Duplessis and his Union Nationale
Party controlled Quebec from 1936 to 1959.
During this era, Quebec was:
 Traditional
 Religious
 Economically controlled by English-Canadians

The Roman Catholic Church had a lot of power and it acted as the protector of French Canadian culture.
 It encouraged people to reject materialism .
 It praised traditions such as farming, faith, and family .
 It controlled schools where French Canadian children were given only a basic education .
 It controlled hospitals .

How important would education be to him?

Duplessis allowed English Canadians and Americans to take over most of Quebec’s economy:
Duplessis encouraged foreign investment as a way of creating jobs in Quebec.
He offered businesses from Ontario and the USA
 Cheap labour (unions were discouraged)
 Low taxes
In return, he expected that these businesses would reward him by giving “ kickbacks ” or gifts to his Union
Nationale Party.

Results:
People in Quebec became increasingly unhappy with the Duplessis government.
After he died in 1960, the Liberals took over the government of Quebec, under the leadership of Jean Lesage .
The Liberals announced that it was “ time for a change ”.

Jean Lesage had one main goal:
To modernize Quebec
His efforts to change Quebec became known as
The Quiet Revolution.

• The government took control over education , medical care , and social services away from the Catholic Church.
• The government decided to make the Quebecois
“ Masters in their Own House ” by taking over
( nationalizing ) important businesses that had been owned by English Canadians.
• The most significant example of this, was the creation of
Hydro Quebec after the take over of several private hydropower companies.

• Quebec became more modern .
• French Canadians became more educated .
• French Canadians now had control over their own economy.
• Quebecers were now more confident in their ability to take care of themselves.
• The French in Quebec now began to focus their anger on the injustices they believed they were suffering at the hands of the English Canadians.

• During the 1960s , French Canadians began to notice that they were being treated unfairly:
• Our capital city, Ottawa , was English speaking .
• Politicians from Quebec were almost never appointed to the cabinet .
• English Canadians had English schools in Quebec , but
French Canadians did no t have French schools outside of Quebec .
• English was the language of business, even in
Montreal!

• For many, the only solution was a Quebec that was separate from Canada
• Two organizations were formed with the hope of achieving
Quebec independence:
• FLQ : Formed by young radicals. They used methods such as fire bombings , kidnappings and murder to achieve their aims!
• Parti Quebecois : A provincial political party formed by
Rene Levesque . Its goal was to become the government of Quebec and to hold a referendum in which people would be given a choice:
• Stay with Canada or become independent!

• Lester Pearson took two steps to try and stop to separatist movement:
• His government created the new Canadian flag , so that
Quebecers wouldn’t complain that our symbols were too British.
• He put together the Bi and Bi Commission , whose purpose was to find a way to make Canada a bilingual and bicultural country.

• When Trudeau came to power in 1968, the Bi and Bi
Commission was ready with its proposals, and he acted on them:
• Official Languages Act : This law made French and
English equal in every province across C anada!
• Canada was now a bilingual country from coast to coast!
• Both languages were treated the same way in every province!

• People in Quebec still preferred their provincial flag to the maple leaf flag.
• English Canadians were angered by the new flag.
• Canadians outside of Quebec felt that French was being forced on them to satisfy Quebec.
• French Canadians in Quebec were angered by the Official
Languages Act because ...
• They believed that French should have special status in
Quebec (it should not be equal but more important than English).

• All the anger and tension eventually resulted in the
October Crisis of 1970:
• Members of the FLQ kidnapped a British diplomat named James Cross .
• In exchange for his release, they demanded the release of FLQ members being held in prison.
• The Trudeau government refused to do this.
• What do you think the FLQ did next?

• Five days later, the FLQ kidnapped a second person:
Quebec Cabinet Minister, Pierre Laporte .
• Alarmed at the situation, Pierre Trudeau passed the War
Measures Act :
• Civil rights were suspended.
• Membership in the FLQ became a crime.
• People were searched and arrested without being charged with a crime.
• The army was sent into Montreal and Ottawa to protect politicians and public buildings.

• Many people were worried about the future of Canada.
• When asked how far he was willing to go to defeat the
FLQ, Pierre Trudeau responded, “ Just watch me .”
• One day later, the body of Pierre Laporte was found in the trunk of a car !
• This horrified Canadians and increased support for
Trudeau.
• Two months later, the house where James Cross was being held was surrounded by police. The kidnappers released him in return for safe passage to Cuba .

• After the release of James Cross, the crisis ended.
• The FLQ died as an organization, because its actions were not accepted by the vast majority of Quebec separatists.
• After 1970, all efforts to bring independence to Quebec have been peaceful and democratic.