The
Quiet Revolution was the 1960s period of intense change in
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, characterized by the rapid and effective
secularizationSecularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
of society, the creation of a
welfare stateA welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
(
État-providence) and a re-alignment of politics into federalist and separatist factions. But also, never the less, by the birth of the
National IdentityNational identity is the person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status....
.
The provincial government took over the fields of health care and education, which had been in the hands of the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. It created ministries of Education and Health, expanded the public service, and made massive investments in the
public educationState schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
system and provincial infrastructure. The government allowed
unionizationA trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
of the
civil serviceThe term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
. It took measures to increase Québécois control over
the province's economyThe economy of Quebec, is diversified and post-industrial with an average potential for growth. Manufacturing and the Service sectors dominate the economy. The economy of Quebec is among the largest in the world ranked the 44th largest just behind Norway. Quebec is also ranked the 21st largest in...
and nationalized electricity production and distribution.
The Quiet Revolution was a period of unbridled economic and social development in Quebec, as in the West in general. It can also be credited for the surge in
Quebec nationalismQuebec nationalism is a nationalist movement in the Canadian province of Quebec .-1534–1774:Canada was first a french colony. Jacques Cartier claimed it for France in 1534, and permanent French settlement began in 1608. It was part of New France, which constituted all French colonies in North America...
, which remains a controversial topic in modern Quebec society.
Origins
The Quiet Revolution began with the enacted
LiberalThe Quebec Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955....
provincial government of
Jean LesageJean Lesage, PC, CC, CD was a lawyer and politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 19th Premier of Quebec from 22 June 1960, to 16 August 1966...
, who was elected in the June
1960 provincial electionThe Quebec general election of 1960 was held on June 22, 1960 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled perhaps only by the 1976 general election...
and marked the end of Premier
Maurice DuplessisMaurice Le Noblet Duplessis served as the 16th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from 1936 to 1939 and 1944 to 1959. A founder and leader of the highly conservative Union Nationale party, he rose to power after exposing the misconduct and patronage of Liberal Premier Louis-Alexandre...
' reign, known by some as the
Grande NoirceurThe Grande Noirceur is the name that critics of Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis's regime have given to the conservative policies undertaken by the provincial government in the 1936-1939 and 1944-1959 period of Quebec history.-Rural areas:...
(Great Darkness) but by others as the last champion of a holy and wholesome Quebec. Paul Sauvé later took over the role of Premier in July It is generally accepted that the revolution ended before the
October CrisisThe October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area.The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use...
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 QuébécoisThe Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
(first in 1976), the formation of a separatist political party representing Quebec on the federal level, the
Bloc QuébécoisThe Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
(formed in 1991), as well as the 1980 and 1995 Sovereignty Referendums. Some scholars argue that the rise of the Quebec sovereignty movement during the 1970s is also part of this period.
Prior to the 1960s, the government of Quebec was controlled by conservative Maurice Duplessis, leader of the Union Nationale party. 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 CharbonneauJoseph Charbonneau, was a Canadian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Montreal from 1940 to 1950....
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 (The sky (Heaven) is blue, Hell is red) — referring to the colours of the Union Nationale (blue) and the Liberals (red), the latter accused often of being pro-communist. Radio Canada, the newspaper
Le DevoirLe Devoir is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and the rest of Canada. It was founded by journalist, politician, and nationalist Henri Bourassa in 1910....
and political journal
Cité LibreCité Libre was an influential political journal published in Quebec, Canada, through the 1950s and 1960s. Co-founded in 1950 by editor and future Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau, the publication served as an organ of opposition to the conservative and authoritarian government of Maurice...
were intellectual forums for critics of the Duplessis government.
Prior to the Quiet Revolution, the province's natural resources were mainly developed by foreign investors. As an example, the process of mining iron ore was developed by the
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based
Iron Ore Company of CanadaIron Ore Company of Canada is a Canadian-based producer of iron ore. The company was founded in 1949 from a partnership of Canadian and American M.A. Hanna Company...
. In the Spring of 1949 a group of 5,000 asbestos miners went on strike for three months.
