Voices from the Quiet Revolution

On June 22 1960, the Liberal Party under Jean Lesage won the provincial election marking the beginning of what has been termed as Quebec’s “Quiet Revolution”. Under the slogan « c’est le temps que ça change », the Liberal « équipe du tonnerre » put forward a vast series of health, education, culture, economic and political reforms that sought to modernize the Quebec state, build a new middle class and transform Quebec society.

In the fifty years since the 1960 election, historians, academics, politicians and the general public have vigorously debated the nature of the Quiet Revolution and its impact. This project, however, looks to return to the actors involved in these reforms to get their perspectives on these events and shed light on some of the myths and symbols about the Quiet Revolution and living in the 1960s and 1970s Quebec.

Beyond well-known politicians of that period like Jean Lesage, René Lévesque and Georges-Émile Lapalme, many important actors of that period are still alive and will greatly contribute to a better understanding of the period which seems increasingly distinct from today’s reality. This is especially true for the Anglophone public to whom this series would be speaking.