1. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 Rise of Quebec Nationalism - Background 1885 – Metis leader Louis Riel was hanged. In French Canada, Riel was a hero protecting French cultural and language rights 1896 – National Policy promoted British model for Canada 1899 – Boer War – French Canada viewed the war as an act of British imperialism 1912 – Manitoba Schools Question – The use of French instruction in schools was restricted to areas with sufficient French- Canadians to warrant French instruction

2. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 Rise of Quebec Nationalism - Background 1915 – Ontario restricts use of French instruction in schools. 1916 – Manitoba eliminates all French instruction in schools 1917 – WWI Conscription Crisis – French Canada vote against conscription, and generally did not support a war of Europeans.

3. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 Rise of Quebec Nationalism - Background 1936 – Maurice Duplessis, leader of the Union Nationale, is elected Premier of Quebec. He promises to defend French language, religion and culture. During his time in office, Duplessis maintain close ties with business and the Quebec Roman Catholic Church. Post-Great Depression - The Depression convinced many Canadians that the economy and social structure needed the support of the Canadian Government

4. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 Rise of Quebec Nationalism - Background 1942 – WWII Conscription – Quebec votes 73% No while the rest of Canada votes 60% Yes Post-WWII – As part of its war effort, the Government of Canada had established programs to control economic activity (e.g., price controls, minimum wage, hours of work). The trend towards centralized control continues in the post-WWII period.

5. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 Duplessis, “le Chef”, was a strong anti-Communist, pro-business and supporter of American and English- Canadian involvement in Quebec’s economy, and a strong supporter of church involvement in Quebecers’ lives. His leadership was often corrupt and cunning.

6. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 Duplessis expanded a tax regime that favoured big business. He lowered taxes to entice big business to mine and exploit the natural resources of Quebec. This arrangement created jobs for the mainly rural-living Quebecers. With jobs, there was less francophone emigration and some degree of local satisfaction.

7. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 At the same time, Duplessis ties to the English-led business people create an unrest among the working class Francophone. The workers did not like their effort making the business owner rich while they laboured for poor wages.

8. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 To control the people and offset this unrest, Duplessis expanded the role of the Catholic church in areas such as education, social welfare and labour. This church-state relationship allowed Duplessis to maintain political control of Quebec for many years AND helped shape the social / cultural / religious identity of Quebec

9. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 At the start of this period, educational programs were limited in rural Quebec, schooling was not compulsory and Quebec children were lagging behind their Anglophone counterparts. Duplessis espoused parental choice, but he used patronage in rural areas (e.g., money for textbooks and schools) to secure the rural vote.

10. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 The church sometimes separated girls from boys with the girl schools focusing on domestic training. The church encouraged youth to study religion and classics. Technical and business training was discouraged. Partly as a result, Quebecers in the 1960s were the most poorly paid workers in Quebec.

11. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 The church promoted large families and denounced all forms of birth control but the rhythm method. Quebec closed all daycares after WWII.

12. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 Duplessis exploited the French-Canadian fears of loss of cultural and language to manipulate the will of the people. His propaganda machine positioned Duplessis as the defender of Quebec’s rights against the Government of Canada in which francophones played a minor role. Duplessis was also the protector from Communism and labour unions. When the Duplessis Bridge collapsed due to poor construction, Duplessis blamed Communists. Labour strife in Quebec was frequently violent (e.g., 1949 Asbestos Strike).

13. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 Duplessis established vote ridings that provided an uneven distribution of political seats to urban Quebec. On election day, Duplessis paid for drinks and his workers stuffed ballot boxes. For every project supported by Provincial resources (e.g., construction of a bridge), Duplessis demanded and got political favours, campaign funds and votes.

14. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 Duplessis kept Quebec at arms length from the rest of Canada by refusing to participate with “shared- cost” programs or accept money from social programs initiated by the Government of Canada. Under Duplessis, Quebec secured the right to “opt out” of Government of Canada programs and still receive an equivalent amount of money from the federal government.

15. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 Asbestos Strike… In 1949, 5,000 asbestos miners and members of the Canadian Catholic Confederation of Labour staged an illegal strike in Asbestos, Quebec. The strike quickly spread to other mines in Quebec, received vocal and financial support from organized labour throughout Canada, and attracted many social activists including 29-year old Pierre Elliott Trudeau. The strikers also were supported by the Catholic church, and at one point in the strike, the strikers sought sanctuary within a church.

16. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 Asbestos Strike… Duplessis called the strikers “communists” and “saboteurs”. Using the rationale that the strikers were challenging the state’s authority, he ordered 4,000 police and strikebreakers to stop the action. In a bloody confrontation, the police raided the church and, using clubs and tear gas, dragged the strikers out.

17. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 The Asbestos Striker demands included: - 15 cent per hour raise - Two week paid holidays - Paid holiday for Christmas - A grievance system - Implementation of health and safety methods to suppress the asbestos dust in the mine (lung disease and infant mortality was 2X the Canadian average)

18. Quebec – The Great Darkness 1936-1959 The company used an number of tactics to try and “break” the strikers. The miners’ homes were owned by the company. Rent was increased, or the electricity and water were turned off. The company also owned the local store. Credit for strikers was stopped. The strike lasted five months and ended with few benefits being gained. At the same time, the strike separate state from church in Quebec and a new era of less repressive politics was born.