chapter 3 1945-1980: the modernization of quebec & the

Chapter 3 1945-1980: The Modernization of Quebec &

the Quiet Revolution Section 1: Quebec Society under the Duplessis Government (1945-1960)

Part 1

Pages that correspond to this presentation

Quebec Society under the Duplessis Government:

Pages 206-223

What is chapter 3 all about?... A quick summary

• After WW2 until 1980 the world goes through many social, technological, political and economic changes

• Quebec is no different • After WW2 Duplessis government/Union

Nationale is in charge of Quebec from 1945-1960 • Traditional values/ideas remained:

– Church involvement in society – Opposition to unions – Economic liberalism – A focus on agriculture

What is chapter 3 all about?... A quick summary

• Despite Duplessis and the Union Nationale being in power Quebec society is moving away from some of the traditional values/ideas it was used to

• There are a few factors that contribute to this: – After WW2 Quebec and Canada is prosperous

consumer society again – Baby Boom Canadian population increases due to

natural growth – Influence of American culture in Quebec – Arrival of waves of different groups of immigrants – Union movements demanding better conditions for

workers

After WW2 what was the world like?

• After WW2 start of the Cold War between the two world ‘superpower’ countries USA vs. The Soviet Union (USSR)

• Europe was essentially cut in half Eastern Block countries were absorbed by the Soviet Union

• By 1949 Western European democratic countries joined with the United States to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

• By 1955 The USSR asked all of its satellite communist allies to sign a treaty of its own to counter the formation of NATO Warsaw Pact

• Western democracies VS. Eastern communists

http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/formation-of-nato-and-warsaw-pact

Canada’s Economy does well Natural Resources

• After WW2 Europe was in shambles • Many cities and infrastructure in Europe needed to

be rebuilt • Both Canada and the United States saw this

rebuilding process as an opportunity to strengthen their economies

• How did Canada benefit? • Major increase in investment by American

companies wanted Canadian resources • Canada had many natural resources needed to:

– Rebuild Europe – Help equip the American military in the face of the

Cold War


Rotterdam, the Netherlands in the 1947: Debris from the destroyed buildings cleared

Source: Dutch News. <http://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2015/05/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-end-of-world-war-ii-in-the-netherlands/>


Stuttgart, West Germany in 1947 & 1955 The USA proposed a plan to help war torn European companies rebuild “The Marshall Plan” Quebec supplied many natural resources to American companies to help with this rebuild

Source: Washington State University.<https://history.libraries.wsu.edu/fall2015/2015/08/30/the-united-states-interaction-in-wwii/>

The Federal Government Intervenes in the Economy

• After WW2 the Canadian government thought it would be a good idea to intervene in Canada’s economy

• Create laws to help Canada avoid economic disasters like the Great Depression of the 1930s

• Maybe letting capitalism fully control the economy wasn’t such a good idea…

• Canada wanted to better control the ‘ups & downs’ that may occur within the economy


• Some things Canada did to help control the economy:

– When the economy was growing and doing well The federal government spent less money because it did not need to the economy was doing well

– The Bank of Canada increased interest rates when the economy was doing well this lowered the demand for credit which kept inflation low

– INFLATION = a period when the prices of goods increases


• Some things Canada did to help control the economy:

–When the economy took a downturn the government spent more to help businesses and stimulate the economy

– The Bank of Canada lowered interest rates increase in credit people used credit to buy goods or to invest in businesses


• Some things Canada did to help control the economy: – Attempted to gather more money from taxes to

help ALL Canadians

– Equalization payments between Canadian provinces (more on this on next slide)

– Programs that gave money to Canadian universities (help keep cost for university low)

– Programs to help Candian hospitals across the country hospital insurance a step towards the Medicare system we have now


• A focus on equalization payments in Canada:

– The Canadian/federal government collects taxes from all the provinces

– Part of these taxes are set aside for equalization payment to provinces

– The federal government looks at all the provinces and how their economies perform

