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William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal Party of Canada)
Prime Minister Mackenzie King had previously promised that he would never force constriction for overseas service but in 1942 released a plebiscite asking the people of Canada to release him from his original election pledge. (Class Slide 107) This was a major part of Quebec's history because it was the only time mandatory conscription was enforced besides the first world war. -
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Adélard Godbout (Liberal Party of Québec)
Premier Adélard Godbout represented the Liberal Party of Quebec and was firmly against conscription. He supported the unemployment insurance policy of 1940 and family allowances of 1944. He was the one to begin the nationalization of hydroelectric companies. Not only that, but in 1940 he gave women in Quebec the provincial right to vote, and he passed the mandatory school attendance act in 1943. (Class slide 106) All the movement had a major impacts on the course of Quebec -
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The Duplessis Era
Maurice Duplessis served as the premier of Quebec, representing the union national. Economically, many significant events occurred, including the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which encouraged international trade. The provincial government attracted American businesses with low taxes and fees, while protecting Quebec's provincial autonomy. This era was known as “La Grande Noirceur,” was crucial to its formation, solidifying the ties between church and state. -
Act to Promote Rural Electrification
(Sources: Alloprof and Hydro Quebec)
- The government put in 12 million dollars so that not only the cities could benefit from the electricity
- The amount of Quebec electrified rose from 19% to 90%.
- This meant that farmers were now able to be more efficient and make more money
- This contributed to the shaping of Quebec because of this act, because cooperative for hydroelectricity became a thing of the past and to this day only one still exists: Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Rouville. -
Adoption of the Fleurdelisé (Québec’s Flag)
- Inspired by the Red Ensign, René Chaloult, an independent member of the Legislative assembly, requested the creation of a “truly Québec flag”
- This flag was officially adopted on January 21, 1948 and was hanging high above the Parliament Building in Quebec by afternoon.
- Design is inspired by the Flag of Carillon which used the fleur-de-lis and white cross with the sky blue background as a nod to the Kingdom of France.
- Quebec has since then kept the same flag to represent its province
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Asbestos Strike
- Quebec supplied 85% of the world's asbestos
- One of the major mining towns for this mineral were founding Quebec's Eastern Townships
- This fibre when breathed in caused serious damage to the respiratory system and was tied to the development of lung disease as early as the 19th century
- In 1949, 5000 workers left their jobs at the mines in Asbestos and Theford Mines
- They wanted union participation, 1$ per hour wage and nine paid holidays.
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Arrival of Television in Québec
- Marked the start of a consumer driven society with the mass consumption of goods, easy credit and lots of advertising, encouraging customers to buy even more things including TV’s.
- By 1960 Quebec has 9 TV stations, and 42 radio stations
- People in Quebec in the 1960s have are buying a lot of radios, TVs, and telephones
- Society ever since then has not looked back and has continued to rely on television as a source of entertainment, advertising, and most importantly comfort.
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The Quiet Revolution
During this time there was a large modernization under Premier Jean Lesage with the Liberal party. In this time, he created the welfare state, which was a more interventionist approach that made it the government's responsibility to provide essential services to its population. (Class Slide 28). This had a major role in the evolution of Quebec and led to many more progressions, especially when it comes to education. -
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Jean Lesage (Liberal Party of Québec)
- Jean Lesage was the Premier of Quebec while John Diefenbaker and Lester B. Pearson were the prime ministers
- He represented the Liberal party and had a large role in the modernization of Quebec and wanted to loosen the control that the Catholic Church had over society and helping secularize it
- Lesage created the Ministry of Education to oversee the running of the public schools and plans were created to establish the CEGEPs.
- Nationalized 11 privately owned electricity companies
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Creation of the Department of Cultural Affairs
- On March 2, 1961 Premier Jean Lesage presented a bill and stated “Government does not create culture, neither does it control it, it merely attempts to create a climate in which the arts may flourish.”
- Created to show the world and Quebecers the cultural character that it possesses in all fields including arts, letters, and heritage.
- This has impacted Quebec society in many ways, including the creation of bursaries to encourage artists to continue to flourish and promote creativity.
