QUEBEC SOCIETY IN THE 1960S Chapter 3, Part 3

FALLING BIRTH RATE

oMajor drop in Quebec birth rate in the
1960s
oThree reasons:
Women were working more and so
less time to raise big families
Use of the birth control pill was rising
Changes in attitude, lower importance
on big families
 DIVERSE IMMIGRANTS AND COMMUNITIES
oThe federal government changed its limited
immigration policies, allowing more people from
non-western countries
oThey also need more professionals. They let
immigrants in based on training and needs of the
labour market.
25% of immigrants came from Italy/Greece
Many from India, Pakistan, etc
oQuebec, and Montreal specifically, were getting
diverse
 EXPANSION OF THE
CONSUMER SOCIETY
oConsumption of goods = major part of
Quebecers lives
Wages increased in Quebec. People were
buying more
Many good were more affordable
Growing variety of goods available
Goods to occupy leisure time were created
Fashion impacted purchasing. People
wanted to wear the newest clothing,
advertised on TV
 PERIOD OF ECONOMIC
GROWTH –
PUBLIC INVESTMENT
oGovernment of Quebec invested
A LOT of money into public
infrastructure (buildings, schools,
roads, bridges, the Montreal
metro, etc)
oThey wanted to stimulate
economic activity by building AND
modernize Quebec
 MANUFACTURING
+ HOUSING
The increased purchasing
power of Quebecers led to a
demand for manufactured
goods. Manufacturers
modernized their equipment to
meet demands.
Because the population was
growing, there was a greater
demand for housing. People
had more money and could
buy houses
 INDUSTRIAL AND
ECONOMIC CHANGE
Production becomes automated (machines
doing the work)
Smaller companies couldn’t compete with
increasing costs, they went bankrupt
Companies closed old factories, opened
new ones near highways
Some businesses decided to move to
Ontario, because Toronto beat out
Montreal as the largest economy in
Canada.
 URBAN AGGLOMERATIONS
oDefinition: A large city and its suburbs
oQuebecers were leaving the city and settling in Laval, Longueil. Happening because:
▪ American way of life influenced Quebec
▪ Development of highways allowed for
this
▪ New factories in suburbs, people could
work close to home
▪ Middle class families like suburb houses
(backyards, calm neighbourhoods)
oUrban sprawl (urban expansion of a city to
its edges)
CHANGING ATTITUDES – BABY BOOMERS
oThe idea of openly challenging their parent’s values. Things like
material success, wars going on overseas. The counterculture
movement arose (movement against the current culture)
CHALLENGING TRADITIONAL VALUES
o Traditional values were being challenged by Quebecers as time went on
oIn 1961, church attendance was at 61%, dropping to 30% in 1971. Less Quebecers
were becoming priests, marrying less, and then were also divorcing more often
 THE HIPPIE MOVEMENT
o The Hippie life was about peace and love. Renewable
energy, living in the country, organic food, recycling.
Oppressing consumer society. They wanted freedom.

o Their look: Flower

shirt, ponchos,
baggy clothes,
leather sandals,
long hair
WOODSTOCK
o Music was central to the Hippie life. Woodstock, held in New York in 1969, was the
center of this. 500,000 people attended.
o The idea of counterculture having a home
 WOMEN’S RIGHTS
o “Act Respecting the Legal Capacity of
Married Women” was adopted in 1964,
allowing women to sign legal documents,
make financial transactions without the
husband’s consent

o Then in 1969, abortion was allowed but

only if three doctors deemed a woman’s
life was in danger
DECRIMINALIZATION OF HOMOSEXUALITY
o In 1969, the Trudeau government passed Bill C-150, which made it legal to be
homosexual
o Before this, people would go to jail for being homosexual
o Despite this bill, they were still discriminated against. It was seen as a mental illness.
People hid it.
 INDIGENOUS NATIONS
o White paper (document with government
proposals to promote public debate)

o The government brought up a white paper,

it proposed making Indigenous people
normal citizens, without special rights, by
taking away the Indian status, turning
reserves into private property, making
provinces in charge of their education
INDIGENOUS NATIONS
o Indigenous people saw this as harming their ancestral rights (a
right given because of a tradition belonging to an indigenous
culture).
o They believed they had claim on these lands being affected, and
they saw this white paper as a way to assimilate them. They
opposed it and the government dropped the proposals