– If the economy of a certain province is struggling – this province will receive a equalization payment from the federal government

– Provinces that get money are called “have not provinces” / provinces that do not get money are called “have provinces”


• A focus on equalization payments in Canada:

– Quebec has been a “have not province” for a long time…

– In 2017-2018 Quebec will receive between $11-$12 BILLION just for equalization payments

– The total equalization payments for all of the Canadian provinces will be $18.3 BILLION

– If we include other transfers Quebec will get $23.7 BILLION

– Things such as revenue from provincial taxes, revenue from natural resources, consumption taxes, etc.


Source: Government of Canada-Department of Finance.<https://www.fin.gc.ca/fedprov/mtp-eng.asp>

Duplessis & the Union Nationale Government from 1944-1960: Economic autonomy

• Duplessis and the Union Nationale government were all about protecting Quebec’s French character and making sure Quebec remained as autonomous within Canada as possible

• Quebec is still a part of Canada but makes ‘its own rules’ less intervention by Canadian government in provincial jurisdictions

• This attitude saw Quebec reject many programs offered by the federal/Candian government to provide funds to Quebec

• Why?...

Duplessis & the Union Nationale Government from 1944-1960: Economic Autonomy

• Duplessis thought that if Quebec accepted funds form the federal government it would mean Quebec would have to give in and let the federal government intervene in provincial jurisdictions

• Duplessis denied funds from the federal government for Quebec universities

• Duplessis wanted to collect more provincial taxes which forced the federal government to lower federal taxes in Quebec

Maurice Duplessis during the 1952 Quebec provincial campaign

Source: Wikipedia.<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Duplessis#/media/File:Maurice_Duplessis.jpg>

Duplessis & the Union Nationale Government from 1944-1960: Economic Policies in Quebec

• The Union Nationale government focused on 3 things during its 16 year term:

– Foreign investment in Quebec (mainly from USA) which lead to…

– The continuation of natural resources being exploited in Quebec (iron ore, gold, copper, etc.) which made the government money to spend on…

– The modernization of agriculture in Quebec make sure all major farming regions in Quebec have access to electricity


• Foreign investment in Quebec (mainly from USA) • The Union Nationale government believed in

ECONOMIC LIBRALISM let the economy take care of itself with the government applying rules/interventions

• This idea attracted many American companies helping rebuild Europe OR helping equip the American military (mentioned earlier)

• The USA needed raw materials and Duplessis wanted Quebec to benefit from it

• Duplessis and the Union Nationale government kept business taxes low and somewhat allowed workers to be exploited by big business


• The exploitation of natural resources • American companies needed natural resources such

as iron-ore • This lead to the development of 2 regions in Quebec:

Cote- Nord & Nouveau Québec regions • American companies focus their efforts to exploit

natural resources from these regions • As a result towns linked to the mining operations

started to pop-up Schefferville and Gagnon are the 2 most notable

• In order to access these mines/towns the Quebec government build railways and connecting ports on the North shore of the St. Lawrence River


Source: Fortin, S., Lapointe, D., Lavoie, R. & Parent, A. Reflections.qc.ca.: 1840 to Our Times. Cheneliere Education. 2017. 3

Mining Resources in Nouveau Quebec & Cote Nord – mid 20th Century


Left: Photo of the construction of the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway line connecting mining towns to a port in Sept Iles, Quebec. Mid 1950s Right: Map of the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway line. Mid 1950s


Sept-Iles, Quebec. 1953 Harbour (Port Cartier) & Railway expansion were important to help develop the mining industry in Quebec in the 1950s

Source: Library and Archives Canada. National Film Board of Canada Phototheque PA-151639


• Modernization of agriculture • As before Duplessis beleievd that

farming/agriculture was Quebec’s ‘backbone’ • The agricultural sector should be prosperous • In addition many of the districts that voted for

Duplessis were rural districts He’s got to keep them happy somehow

• Duplessis turned to policies that modernized these rural regions

• 1945 Act to Promote Rural Electrification By Means of Electric Cooperatives make sure rural areas had electricity farms could produce more


The monthly journal Le Progrès à la ferme encouraged rural

electrification in the 1950s.

