Quiet Revolution

The Quiet Revolution (French: Révolution tranquille) was the 1960s period of intense change in Quebec, Canada, characterized by the rapid and effective secularization of society, the creation of a welfare state (État-providence) and a re-alignment of politics into federalist and separatist factions.

The provincial government took over the fields of health care and education, which had been in the hands of the Roman Catholic Church. It created ministries of Education and Health, expanded the public service, and made massive investments in the public education system and provincial infrastructure. The government allowed unionization of the civil service. It took measures to increase Québécois control over the province's economy and nationalized electricity production and distribution.

Although the Quiet Revolution was a period of unbridled economic and social development in Quebec, it also must be credited for the surge in Quebec nationalism, which remains a controversial topic in modern Quebec society.^[1]

Origins

The Quiet Revolution began with the reforms enacted by the Liberal provincial government of Jean Lesage, which was elected in the July 1960 provincial election and marked the end of Premier Maurice Duplessis' reign, known as the Grande Noirceur (Great Darkness).^[2] It is generally accepted to have ended before the October Crisis of 1970, but Quebec's society has continued to change dramatically since then, notably with the rise of the sovereignty movement, evidenced by the election of the Separatist Parti Quebecois (first in 1976),^[3] the formation of a separatist political party representing Quebec on the federal level, the Bloc Quebecois (formed in 1991),^[3] as well as the 1980 and 1995 Sovereignty Referendums.^[4][5] Some scholars argue that the rise of the Quebec sovereignty movement during the 1970s is also part of this innovative period.^[3]

The government of Quebec was controlled by conservative Maurice Duplessis, leader of the Union Nationale. Electoral fraud and corruption were commonplace in Quebec. Though the Catholic Church was not unanimously supportive of Duplessis, as some Catholic Unions and members of the clergy including Montreal Archbishop Joseph Charbonneau criticized Duplessis, the bulk of the small-town and rural clergy supported the premier, sometimes quoting the Union Nationale slogan Le ciel est bleu, l'enfer est rouge (Heaven is blue, hell is red — referring to the colours of the Union Nationale (blue) and the Liberals (red). Radio Canada, the newspaper Le Devoir and political journal Cité Libre were intellectual forums for critics of the Duplessis government.

Place d'Armes in Montreal, historic heart of French Canada.

Because of the small population of Quebec – and Canada as a whole – capital for investment was regularly in short supply. As such, the province's natural resources were mainly developed by foreign investors. As an example, iron ore was explored for and its mining developed by the U.S.-based Iron Ore Company of Canada. Until the second half of the 20th century, the majority of Francophone Quebec workers lived below the poverty line and did not join the executive ranks of the businesses of their own province. Msgr Felix Leclerc described this phenomenon, writing, "Our people are the waterboys of their own country."

In many ways, Duplessis's death in 1959, very soon followed by the sudden death of his successor Paul Sauvé, served as a trigger for the Quiet Revolution. Within a year of Duplessis's death, the Liberal party was elected with Jean Lesage at its head. The Liberals had campaigned under the slogans Maîtres chez nous (Masters of our own house), a phrase coined by Le Devoir editor Andre Laurendeau and Il faut que ça change (Things have to change).

Secularization

The Commission Parent was established in 1961 to study the education system and to bring forth recommendations, which eventually led to the adoption of several reforms, the most important of which was secularization of the education system. Although schools maintained their Catholic or Protestant character, in practice they became secular institutions. Other reforms included mandatory school attendance until the age of 16 and free instruction until the 11th grade.

