The Quiet Revolution, also known as La Révolution Tranquille, began in Quebec in 1960 with the
electoral defeat of the Union Nationale by Jean Lesage and his Liberal Party.
It can be best described as a rapid and far-reaching process of social, economic, and political reform
in Quebec from the early to the late 1960s.
 

Jean Lesage

Main Features To make the government of Quebec the major force behind Quebec's social and economic development by greatly increasing the role of the state in both of these sectors. To modernize Quebec's educational system and to allow it to catch up to the other provinces in Canada. To weaken the influence of the Church and to end Quebec's political isolation. Government Slogan  "Maître chez nous!" - Masters in Our Own  House.

During this same period the independence movement for Quebec gains momentum. Quebec
nationalists form various political groups advocating sovereignty or independence for Quebec.
The most prominent of these groups was the R.I.N.(Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale).
In addition, terrorist organizations, such as the F.L.Q.(Front de Libération du Québec)begin to
plant bombs  targetting military establishments in the Montreal area and mailboxes in Westmount.
The main goal of this organzation was to attain independence for Quebec from
Canada through the use of violence.

On May 17th in 1963, a Canadian Army engineer was seriously injured when a terrorist bomb blew up in his hands in Montreal. Here is a report from CBC Television news that day. [173Kb]

Go On To Topic 2: Government Involvement in the Social Sector