Source: Hydro Quebec.<http://www.hydroquebec.com/history-electricity-in-quebec/timeline/hydro-quebec-first-triumphs.html>

Duplessis & the Union Nationale Government from 1944-1960: Social Policies in Quebec

• As before Duplessis and the Union Nationale government promoted social conservatism traditional values promoted by the RCC

• Many other Western countries started to take control of social aspects of society (like healthcare and education)

• However Duplessis liked that the RCC was in charge of these areas of society

• The Union Nationale government and the RCC supported each other in Quebec


• Quebec’s Healthcare & education systems falling behind

• The money for healthcare and education used by the Union Natonale focused on the construction of school and hospitals

• However the RCC was in charge of running these institutions (the majority of them)

• Lack of trained staff and an increase in the number of children meant that the RCC could not keep up with the educational needs of the population


• Duplessis still believed that the RCC should remain in charge of these areas despite the fact that they were not able to keep up Duplessis just ‘threw money’ at the problem

• This was not enough: – 1951 70% of school institutions only had 1 classroom,

60% had no electricity, 40% had no washroom

• Classrooms & other school facilities were not modern lack of focus on the sciences and other areas of technical training

• This lack of educational infrastructure hurt Quebec education in the 1940s/1950s low graduation rates Francophones had a lower graduation rate than Anglophones


1 room schoolhouse in Gatineau, Quebec – Late 1940s

Source: BANQ Numérique.<http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/resultats#03Q,E6,S7,SS1,P70747>


Students of a 1st grade class in Ste-Blandine, Quebec - 1953

Source: BANQ-Numérique. <http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/3266914?docsearchtext=classe>.


• Even with some funds coming from the federal government hospitals and healthcare in Quebec was lacking

• Quebec still did not have a full health insurance program Duplessis refused to implement one

• People had to pay out of pocket for health care


• “Duplessis Orphans” • Children that were ‘cared for’ by the Catholic Church • Unmarried/single mothers, children whose parents passed

away, abused children • Abortion/sale of contraception considered illegal • The “Duplessis Orphans” were taken in by orphanages run

by the RCC • These children were mistreated, abused, malnourished

and even subjected to experimental shock therapy treatments

• Some of these “Duplessis Orphans” have taken legal actions against the federal/provincial governments and the RCC


An injured boy is helped by A nun of the Daughters of Wisdom at St. Justine’s hospital – Montreal, 1945

Source: Wikimedia Commons.<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hospital._Ste._Justine_Hospital_BAnQ_P48S1P12190.jpg>


Duplessis Orphans – 1950s

Source: Montreal Gazette. <http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Quebec+denies+requests+disclose+documents+Duplessis+orphans/6619543/story.html>

Duplessis & the Union Nationale Government from 1944-1960: Opposition, Protests & Unions

• Despite the fact that Duplessis and the Union Nationale government was voted back several times between 1945- 1960 many people groups in Quebec their policies

• Union opposition: Duplessis did not believe in unions and was strictly opposed to them

• There were several notable workers strikes in Quebec during the time between 1944 and 1960 these strikes outlined the divide between the working class and the Union Nationale government


• Asbestos strike in 1949 • Mining company workers in

Asbestos & Thedford Mines demanded better working conditions and wages

• Negotiations between the company owners and workers fail

• Workers went on illegal strike on February 13th, 1949

• The Union National Government lead by Maurice Duplessis was ‘anti-union’ used the police force to break up the strike

• Duplessis sided with the American mining company workers get very little from this strike

Laurent Bernatchez bloodied by police in the asbestos labour dispute, 1949.

