Bourassa, who believed that Quebec should be independent, was convinced that effective political independence for Quebec could only be achieved through monetary and fiscal independence. However, Lévesque left the Liberal party in 1968 to become the founding leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ). Lévesque's coalition movement dedicated itself to achieving political independence for Quebec while continuing economic association with the rest of Canada. Bourassa and Lévesque remained political rivals for the rest of their careers.
The Liberal party, using the theme "Quebec au Travail," won the 1970 provincial election and Bourassa became Quebec's youngest premier. After only six months in office, Bourassa faced a major crisis when the Front du Libération du Québec (FLQ) terrorists kidnapped the British trade commissioner, James Richard Cross, and the minister of immigration and labour, Pierre Laporte. The FLQ cited the government's refusal to negotiate release of FLQ members who had been jailed for acts of terrorism as the reason for the kidnappings. Premier Bourassa called upon the federal government's Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, to declare a state of apprehended insurrection and to invoke the War Measures Act. In response to the government's sending in military forces, the terrorists murdered Pierre Laporte.
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