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Nationalization of Electricity (Hydro-Québec Expands)
(class slide 31)
- The government of Quebec bought all the electricity companies around the province and combined them with Hydro-Quebec and created a crown corporation
- This was in order to produce a trustworthy supply of electricity
- Consequence: more jobs and more revenue for the government
- Under Lesage government -
Laurendeau-Dunton Commission & Bilingualism Debate
(class slides p. 39)
- Due to the ongoing debate over the role of French and English in Quebec's society, the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission was founded
- Its purpose was to investigate the state of bilingualism and biculturalism in Canada
- They found that Francophones were a fewer privileges minority group in Canada and didn’t have much access to civil service jobs -
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Lester B. Pearson (Liberal Party of Canada)
- Lester Bowles Pearson was born in Toronto, Canada and represented the Liberal Party of Canada during his time as prime minister
- His government created the first national flag and official national anthem of Canada
- It introduced the national pension plan and the family assistance program
- These two programs helped expand the benefits available to the elderly and laid created a foundation for the National Free Medical Service (information sourced from The Encyclopedia Britannica)
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Bill 16 – Married Women Gain Legal Independence because of Marie-Claire Kirkland- Casgrain
(notes p.8)
- A modernizing society caused a significant drop in church attendance, an increase in divorces, and a decrease in marriages
- Bill 16 was passed by Marie-Claire Kirkland- Casgrain in 1964 in order to respect the legal capacity of married women
- This allowed women to do legal actions such as renting an apartment and starting their own bank accounts without their husbands permission
- A huge impact on women rights and gave women more freedoms than they had ever seen in the past -
Expo 67 – Showcasing Québec’s Identity to the World
Expo 67 took play in Montreal through April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a major event in Quebec's history and put the province on the map. Although it cost them 283 million to put together and run, it did increase the tourist revenues. This event was great for demonstrating Quebec advancements to the rest of the world, one of which was the menu that made its debut just a little while before. (page 234 of textbook) -
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1968-1979: Pierre Elliott Trudeau (Liberal Party of Canada)
(information from slide 39 of notes) Pierre Elliot Trudeau was the prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and throughout that time the premiers of Quebec in order were: Jean-Jacques Bertrand, Robert Bourassa and René Lévesque. One major event that PM Trudeau passed was the Official Languages Act which made French and English the official languages of Canada. This change was executed in 1969 and has continued to make Canada have two official languages. -
October Crisis – FLQ Kidnappings & War Measures Act
(Slide 46)
- Front de liberation du Quebec was a radical party that wanted the province to separate from Canada
- In October 1970, they kidnapped liberal minister Pierre Laporte and British Diplomat James Cross with the point of inflicting fear on the Anglophones
- War Measures Act being implemented, which meant that the military were called out
- Many FLQ members were arrested, and the rest were given safe haven in Cuba in exchange for James Cross -
Introduction of Québec’s Medicare System (Health Insurance Act)
(p. 254 of textbook)- The health insurance act was implemented by Robert Bourassa and his government
- This provided free health care services to the entire population of Quebec and was now under the name of MEDICARE
- This was revolutionary at the name because Quebec had previously only had free medical services in cases of hospitalization
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1970-1976: Robert Bourassa (Liberal Party of Québec)
(The Canadian Encyclopedia)
Robert Bourassa was Quebec's Premier from 1970-1976 and then again from 1985-1994
He passed the controversial James Bay hydroelectric [project and made french the official language of Quebec with Bill 22
He also dealt with the October Crisis led by separatist groups and put in place the War measures Act because of this -
1974: Bill 22 – French as Québec’s Official Language
(Class slides, p.53)
- Due to the increasing amount of immigrants moving to Quebec that were allophones (didn’t speak English or French) they began sending their children to English schools
- The provincial government was worried by this and decided to adopt the Bill 22 Official Language Act, which made French the only official language of Quebec
- This limited the access to English schooling and strengthened the French cultural identity of Quebec -
1974: Superfrancofête – Cultural Affirmation in Québec
(Textbook p.264)- In order to continue enriching the French culture in Quebec, the city of Quebec decided to host Superfrancopfête, an international festival celebrating Francophone culture.
- It brought together theatre, cinema, athletic competitions, dance and music events and displayed them to the youth present at the celebrations held all over the city
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June 1975: Adoption of Québec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms
(p. 254 of textbook)- This act was adopted by Henry Bourassa and stipulates that all people are born equal
- This led to the creation of the Québec Human Rights Commission in 1976 which made sure that this act was respected and enforced
- They provided publications and investigated cases of unfair treatment in order to teach the population
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1976-1985: René Lévesque (Parti Québécois)
(The Canadian Encyclopedia)- He was a journalist, nationalist and played a very important part in the founding of the Parti Québécois in 1968
- The party advocated for Quebec's sovereignty
- He became Premier in 1976 and under him the Charter of French language was passed, and he organized the 1980 referendum on Quebec's sovereignty
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1977: Bill 101 – The Charter of the French Language
(p. 268 textbook)
- During this time, there was an increase of immigration of anglophones, despite the flow of French-speaking immigrants, Montreal began integrating the English language into their society
- The anglicization of Montreal was very worrisome for the Quebec government, which at the time was the Parti Québécois government
- They decided to implement the Charter of French Language (Bill 22)
- This bill protected the French language and still affects the language laws enforced today -
1979: Economic Downturn & The Second Oil Crisis
(Page 271 of textbook)- Due to the second oil crisis in Iran, a major oil producer, there was a sudden wave of inflation
- In consequence, many companies moved their production plants overseas to countries where it is cheaper to make their products
- This phenomenon was called industrial relocation
- This relocation caused a major job loss in Quebec, which slowed economic growth and led to tax lost