s’est étendue sur plus de cinq décennies, Bourassa a commenté nombre de sujets. Les historiens ont généralement reconnu son importance en politique canadienne lors de la Première Guerre mondiale, alors qu’il a discuté des droits linguistiques des Canadiens français, de la Crise de la conscription de 1917 et des émeutes de Pâques de 1918. Dans ce contexte, peu d’historiens se sont intéressés à ses analyses plus poussées de la situation en Europe. Cet article démontre la capacité de Bourassa à discuter et à commenter les événements internationaux complexes en analysant ses commentaires sur les différentes propositions de paix qui ont été faites durant le conflit. Il étudie ainsi sa réaction à la proposition de paix allemande de décembre 1916, à la note du président américain Woodrow Wilson également de décembre 1916, à la lettre de lord Lansdowne de novembre 1917 ainsi qu’aux initiatives de paix du pape Benoît XV. Bien qu’influencé par ses croyances religieuses, Bourassa a compris la guerre bien mieux que plusieurs de ses contemporains