Home > Timeline of Quebec history (1960 to 1981)

This section of the Timeline of Quebec history concerns the events between the Quiet Revolution and the patriation of the British North America Act.

1 1960s

• 1960 - Quebec general election: The election of a new Liberal Party government led by Premier Jean Lesage marks the beginning of a decade of changes known as the Quiet Revolution.
• 1960 - Foundation of the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale. See History of the Quebec sovereignist movement.
• 1961 - December 14: Claire Kirkland-Casgrain becomes the first woman Member of the Legislative Assembly and also the first woman cabinet member.
• 1962 - The construction of the Montreal MetroThe Montreal Metro is the main form of public transporation for the city of Montreal and was the second metro system to be built in Canada, behind Toronto's TTC. The Metro was inaugurated on October 14, 1966, during the tenure of Mayor Jean Drapeau. Origi (subway) begins.
• 1962 - The Champlain BridgeThe Champlain Bridge is a steel truss cantilever bridge with approach viaducts constructed of prestressed concrete beams supporting a prestressed concrete deck paved with asphalt. The bridge crosses the Saint Lawrence River and Saint Lawrence Seaway, conn in MontrealMontreal (/mVn. tri"Al/ in English, /mO~. re"al/ in French) is the largest city in the province of Quebec, Canada, where it also constitutes an administrative region. It is Canada's second most populous city after Toronto ( Statistics Canada), and the sec is partly opened to traffic.
• 1962 - Quebec general electionIn the Quebec general election on November 14, 1962, the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party under Jean Lesage won re-election, defeating the Union Nationale under Daniel Johnson, Sr. In an unusual move, the election was called just two years after the previou: Liberals win.
• 1963Events January-March January 11 The Whisky A Go-Go night club in Los Angeles, the first disco in the USA, is opened. January 14 George Wallace becomes governor of Alabama. January 22 Elysee treaty between France and Germany January 28 Black student Harvey - Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) members, Gabriel Hudon and Raymond Villeneuve are sentenced to 12 years in prison for manslaughter after their bomb killed Sgt. O'Neill, a watchman at Montreal's Canadian Army Recruitment Center. See Front de libération du Québec.
• 1963 - Second wave of the nationalisation of electricity . On April 30, Hydro-Quebec acquires 8 private producers of hydroelectricity.
• 1963 - July 10: Voting age lowered from 21 to 18 in Quebec elections.
• 1964 - A ministry of education, separate from the Catholic clergy, is created by the Quebec government.
• 1964 - Married women obtain full legal rights (to buy property without their husband's signature, and so forth).
• 1965 - Canada adopts the maple leaf flag in February.
• 1966 - Quebec general election: Union Nationale wins.
• 1967 - Completion of the construction of St. Joseph's Oratory on Montreal's Mount Royal.
• 1967 - Visiting President of France Charles de Gaulle shouts "Vive le Québec libre!" from the balcony of Montreal city hall on July 24. After being reprimanded by the Canadian government, de Gaulle cancelled the rest of his official visit to Canada.
• 1967 - In October, René Lévesque leaves the Quebec Liberal Party and founds the Mouvement Souveraineté-Association.
• 1967 - The Universal Exposition of Montreal, better known as Expo 67, opens for the summer.
• 1968 - On Monday, June 24, 290 people are arrested during the lundi de la matraque civil disorder during the St-Jean-Baptiste parade.
• 1968 - Pierre Trudeau, born in Montreal, Quebec, is elected Prime Minister of Canada. See 1968 Canadian election.
• 1968 - On August 28, the Théâtre du rideau vert premieres Michel Tremblay's play Les Belles-Sœurs, which sells out its entire run in two days and revolutionizes the entertainment world by using Quebec French joual instead of "Parisian" French.
• 1968 - On October 26, the Parti Québécois is created out of the merger of René Lévesque's Mouvement Souveraineté-Association and the Ralliement national. See History of the Quebec sovereignist movement.
• 1968 - The Université du Québec network is created by the government.
• 1968 - The government-operated Radio-Québec (television station) is founded. In the 1990s it was renamed Télé-Québec.
• 1968 - The Legislative Council, the non-elected upper house of Quebec's parliament, is abolished.
• 1969 - The Parliament of Canada, under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, passed Bill C-120 : An Act Respecting the Status of Official Languages in Canada, making both French and English the official languages of all Canada. See Official Languages Act.
• 1969 - The Union Nationale government of Jean-Jacques Bertrand passes "Bill 63" which confirms the status quo on the language of instruction in the public schools (Parents can choose English or French).
• 1969 - The Montreal Expos baseball franchise beings play in Montreal.