My name is Jean Lesage. I was leader of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1958 to 1970 and Premier of Quebec from 1960 to 1966.
Media version of texts by K. Napier’s elementary class previously available here
My path
I studied law at Université Laval, and I practiced it until 1944. In 1945, I was elected as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, where I worked until 1957. In 1958, I left federal politics to return to Quebec where I was elected head of the Quebec Liberal Party. During the 1960 election, my dream team and I scored an important victory for Quebec. As soon as the election was over, my colleagues, including René Lévesque and Paul Gérin-Lajoie, started to make significant changes to Quebec society.
The Quiet Revolution
The period before the election of my party was marked by Maurice Duplessis’ political and economic conservatism.
When we started to make changes such as the creation of hospital insurance in 1961, the nationalization of electricity in 1962, the right to vote at eighteen in 1963 and the creation of the Ministry of Education in 1964, Quebeckers were thrilled with our government. It was called the “Quiet Revolution”. The period during which my government was in power was known as the “Quiet Revolution” because it led to rapid modernization of Quebec society.
See also – Links:
- The Quiet Revolution (Coming soon; see French version)
- René Lévesque
- Maurice Duplessis