The Asbestos Strike of 1949The Asbestos Strike of 1949, based in and around Asbestos, Quebec, Canada, was a four-month labour dispute by the asbestos miners. It has traditionally been portrayed as a turning point in Quebec history that helped lead to the Quiet Revolution...
found Quebecer miners united against a nationalist foreign corporation, and the Catholic Church, who backed the American company. Those who supported the miners included Monsignor Charbonneau, Bishop of Montreal, the Quebecois nationalist newspaper,
Le Devoir, and a small group of intellectual individuals. 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. Singer and political activist
Felix LeclercFélix Leclerc, was a French-Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, writer, actor and Québécois political activist. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 20, 1968...
described this phenomenon, writing, "Our people are the waterboys of their own country."
In many ways, Duplessis's death in 1959, quickly followed by the sudden death of his successor
Paul SauvéJoseph-Mignault-Paul Sauvé was a Quebec lawyer, World War II veteran and politician. He was the first Quebec Premier to be born in the 20th century.-Life:...
, served as a trigger for the Quiet Revolution. Campaigning under the slogans
Il faut que ça change (Things have to change) and
Maîtres chez nous (Masters of our own house), a phrase coined by
Le DevoirLe Devoir is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and the rest of Canada. It was founded by journalist, politician, and nationalist Henri Bourassa in 1910....
editor
Andre LaurendeauJoseph-Edmond-André Laurendeau was a journalist, politician, co-chair of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, and playwright in Quebec, Canada. He is usually referred to as André Laurendeau. He was active in Québécois life, in various spheres and capacities, for three decades...
, the
Liberal PartyThe Quebec Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955....
, with
Jean LesageJean Lesage, PC, CC, CD was a lawyer and politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 19th Premier of Quebec from 22 June 1960, to 16 August 1966...
at its head, was elected within a year of Duplessis's death.
Secularization
The Canadian Constitution of 1867 made education an area of provincial responsibility. Quebec set up a Ministry of Public Instruction in 1868, but abolished it in 1875 under pressure from the Catholic Church. The clergy believed it would be able to provide appropriate teaching to young people and that the province should not interfere. By the early 1960s, there were more than 1,500 school boards, each responsible for its own programs, textbooks and the recognition of diplomas according to its own criteria. In addition until the Quiet Revolution, higher education was accessible to only a minority of French Canadians because of the generally low level of formal education and expense involved.
Following World War II, while most of the United States and Canada was enjoying a long period of prosperity and modernization, in Quebec, efforts at modernization were held back by the conservative views of politicians and the Catholic Church's position on education. The level of formal schooling among French Canadians was quite low: 63% of French-speaking students completed Grade 7 and only 13% finished Grade 11, as opposed to 36% of English-speaking students. One of the most scathing attacks was levelled by Brother
Jean-Paul DesbiensJean-Paul Desbiens, Frère Pierre-Jérôme, OC was a Quebec writer, journalist, teacher and member of the Catholic order of Marist Brothers.He was born at Métabetchouan in the Lac Saint-Jean region of Quebec in 1927...
, writing under the pseudonym of Frère Untel. The publication of his book
Les insolences du Frère UntelLes insolences du Frère Untel is a book first published in Montreal by Les Editions de l'homme in 1960. In a very short time it sold more than 100,000 copies, in a society where a book with a 10,000 copy print run was considered a best seller...
(1960) quickly sold over 100,000 copies and has come to be recognized as having important impact on the beginning of the Quiet Revolution.
The
ParentAlphonse-Marie Parent, CC was a Canadian priest, educator and academic administrator. He is best known for having given his name to the Parent Report on the reform of Quebec's education system....
