The modernization of Quebec Society. The Great Depression A period of economic hardship in North America from 1929 to 1939 Many people were left unemployed.

The modernization of Quebec Society

The Great Depression

A period of economic hardship in North America from 1929 to 1939

Many people were left unemployed and homeless and overwhelmed charity and religious groups

At first slow to react, the government had to respond by creating public work programs like building bridges and roadways to try and employ those people without jobs.

The government also offered “direct relief”, which was providing money to families to buy basic needs

Meurling Refuge - 1933

Wellington Tunnel

Reactions to the Great Depression

The working people of Quebec and Canada and suffered greatly during the Depression and lost confidence in the traditional Conservative and Liberal political parties because of their inaction.

Many people wanted the government to take a greater a role in protecting the people (state interventionism).

People turned away from capitalist parties and started to support socialist parties.

In Quebec, people turned to French nationalist parties like the Union Nationale (led by Maurice Duplessis) that promoted traditional French Catholic values and an agricultural way of life.

Maurice Duplessis

Duplessis’ Politics – “Grande Noirceur”

Duplessis’ main concern was protecting the traditional French Canadian identity. Everything else was not important.

He funded modernization of Quebec’s farms and built new roads to access agricultural areas better.

He left all social programs (education, health care, etc.) in the hands of the Catholic Church.

He left developing the economy up to private businesses and let businesses buy up natural resources for next to nothing.

Duplessis also hated unions and would hire “strike breakers” (thugs) to beat union members on strike.

Duplessis Orphans

Many children during the Depression were orphaned because their parents were not married, had died or abandoned them to look for work.

Children in Quebec orphanages (run by the Church) were declared mentally insane and moved to insane asylums. Asylums received funding from the federal government and not the Quebec government. Children underwent shock treatment, lobotomies, physical and sexual abuse.

Survivors successfully sued the government and the Church in the 1990’s.

Quebec and WWII

Canada’s participation in WWII gave a boost to the economy. Parliament passed the War Measures Act which gave the government the power to control the production of factories for the war effort. It employed many men and women in Quebec.

WWII also brought back conscription and created tensions between French and English Canadians. Most French Canadians voted against conscription in the referendum.

During WWII many women worked in the war factories giving them greater financial independence. Women gained the right to vote in Quebec in 1940 also.

Quebec society between 1960 and 1980

The Quiet Revolution and the modernization of the province (1960-1970)

The Liberal party in 1960-66, under the leadership of Jean Lesage, started to change the province in many ways that made it very different from the Quebec that Duplessis wanted.

The Quebec government nationalized hydroelectricity (Hydro Quebec), created numerous Crown corporations, and made education more accessible.

Under Lesage, the government is much more involved in the economy (interventionist) than Duplessis.

Jean Lesage

Hydro Quebec

The Quiet Revolution

The Quiet Revolution is the name given to the great change in the society of Quebec during the 1960’s. Some of those changes were: Less importance for the Catholic Church, social

services are taken over by the government (Secularization)

- There were more civil servants (people working for the government) who were all a part of unions

-Greater rights for women. Feminists demanded that women be paid equal to men.

Quiet Revolution

There was also an affirmation of Quebec nationalism. The newly created Parti Quebecois believed that Quebec should “maitres chez nous” (“masters in our own house”). The PQ promoted the French language and Quebec culture.

Presentations

Do a 1-2 minute presentation on one of the following questions:

What were the consequences of the Great Depression for Quebec and Canada?

What were the consequences of WWII in Quebec?Explain why the Duplessis era government has been

called the “Great Darkness”.Explain how Quebec became more modern in the

1960’s during the Quiet Revolution.Explain the events of the October Crisis and how it

affected the relations between the people of Quebec and the federal government.

What you need to include in your presentation

Specific details: people’s names, places, dates, names of important laws

Give your audience the who, what, when, where, why and how of your topic.

Make sure you answer the question directly. Don’t wander off topic.

Make sure you know what you are talking about it. Do not read off your cue cards, actually know what you want to say before you go up there.

Monday

Toni, lillya, Kelly, Ross, Eunji, Hanad, Roshan, Tabatha, Tim

Kasey, David, Anthony, Effie, Tyrone, Damien,