Maurice Duplessis is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was Quebec's 16th premier. His period as premier was known as the "Great Darkness". He is best known for his anti-communist stance, his return to tradition and his closeness to the Church.
Duplessis' politics were tinged with many ideologies. Deeply conservative, he often opposed change (such as union demands), even though he allowed Quebec, for example, to modernize by introducing electricity to rural areas. Ultramontane, he gave religion pride of place in the management of schools and hospitals. As an autonomist, he helped to promote the French language, traditions and Quebec's distinctive character within Canada. He also criticized the federal government's social interventions in Quebec.
Towards the end of his career, Quebecers began to assert themselves and demand greater economic and cultural autonomy, despite Duplessis' reluctance. When he died, Quebec emerged from the great darkness into an era of renewal: the Quiet Revolution had begun.
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1890: Maurice Duplessis is born on April 20, in Trois-Rivières.
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1927: During the provincial election, he unseats Jacques Bureau, elected for twenty-seven years, in his riding.
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1933: Elected leader of the Conservative Party upon the departure of Camillien Houde.
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1935: He founds the Union nationale political party, bringing together members of the Action libérale nationale (ALN) and the Conservative Party.
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1936: The Unionists win the August election, ending thirty-nine years of Liberal rule.
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1939: Maurice Duplessis calls a surprise election to exploit the issue of Canada's participation in the Second World War. He loses to Liberal Adélard Godbout.
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1944: Duplessis wins the election. That same year, he created the Department of Agriculture. He remained in power for the next fifteen years.
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1945: The government creates the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources. It helps rural areas electrify.
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1948: Quebec's artistic elite publish the Refus global manifesto to denounce traditional and religious values in Quebec.
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1948: Quebec adopts the Fleurdelisé flag, proposed by Duplessis, on January 21.
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1959: Maurice Duplessis dies in office on September 7, in Schefferville.