Economic reforms

Seeking a mandate for its most daring reform, the nationalisation of the province's electric companies under Hydro-Québec, the Liberal party called for a new election in 1962. The Liberal party was returned to power with an increased majority in the National Assembly of Quebec and within six months, René Lévesque, Minister of Natural Resources, enacted his plans for Hydro-Québec. The Hydro-Quebec project grew to become an important symbol in Quebec. Not only did it demonstrate the strength and initiative of the Quebec government, but it also was a symbol of the ingenuity of Quebecers in their capability to complete such an ambitious project.^[6] The original Hydro-Quebec project ushered in an era of "megaprojects" that would continue until 1984, seeing Quebec's hydroelectric network grow and become a strong pillar of the province.^[7] Today, Hydro-Quebec remains a crucial element to the Quebec economy, with annual revenues of $12.7 billion Canadian dollars, $1.1 billion going directly into the province's coffers.^[8]

More public institutions were created to follow through with the desire to increase the province's economic autonomy. The public companies SIDBEC (iron and steel), SOQUEM (mining), REXFOR (forestry) and SOQUIP (petroleum) were created to exploit the province's abundant natural resources.This was a massive shift away from the Duplessis era. During the former Premier's reign, Quebec's vast natural resources were exploited but very little. Duplessis' policy was to sell off untransformed natural resources at bargain prices in order to create more employment in Quebec's regions. This strategy, however, proved weak as Quebec's natural resources were exploited for little profit.^[9] The shift in mentality of the Quiet Revolution allowed Quebec to gain further financial autonomy by accessing this area of the economy which, as is evidenced by Hydro-Quebec, is extremely profitable.^[8] The Société générale de financement (General financing corporation) was created in 1962 to encourage Quebecers to invest in their economic future and to increase the profitability of small companies. In 1963, in conjunction with the Canada Pension Plan the government of Canada authorized the province to create its own Régie des Rentes du Québec (Quebec Pension Plan); universal contributions came into effect in 1966. The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec was created in 1965 to manage the considerable revenues generated by the RRQ and to provide the capital necessary for various projects in the public and private sectors.

A new labour code (Code du Travail) was adopted in 1964. It made unionising much easier and gave public employees the right to strike. It was during the same year that the Code Civil (Civil Code) was modified to recognize the legal equality of spouses. In case of divorce, the rules for administering the Divorce Act were retained using Quebec's old Community property matrimonial regime until 1980, when new legislation brought an automatic equal division of certain basic family assets between spouses.

Nationalism

The societal and economic innovations of the Quiet Revolution, which empowered Quebecers from all the different levels of society eventually led to what could be considered a logical outcome: the rise of Quebec Nationalism.^[10] While visiting Montreal for Expo 67, General Charles de Gaulle proclaimed Vive le Québec libre! in a speech at Montreal City Hall, which gave the Quebec independence movement further public credibility. In 1968, the sovereignist Parti Québécois was created, with René Lévesque as its leader. A small faction of Marxist separatists began terrorist actions under the name Front de Libération du Québec, the zenith of their activities being the 1970 October Crisis, during which British diplomat James Cross as well as Labour Minister Pierre Laporte were both kidnapped by FLQ cells, with Laporte eventually being murdered.^[10]

However, for the vast majority of Quebec separatists, the Parti Quebecois was (and remains) the party of choice in the quest for sovereignty.^[3] This party has twice led Quebecers through unsuccessful referendums, the first in 1980 on the question of political sovereignty with economic association to Canada,^[4] and the second in 1995 on full sovereignty.^[5]

Furthermore, it was in the Parti Quebecois' first term that they enacted what is surely Quebec's most controversial law, The Charter of the French Language, Bill 101, whose goal is to protect the French language by making it the language of business in Quebec, as well as restricting the use of English on signs. The bill also restricted the eligibility for elementary and high school students to attend school in English, allowing this only for children of parents who had studied in English in Quebec.^[3]

Important figures

• Pierre Bourgault
• Thérèse Casgrain
• Michel Chartrand
• Paul Gérin-Lajoie
• Eric Kierans
• Pierre Laporte
• Jean Lesage
• René Lévesque

See also

• État québécois
• Quebec politics
• Timeline of Quebec history

References

External links

• Bélanger, Claude (1998). "Jean Lesage and the Quiet Revolution (1960–1966)". Readings in Quebec History. Marianopolis College. http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/readings/lesage.htm. 
• Bélanger, Claude (1999). "The Quiet Revolution". Events, Issues and Concepts of Quebec History. Marianopolis College. http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/events/quiet.htm.