<P> Pierre Laporte was eventually found to have been killed by his captors while James Cross was freed after 59 days as a result of negotiations with the kidnappers who requested exile to Cuba rather than facing trial in Quebec . The cell members responsible for Laporte's death were arrested and charged with kidnapping and first - degree murder after they returned . </P> <P> The response by the federal and provincial governments to the incident still sparks controversy . This is the only time that the War Measures Act had been put in place during peacetime in Canada . A few critics (most notably Tommy Douglas and some members of the New Democratic Party) believed that Trudeau was being excessive in advising the use of the War Measures Act to suspend civil liberties and that the precedent set by this incident was dangerous . Federal Progressive Conservative leader Robert Stanfield initially supported Trudeau's actions, but later regretted doing so . In 1972, Michael Forrestall, the defence critic in the Conservative shadow cabinet, warned when Trudeau again stated he would use the War Measures Act again that: "the deliberate use of the military to enforce the will of one group of Canadians over the will of another group of Canadians is detrimental to the credibility of the armed forces". The size of the FLQ organization and the number of sympathizers in the public was not known . However, in its Manifesto, the FLQ stated: "In the coming year (Quebec Premier Robert) Bourassa will have to face reality; 100,000 revolutionary workers, armed and organized ." Given that declaration, along with seven years of bombings and the wording of their communiques throughout that time that strove to present an image of a powerful organization spread secretly throughout all sectors of society, the authorities took significant action . </P> <P> The events of October 1970 marked a significant loss of support for the violent wing of the Quebec sovereigntist movement that had gained support over nearly ten years, and increased support for political means of attaining independence, including support for the sovereigntist Parti Québécois, which went on to take power at the provincial level in 1976 . After the defeat of the Meech Lake Accord, which sought to amend the Constitution of Canada to resolve the passage by a previous government of the Constitution Act 1982 without Quebec's ratification, a pro-independence political party, the Bloc Québécois, was also created at the federal level . </P> <P> The deployment of the military as an aid to civil power was very unpopular with the senior leadership of the Canadian Forces . In the 1950s, the primary purpose of the Canadian Army was to fight against the Red Army in Central Europe should World War Three break out . During the Pearson years, and even more so under Trudeau, there was a tendency on the part of the government to cut military spending and to shift the role of the Canadian Forces over to more as an internal security force . In 1968 - 69, Trudeau had seriously considered pulling out of NATO, and only stayed in order not to damage relations with the United States and the western European states . On 3 April 1969, Trudeau announced that Canada would stay in NATO after all, but he drastically cut military spending and pulled out half of the 10,000 Canadian soldiers and airmen stationed in West Germany . In the same speech, Trudeau stated that safeguarding Canada against external and internal threats would be the number one mission of the Canadian Forces, guarding North America in co-operation with the United States would be the number two mission, and NATO commitments would be the number three mission . In early 1970, the government introduced a white paper Defence in the Seventies, which stated the "Priority One" of the Canadian Forces would be upholding internal security rather than preparing for World War III, which of course meant a sharp cut in military spending since the future enemy was now envisioned to be the FLQ rather than the Red Army . The October Crisis, much to the dismay of the generals, was used by Trudeau as an argument for transforming the Canadian Forces into a force whose "Priority One" was internal security . Many officers knew very well that the "Priority One" of internal security was "...a greater threat than any other potential role". By the end of the 1970s, the Canadian Forces had been transformed by Trudeau into an internal security force that was not capable of fighting a major conventional war . </P>

October crisis political kidnappings ottawa suspends civil rights