French Canadian survival

During the 19th century the issue of survival of French Canadians was broached more and more often. The Act of Union of 1840, which banned French as an official language, appeared as one of the main points in the imperial policy of assimilation, and its application aroused indignation. For French Canadians the centrality of the Catholic religion, as well as the French language, traditions, history, and institutions, were part of their distinctive characteristics and had to be safeguarded. For many, especially the Acadians and minority francophones in other provinces, the availability of French-language education at all levels was crucial to the survival of their identity and culture. Some people claimed that responsible government was, for French Canadian national institutions, the best guarantee of protection. The Catholic Church also played a role in preserving, even extending, the French Canadian presence in confederation. Little by little, the struggle left the sole terrain of survival and turned to the development of French Canadians, who, among other things, had to go through economic emancipation.