June 22, 1960: Quebec's Quiet Revolution Begins

Jean Lesage

June 22, 1960: The Liberal Party wins the Provincial election in Quebec, gaining a net 31 seats in the National Assembly, and taking control of Canada's most French Province for the 1st time in 16 years. It ends Le Grande Noirceur: The Great Darkness; and begins what becomes known as La Révolution Tranquille: The Quiet Revolution.

For much of Quebec's history, there were 2 dominant forces: The Roman Catholic Church and the English-speaking banks of Montreal. They were opposed to each other, but neither ever seemed to emerge as more powerful, with the result that the people were the losers.

Lionel Groulx, a priest and historian, thought the best way for the people of Quebec to triumph over the bankers was "the revenge of the cradles": Simply have so many babies that Francophones would overwhelm Anglophones, and, once they were of voting age, vote into office a government that would force the bankers to do their bidding, or get out. Groulx was a doctrinaire, pre-Vatican II Catholic, authoritarian and very anti-Semitic, and by 1960, 7 years before his death, already seen by many as a crank.

In 1936, Maurice Duplessis led his party, the Union Nationale, to victory in the Provincial election, making him the Province's Premier, the equivalent to the Governor of an American State -- but, given the proportional size of the Provinces, he had more power than most American Governors.

He lost in 1939, but won again in 1944, and kept winning. Aside from being a lifelong bachelor and a womanizer, he was Groulx's kind of man, becoming a virtual dictator. He ran the Province like an American big-city Mayor, to the point where his nickname was "Le Chef" (the Boss): Taking care of only those constituencies that had supported him. But it was a very conservative government, and being anti-Communist meant that he could count on American support.

In the French-language Montreal newspaper Le Devoir (The Duty), André Laurendeau wrote an editorial, The Theory of the Negro King. It posited that foreign capital allowed Duplessis to stay in power so that he could officially allow outsiders to ruthlessly exploit Quebec. In this theory, the role of Duplessis was along the lines of the "Negro Kings," the local chieftains in Africa -- as well as the princes, sultans and maharajahs of Asia -- whom the British allowed some control over their area, but who had to recognize the supremacy of their overlords. Quebec Liberals called the Duplessis era Le Grande Noirceur: The Great Darkness.

Duplessis died on September 7, 1959. This elevated Paul Sauvé to the Premiership 3 days later, and he saw the need to modernize a government that had long been one of the most conservative provincial governments in Canada. He initiated a "hundred days of change" that began to transform Quebec society, but he died on January 2, 1960, the 114th day of his administration, leaving Antonio Barrette in charge. An election had to be held, and on June 22, the Liberals won, making their Leader, Jean Lesage, the new Premier.

A primary change was an effort by the provincial government to assume greater control over health care and education, both of which had previously been under the purview of the Church. To achieve this, the government established ministries of Health and Education, expanded the public service, made substantial investments in the public education system, and permitted the unionization of the civil service.

Additionally, measures were taken to enhance Quebecois control over the Provincial economy, including the nationalization of electricity production and distribution, the creation of the Canada/Québec Pension Plan, and the establishment of Hydro-Québec in an effort to nationalize Quebec's electric utilities.

Furthermore, during this period, French Canadians in Quebec adopted the term "Québecois" -- feminine form, "Québecoise" -- to distinguish themselves from both the rest of Canada and France, solidifying their identity as a reformed Province.

The Quiet Revolution ushered in a period of significant economic and social development not only in Quebec but also in French Canada and Canada as a whole. This transformation coincided with similar developments occurring in the Western world in general. Notably, it brought about noticeable changes to the physical landscape and social structures of Montreal, Quebec's principal city.

The impact of the Quiet Revolution extended beyond Quebec's borders, influencing contemporary Canadian politics. Concurrent with the rise of Québec nationalism at the time, French Canadians made substantial strides in shaping the structure and direction of the federal government and national policies.

The Liberals won the 1962 election, but lost in 1966. Notably, Daniel Johnson Sr., now Leader of the Union Nationale, did not try to reverse the gains of the Quiet Revolution. He didn't have much time to do so as Premier, dying in 1968, and the Liberals won the 1970 election. When the Parti Québecois won in 1976, new Premier René Lévesque saw the Quiet Revolution as part of his bid for Quebec nationalism, and indeed his drive for independence, which ultimately failed.

Lesage died in 1980. In 1994, Quebec City named its International Airport for him. That year, Daniel Johnson Jr., son of Daniel Sr., also briefly served as Premier, as Leader of the provincial Liberal Party. His brother, Pierre-Marc Johnson, was yet another briefly-serving Premier, in 1985, leading the PQ. So, 3 members of the Johnson family, 3 different parties, serving as Premier for a combined 1,161 days.

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June 22, 1960 was a Wednesday. Actress Tracy Pollan, better known as the wife of actor Michael J. Fox, was born. So was environmental activist Erin Brockovich, whose portrayal in the movie of the same name by Julia Roberts won Roberts her only Oscar.

And these baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-3 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. The ballpark was renamed Tiger Stadium the next year. Kent Hadley, filling in at 1st base for Moose Skowron, hit 2 home runs. Roger Maris also hit a home run, while Mickey Mantle went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Art Ditmar was the winning pitcher. For the Tigers, Rocky Colavito and Al Kaline homered.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Ernie Banks went 0-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Bob Friend allowed 8 hits, but kept the shutout. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Stan Musial did not play for the Cardinals.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Senators, 1-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Ted Bowsfield pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-3.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Hank Aaron went 1-for-3 with a walk. Willie Mays went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-1 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Ted Williams, in his final season, went 0-for-4.

* And the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers were rained out at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 14. The Reds won the opener, 2-0. Cal McLish allowed 9 hits, but kept the shutout. Duke Snider went 1-for-4, but did not play in the nightcap. The Dodgers won that game, 9-5. Over the 2 games, Frank Robinson went 4-for-7 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs.