The 1960: The Quiet Revolution In Quebec

The 1960’s were years full of change; nations were still recovering from WWII and new national identities were being formed. Canada was no different. Following WWII, the country experienced “fifteen years of deceptive calm,” so the sudden, forceful revolution within Québec shocked the country as well as the province itself. The revolution shook the foundations of nationalism, and strained the relationship between French Canada and English Canada more than ever before. During this period, extremist groups emerged, bent on distinguishing themselves from the Quebecois elite and the Canadian English. The Front de Libération de Québec (FLQ) was one of such groups, and overtime, grew to incorporate the smaller groups. Few facts regarding this terrorist group are certain since neither the terrorists, nor the government were vocal about the details of their involvement in the Quiet Revolution and events in Autumn of 1970. The silence has lasted for many years, thereby erasing the traces of many truths.
Background
The election in 1960 was a milestone election for Québec because the Liberals came into power. Since the 50’s, Québec had been under a conservative leadership who had concealed much of the unrest within the province. As the Parti Liberal de Québec
The province was an unstable society “where rapid changes [had] occurred, but which [had] not absorbed [those] transformations at an equal rate.” Opinions formed on both sides of the arguments concerning separatism, maintaining French culture, and social classes within society. People felt lost amidst the rapid and drastic changes; defined, opinionated, and unwavering groups began to emerge. Some of these were terrorist groups who felt very strongly about the path that Quebec should be taking, and were unafraid to impose their convictions on