Prelude To Quebec S Quiet Revolution

Two competing movements emerged in the 1940s to challenge the traditional ideology. One espoused neo-nationalism, the other liberalism. Both were made up of young, dedicated intellectuals and journalists; together they represent the ideological roots of Quebec's Quiet Revolution.

In this study of the intellectual origins of Quebec's Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, Michael Behiels has provided the most comprehensive account to date of the two competing ideological movements which emerged after World War II to challenge the tenets of traditional French-Canadian nationalism. The neo-nationalists were a group of young intellectuals and journalists, centered upon Le Devoir and L'Action nationale in Montreal, who set out to reformulate Quebec nationalism in terms of a modern, secular, urban-industrial society which would be fully "master in its own house." An equally dedicated group of French Canadians of liberal or social democratic persuasion was based upon the periodical Cité libre -one of whose editors was Pierre Trudeau - and had links with organized labour. Citélibristes sought to remove what they considered to be the major obstacles to the creation of a modern francophone society: the all-pervasive influence of clericalism inherent in the Catholic church's control of education and the social services, and the persistence among Quebec's intelligentsia of an outmoded nationalism which advocated the preservation of a rural and elitist society and neglected the development of the individual and the pursuit of social equality. Behiels delineates the divergent "societal models" proposed by the two movements by focusing upon such themes as the critique of traditional nationalism; the roles of church, state, and labour; the response to the "new federalism"; the reform of education; and the search for a third party. He shows how the rivals combined to help bring down an anachronistic Union Nationale government in June 1960. In one form or another, he concludes, Cité libre liberalism and neo-nationalism have remained at the heart of the political and ideological debate that has continued in Quebec since the Duplessis era.

Quebec is currently a Canadian province and home to the second-largest French-speaking metropolis in the world and the largest French-speaking society in North America. It has, however, by virtue of its history and political development, distinguished itself as more than merely a sub-national unit. Over the past thirty years, it has assumed a significant role in international politics through its position in the Francophonie and its cultural role in the consolidation of French-speaking society in the midst of an English-speaking continent. Moreover, Quebec is unique within North America as a highly autonomous state seeking increasing integration into the New World Order while preserving its cultural specificity.

"In these two volumes, which replace the Reader's Guide to Canadian History, experts provide a select and critical guide to historical writing about pre- and post-Confederation Canada, with an emphasis on the most recent scholarship" -- Cover.

First published in French in 1981 under the title Le declin du nationalisme au Québec, this classic has received considerable critical acclaim. Graham Fraser of the Montreal Gazette wrote, "a suberb book: provocative, ironic, stimulating, and analytical, with a sharp eye for the social meaning of public events. Clift covered Quebec politics as a daily journalist for almost 25 years. He has succeeded in sweeping across events he covered to reduce them to their most substantial conflict." Dominique Clift's perceptive analysis traces two antagonistic trends in recent Quebec history: the growth of nationalism, which reached its high point with the election of René Lévesque in 1967, and the development of individualism at the expense of group solidarity.