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| 1970, Oct. 5 |
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| James R. Cross, a British trade official, and (Oct. 10) Pierre Laporte, Quebec minister of labour, were abducted by terrorists of the Front for the Liberation of Quebec. The men were held hostage to force the liberation of 23 political prisoners and payment of a large ransom. The governments of Quebec and of Canada rejected the demands. | 1 |
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| Oct. 13 |
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| Establishment of diplomatic relations with Communist China and severance of relations with Nationalist China. Canada recognized the People's Republic of China as “the sole legal government of China” but did not recognize its claim to the possession of Taiwan. | 2 |
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| Oct. 16 |
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| Prime Minister Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act for six months, to meet the threat of insurrection in Quebec. While army units were assigned to preserve order in the Province of Quebec, police forces pressed the search for Cross and Laporte, arresting hundreds of members of the outlawed front and other suspects. | 3 |
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| Oct. 18 |
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| The murdered body of Laporte was found in the trunk of an abandoned automobile. | 4 |
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| Oct. 19 |
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| The House of Commons approved Trudeau's invocation of emergency legislation, 190–16. | 5 |
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| Dec. 1 |
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| The House of Commons passed the Public Order (Temporary Measures) Act to replace the more stringent War Measures Act. The new law still outlawed the secret Quebec nationalist society and authorized the police to arrest without warrant and hold suspects for as long as a week without bringing charges. | 6 |
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| Dec. 3 |
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| Cross was rescued after 59 days in captivity, but only after the government had provided three kidnappers and four of their relatives with a Canadian army plane on which to escape to Cuba. | 7 |
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| Dec. 28 |
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| Arrest of three additional suspects in the Laporte murder. | 8 |
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