Underlying The Quiet Revolution

Underlying the Quiet Revolution is fundamentally a perception--or rather an interpretation--of the preceding time period. Quebec, under the Duplessis, was characterised by isolation, conservatism and had abided by traditional ways and values. In consequence, the province had fallen behind, and had acquired increasingly negative characteristics. This perception of the Duplesis era being the “Great Darkness is broadly challenged by many today. However, there is no doubt that the death of Duplessis, and the subsequent election of the Liberal Party in 1960, triggered a period of intense social, political, and economic changes.

Under Duplesis, the Catholic Church had assumed the task of education in Quebec. The education system and the curriculum