Commission 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. In 1964 a
Ministry of EducationThe Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports is the individual who has the political responsibility for the regulation and oversight of educational services offered in the province of Quebec as well as for the Ministry of Education.The Quebec government abolished the Ministry of Public...
was established with
Paul Gérin-LajoiePaul Gérin-Lajoie, is a Canadian lawyer, philanthropist, and a former member of the National Assembly of Quebec and Cabinet Minister....
appointed the first Minister of Education since 1875. Although schools maintained their Catholic or Protestant character, in practice they became secular institutions. Reforms included: the age for compulsory schooling was raised from 14 to 16, free schooling until the 11th grade, school boards were reorganized, school curricula were standardized, and classical colleges were replaced with
cégepCEGEP is an acronym for , which is literally translated as "College of General and Vocational Education" but commonly called "General and Vocational College" in circles not influenced by Quebec English. It refers to the public post-secondary education collegiate institutions exclusive to the...
s.
Also during this period the Ministry of Social Affairs was created, which in June 1985 became the
Ministry of Health and Social ServicesThe Minister of Health and Social Services is responsible for the administration of health and social services in the province of Quebec since June 1985. It was previously the responsibility of the Minister of Social Affairs.The following people have served as Quebec's Minister of Health and...
, and is responsible for the administration of health and social services in the province.
Economic reforms
Seeking a mandate for its most daring reform, the nationalization of the province's electric companies under
Hydro-QuébecHydro-Québec is a government-owned public utility established in 1944 by the Government of Quebec. Based in Montreal, the company is in charge of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Quebec....
, the Liberal Party called for a new
election in 1962The Quebec general election of 1962 was held on November 14, 1962, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Jean Lesage, won re-election, defeating the Union Nationale led by Daniel Johnson, Sr..In an unusual move,...
. The Liberal party was returned to power with an increased majority in the
Legislative Assembly of QuebecThe Legislative Assembly of Quebec was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature until 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, the upper house of the legislature, the Legislative Council, was abolished...
and within six months,
René LévesqueRené Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
, Minister of Natural Resources, enacted his plans for Hydro-Québec. The Hydro-Québec 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 Québécois in their capability to complete such an ambitious project. The original Hydro-Québec 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. Today, Hydro-Québec 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.
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 natural resources. This was a massive shift away from the Duplessis era in which Quebec's abundant natural resources were minimally exploited. 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. 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-Québec, is extremely profitable. The
Société générale de financementThe Société générale de financement is a holding company owned by the Government of Quebec. Its mission is to attract investment to Quebec by investing in other companies....
(General financing corporation) was created in 1962 to encourage Québécois to invest in their economic future and to increase the profitability of small companies. In 1963, in conjunction with the
Canada Pension PlanThe Canada Pension Plan is a contributory, earnings-related social insurance program. It forms one of the two major components of Canada's public retirement income system, the other component being Old Age Security...
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 QuébecThe Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec manages public pension plans in the Canadian province of Quebec. It was founded in 1965 by an act of the National Assembly...
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 unionizing much easier and gave public employees the right to strike. It was during the same year that the
Code CivilThe Civil Code of Quebec is the civil code in force in the province of Quebec, Canada. The Civil Code of Quebec came into effect on January 1, 1994, except for certain parts of the book on Family Law which were adopted by the National Assembly in the 1980s...
(Civil Code) was modified to recognize the legal equality of spouses. In case of divorce, the rules for administering the
Divorce ActCanada's Divorce Act is the federal Act that governs divorce in that country. The Constitution of Canada has explicitly made marriage and divorce the realm of the federal government rather than of the provinces....
were retained using Quebec's old
community propertyCommunity property is a marital property regime that originated in civil law jurisdictions and is now also found in some common law jurisdictions...
matrimonial regimeMatrimonial regimes, or marital property systems, are systems of property ownership between spouses providing for the creation or absence of a marital estate, and if created, what properties are included in that estate, how and by whom it is managed, and how it will be divided and inherited at the...
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 Quebec society, emboldened certain nationalists to push for political independence.
While visiting Montreal for
Expo 67The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
, General
Charles de GaulleCharles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
proclaimed
Vive le Québec libre! in
a speech"Vive le Québec libre !" was a controversial phrase in a speech delivered by French president Charles de Gaulle in Montreal on July 24, 1967.De Gaulle was in Canada on an official visit under the pretext of attending Expo 67...
at Montreal City Hall, which gave the Quebec independence movement further public credibility. In 1968, the sovereignist
Parti QuébécoisThe Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
was created, with
René LévesqueRené Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
as its leader. A small faction of Marxist separatists began terrorist actions as the
Front de libération du QuébecThe Front de libération du Québec was a left-wing Quebecois nationalist and Marxist-Leninist paramilitary group in Quebec, Canada. It was active between 1963 and 1970, and was regarded as a terrorist organization for its violent methods of action...
, the zenith of their activities being the 1970
October CrisisThe October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area.The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use...
, during which British diplomat
James CrossJames Richard Cross, CMG was a British diplomat in Canada who was kidnapped by the Front de libération du Québec terrorist group during the October Crisis of October 1970....
as well as Labour Minister
Pierre LaportePierre Laporte was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician who was the Deputy Premier and Minister of Labour of the province of Quebec before being kidnapped and killed by members of the group Front de libération du Québec during the October Crisis. Mr...
were both kidnapped by FLQ cells, with Laporte eventually being killed.
The Parti Québécois has twice led Quebecers through unsuccessful referendums, the first in 1980 on the question of political sovereignty with economic association to Canada, and the second in 1995 on full sovereignty.
During their first term in office, the Parti Québécois enacted 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.
A revolution or a natural course of action?
Modern Quebec historians have brought some nuance to the importance of the Quiet Revolution. Though the improvements made to Quebec society during this era make it seem like an extremely innovative period, it has been posited that these changes follow a logical revolutionary movement occurring throughout North America in the 1960s. Noted Quebec historian Jacques Rouillard took this
revisionistIn historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of orthodox views on evidence, motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical event...
stance in arguing that the Quiet Revolution may have accelerated the natural evolution of Quebec’s francophone society rather than having turned it on its head.
Several arguments support this view. From an economic perspective, Quebec’s manufacturing sector had seen important growth since the
Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. Buoyed by significant manufacturing demand during
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Quebec economy was already expanding before the events of the Quiet Revolution.
Rouillard also argues that traditional portrayals of the Quiet Revolution falsely depict it as the rise of
Liberalism in QuebecLiberalism has been a strong force in Canadian politics since the late 18th Century. While Canada has the same features of other liberal democracies in the Western democratic political tradition, it is, in some respects, an exemplar of liberalism. This article gives an overview of liberalism in...
. He notes the popularity enjoyed by federal Liberal Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier as well as the Premiership of
Adélard GodboutJoseph-Adélard Godbout was an agronomist and politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 15th Premier of Quebec briefly in 1936, and again from 1939 to 1944. He was also leader of the Parti Libéral du Québec .-Youth and early career:Adélard Godbout was born in Saint-Éloi...
as examples of Québec Liberalism prior to the events of the Quiet Revolution. It must be noted that the Godbout administration was extremely innovative. Its notable achievements include nationalizing the electricity distribution network of the city of Montreal, granting universal suffrage, instituting mandatory schooling until the age of 14 and establishing various social programs in Quebec.
Though the perception of the Quiet Revolution as a great upheaval in Quebec society persists (with significant merit), the revisionist argument that describes this period as a natural continuation of innovations already occurring in Québec cannot be omitted from any discussion on the merits of the Quiet Revolution.
“Made in Quebec” movement or part of a wider transition?
Questions can be raised as to whether the Quiet Revolution was a movement exclusive to Quebec politics or whether the federal and municipal levels of government were also involved.
Federal politics
Politics at the federal level were also in flux. In 1957, the federal government passed the Hospital Insurance and Diagnostic Services Act. This was, effectively, the beginning of a pan-Canadian system of public health insurance. In 1961, Prime Minister Diefenbaker instituted the National Hospital Insurance Plan, the first public health insurance plan adhered to by all the provinces. In 1966, the National Medicare program was created.
Federal politics were further influenced by the election of Pierre Elliot Trudeau in 1968. The rise to power of arguably Canada's most influential Prime Minister was unique in Canadian politics. The charisma and charm he displayed throughout his whirlwind campaign swept up much of the country in what would be referred to as
TrudeaumaniaTrudeaumania was the nickname given in early 1968 to the excitement generated by Pierre Trudeau's entry into the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada...
. Before the end of the 1960s, Trudeau would pass the
Official Languages ActThe Official Languages Act is a Canadian law that came into force on September 9, 1969, which gives English and French equal status in the government of Canada. This makes them "official" languages, having preferred status in law over all other languages...
(1969), which aimed to ensure that all federal government services were available in both of Canada's official languages. By the end of the 1960s, Trudeau had also passed legislation decriminalizing homosexuality and certain types of abortion.
Municipal politics
Montreal municipal politics were also going through an important upheaval.
Jean DrapeauJean Drapeau, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986...
became Montreal mayor on October 24, 1960. Within the first few years of his tenure, Drapeau oversaw a series of infrastructure projects, including the expansion of Dorval airport (now
Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International AirportMontréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport or Montréal-Trudeau, formerly known as Montréal-Dorval International Airport, is located on the Island of Montreal, from Montreal's downtown core. The airport terminals are located entirely in Dorval, while the Air Canada headquarters complex...
), the opening of the Champlain bridge and the renaissance of
Old MontrealOld Montreal is the oldest area in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, dating back to New France. Located in the borough of Ville-Marie, the area is bordered on the west by McGill St., on the north by Ruelle des Fortifications, on the east by Berri St. and on the south by the Saint Lawrence River...
. He also oversaw the construction and inauguration of
Place des Artsright|frame|View of the Place des Arts esplanade. The Musée d'art contemporain is on the left; behind it is the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, with the Théâtre Maisonneuve on the rightPlace des Arts is a major performing arts centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
. Drapeau was also instrumental in the construction of the
Montreal metroThe Montreal Metro is a rubber-tired metro system, and the main form of public transportation underground in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
system, which was inaugurated on October 14, 1966. Under Drapeau, Montreal was awarded the 1967 International and Universal Exposition (
Expo 67The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
), whose construction he oversaw. He was also one of the key politicians responsible for
National LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
of baseball granting Montreal a franchise, the now-defunct
Montreal ExposThe Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
. Another of Drapeau's major projects was obtaining and holding the
1976 Summer OlympicsThe 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
.
Important figures
- Pierre Bourgault
Pierre Bourgault was a French Canadian politician and essayist of Breton origin, as well as an actor and journalist from Quebec, Canada. He is most famous as a public speaker who advocated sovereignty for Quebec from Canada.- Profile :Bourgault was born in East Angus in the Estrie region of Quebec...
- Thérèse Casgrain
Marie Thérèse Forget Casgrain, was a feminist, reformer, politician and senator in Quebec, Canada.Thérèse Casgrain was raised in a wealthy family, the daughter of Lady Blanche MacDonald and Sir Rodolphe Forget...
- Michel Chartrand
Michel Chartrand was an union activist and leader from Quebec.Born in Outremont and trained as a typography and print worker, Chartrand become involved in union activism in the 1940s...
- Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986...
- Paul Gérin-Lajoie
Paul Gérin-Lajoie, is a Canadian lawyer, philanthropist, and a former member of the National Assembly of Quebec and Cabinet Minister....
- Eric Kierans
Eric William Kierans, PC, OC was a Canadian economist and politician.-Life and career:Born in Montreal on Feb. 2, 1914, Kierans grew up in the working-class Saint-Henri neighbourhood; his father worked at Canadian Car and Foundry and his mother came to Canada as a domestic...
- Liam Hawthorne
- Pierre Laporte
Pierre Laporte was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician who was the Deputy Premier and Minister of Labour of the province of Quebec before being kidnapped and killed by members of the group Front de libération du Québec during the October Crisis. Mr...
- Jean Lesage
Jean Lesage, PC, CC, CD was a lawyer and politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 19th Premier of Quebec from 22 June 1960, to 16 August 1966...
- René Lévesque
René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
- Pierre Elliott Trudeau