Source: Canadian Museum for Human Rights.<https://humanrights.ca/asbestos-strike-labour-rights-quebec>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiTOT-tsShI


Angry picketers protesting the hiring of replacement workers to break the asbestos strike, Thetford Mines, Quebec, 1949

Source: Canadian Museum for Human Rights.<https://humanrights.ca/asbestos-strike-labour-rights-quebec>


• 1946 Montreal Cotton Strike

• 3000 workers at the textile factory in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield went on strike for better working conditions and wages

• Strike lasted 100 days

• After a violent protest on August 13th 1946 negotiations started

• Minimal gains for workers Province favoured corporations over workers’ rights


Left: Photo of the strike/protest of the Montreal Cotton Co.’s textile workers. Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. 1946 Right: Picket line at the main entrance to the Montreal Cotton Co.’s factory. 1946

Source: ECOMUSEE. <http://ecomusee.qc.ca/en/event/citoyens-hier-aujourdhui-demain-en/> Source: Community Memories. <http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/histoires_de_chez_nous-community_memories/pm_v2.php?id=story_line&lg=English&fl=0&ex=00000501&sl=3859&pos=1&pf=1>


• The “Refus Global” manifesto & “Cite Libre” Magazine • Manifesto = a document that publicly states the stance of

a group of people on a certain idea • 1948 The “Refus Global” manifesto was written and

signed by Quebec artists including Paul-Emile Borduas the manifesto denounced the fact that the RCC had so much control over society and that the government practiced social conservatism

• 1950 young intellectuals (educated individuals) founded the “Cite Libre” magazine again, denounced RCC control and the overall conservative stance held by Duplessis (anti-union, etc.)

• These groups wanted greater cultural expression and freedom of expression within Quebec


• Generally, the people who supported the “Refus Global” and “Cite Libre” magazine were in favor of SECULARISM

• Secularism = the idea that church and state are separate the RCC’s responsibility remains RELIGIOUS ONLY (they are not involved in education, healthcare or politics)

• These artists, intellectuals and their supporters wanted the government to take control of education and healthcare this would lead to a modern Quebec


Photograph of some of the artists involved in writing the “Refus Globale” in 1948

Copy of “Refus Globale” in 1948

Source: La Presse. <http://www.lapresse.ca/arts/arts-visuels/201308/05/01-4677040-refus-global-un-geste-rebelle-et-historique.php>

Source: Canadian Museum of History: <http://www.historymuseum.ca/blog/refus-global-manifesto/>

Covers of 2 issues of Cite Libre Magazine

Pierre Elliot Trudeau in 1965


Source: Radio Canada.<http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/aujourd_hui_l_histoire/2016-2017/chronique.asp?idChronique=414883> Source: Wikipedia.<.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Trudeau#/media/File:Trudeau,_Turner,_Chretien,_and_Pearson.jpg>

Evolution & Change within Quebec Society from 1944-1960: Consumer Society

• The 30 years following WW2 were years of general economic prosperity in most Western countries (including Canada)

• Wages for workers in Quebec increased increased purchasing power for the population

• Quebecers has money to purchase consumers goods as they saw fit

• This was a special thing after almost 10 years of the Great Depression and 6 years of rationing during WW2

Evolution & Change within Quebec Society from 1944-1960: Consumer Society

• By the 1950s Higher wages combined with less hours worked during the week = people had more time and money to spend on leisure = goods that fit into leisure time were bought (cars, televisions, etc.)

