Artifact #6: Jean Lesage during his elections victory, 1962

Citation:

"Québec around 1980". Photograph. Societies Learn Quebec

https://societies.learnquebec.ca/societies/quebec-around-1980/jean-lesage-1912-1980/

Label: 

This image showcases Jean Lesage, the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party celeberating his 1962 election victory, marking an end of an era of the conservative Union Nationale's domination of Quebec politics from 1944 to 1960. The Union Nationale under Maurice Duplessis and later Paul Sauve and Antonio Barrette upheld traditional values and had very strong ties with the Catholic Church, with much of their support coming from rural communities. This period is often referred to as Grande Noirceur or the Great Darkness as the Union Nationale resisted modernization which limited Quebec's economic growth and social progress as Quebec struggled.Lesage's 1960 victory followed by his 1962 reelection marked an end of an era and started a new one, his slogan "It's time for a change" resonated with many of Quebec's urban middle class who sought secularization and saw the importance in state led modernization and Quebec achieving a level of economic independence. In defeating the Union Nationale, Lesage and his government brought in a period known as the Quiet Revolution, dismantling the outdated structures that had kept Quebec's societies stagnant and bringing fourth the identity that shapes Quebec today.

Bibliography:

”Quiet Revolution." The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/quiet-revolution

”Jean Lesage." The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jean-lesage