Union Nationale (Quebec) - Modernization and Last Term of Office

Modernization and Last Term of Office

Duplessis died in 1959. Paul Sauvé succeeded him, but he also died after only three months in office. Antonio Barrette took over and called an election in 1960, which was won by Jean Lesage's Liberals. The new government implemented a vast program of social changes, which is now known as the Quiet Revolution.

Daniel Johnson, Sr. became the leader of the Union Nationale in 1961. He was chosen by party delegates rather than by his colleagues only. The party lost the 1962 election, but it held a convention to discuss its platform in 1965 and opened its structures to card-carrying supporters. Johnson published a book called Égalité ou indépendance (Equality or independence), which appealed to a number of nationalist voters. Even though the Liberals won a plurality of the vote in the 1966 election, the Union Nationale won a majority of the seats. Among the newly elected MLAs, there were three former federal politicians: Rémi Paul, Jean-Noël Tremblay and Clément Vincent.

Johnson set a slower pace, but sustained many reforms initiated by the Liberals. His administration established CEGEPs (Collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel, or "College of General and Vocational Education") in 1967, abolished the Legislative Council of Quebec and completed the dam and the generating station of Manic-5 in 1968 and laid the groundwork for the public health insurance plan that would later be implemented by the Liberal government of Robert Bourassa.