• People and their consumption habits changed Quebec and Canada became a CONSUMER SOCIETY buying goods they wanted and NEEDED when they wanted

• This was called MASS CONSUMPTION

• The emergence of advertising (especially on television) & access to credit to buy goods added to the mass consumption

http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion/episode/season-5/2011/04/22/season-five-the-happy-homemaker-how-advertising-invented-the-housewife-part-one-1/

http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion/episode/season-5/2011/04/22/season-five-the-happy-homemaker-how-advertising-invented-the-housewife-part-one-1/

Evolution & Change within Quebec Society from 1944-1960: Influence of American Culture

• Forms of media like radio and (especially) television helped expose Quebecers to American shows aired on Canadian broadcasting stations like CBC

• In 1952, the first CBC and Radio-Canada television stations, CBLT-Toronto and CBFT-Montréal

• By 1955 66% of Canadians had access to CBC television services

• More and more movies theatres opened in Canada showing American made movies from Hollywood with American movie starts

• Rock ‘n’ Roll from the United States became increasingly popular in Quebec Elvis Presley


Marilyn Monroe & Elvis Presley: 2 example of American ‘starts’ that influenced culture in Quebec

Source: Time Magazine. <http://time.com/3875608/life-at-home-with-marilyn-1953/> Source: Time Magazine. <http://time.com/4894995/elvis-in-the-heart-of-america/


• A post WW2 American culture was revealed to Canadians (including Quebec)

• Quebecers were influenced by American cultural values of individual freedom and individual success/prosperity consumerism connected directly to these values

• A rise in American products in Canada Coca-Cola, Pepsi, fast food dinners, etc.

• Drive-in movie theatres, drive-in restaurants, etc.


Source: Fine-Meyer, R. & Gibson, S.K. Advertising: Reflections of Culture and Values. Rubicon Publishing. P.

Example of a household appliance add from the 1950s



Example of an advertisement for Pepsi Cola from the 1950s



Example of an advertisement for Coleman camping stoves from the 1950s

Evolution & Change within Quebec Society from 1944-1960: Population growth & suburbs

• After WW2 until 1960 many Canadian soldiers had not seen wives/girlfriends in several years marriages & starting families

• It was not uncommon for families to have 3, 4, 5 children

• This period of time was called THE BABY BOOM

• Rate of natural increase (natural growth) Many babies were born, infant mortality rate decreased significantly from previous decades

• 1916 16% of women gave birth in hospitals

• 1961 94% of women gave birth in hospitals


Population Growth in Quebec, 1921-1971

Source: Fortin, S., Lapointe, D., Lavoie, R. & Parent, A. Reflections.qc.ca.: 1840 to Our Times. Cheneliere Education. 2017. Page 218


Age Pyramid depicting the ‘Baby Boom’ period

Source: MELS


• By the early 1950s 25% of the population was under the age of 10

• How would the government & society have to react to the “BABY BOOM”?

• Issue land to build houses for returning soldiers and their families leads to the growth of suburban neighborhoods with single family homes in cities like Montreal

• More schools, daycares, roads need to be built

• Suburban neighborhoods spark the creation of shopping centers

Housing development

in the Maisonneuve neighborhood of Montreal -

1946


Source: Dinu, D. & Turcot, L. Promenade dans le Passe de Montreal. Les Editions La Presse. P. 24

Photograph and aerial photograph of the ‘Norvick’ neighborhood of St. Laurent,

Montreal – late 1940s/early 1950s


Source: City of Montreal archives. <http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/arrondissements/sla/historique/en/intro/histvsl/terri/quartdev/norvick/norvick.html>

BHS in 1958!


Source: NFOE Architects. <http://nfoe100.com/fr/#/la-periode-de-1965-1990/>


Left: Aerial view of Dorval Gardens (1956) Right: Advertisement for the opening of Dorval Gardens (1954)

Source: Jean XXIII reunion page.<https://www.johnxxiiireunion2018.ca/old-photos-updated-27-nov-2012.html>

Billboard advertising Pointe Claire Shooing Center (1956)

Source: Montreal Gazette.<http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Gallery+Stanway+Signs/1682127/story.html>


Right: Inside Fairview Pointe Claire (1965) Left: Advertisement for the opening of Fairview Pointe Claire (August 12, 1965)


Source: HBC.<http://www2.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/social/CustomerExperience/malldev/>

Connections to the Precisions of Learning

chapter 3 1945-1980: the modernization of quebec & the

Documents