1960 Quebec general election

The 1960 Quebec general election was held on June 22, 1960, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled perhaps only by the 1976 general election. The incumbent Union Nationale, led by Antonio Barrette, was defeated by the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Jean Lesage.

1960 Quebec general election

June 22, 1960
95 seats in the 27th Legislative Assembly of Quebec 48 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Jean Lesage Antonio Barrette Party Liberal Union Nationale Leader since May 31, 1958 January 7, 1960 Leader's seat Québec-Ouest Joliette Last election 20 seats, 44.87% 72 seats, 51.80% Seats won 52 42 Seat change 32 30 Percentage 51.38% 46.61% Swing 6.51pp 5.19pp
Premier before election Antonio Barrette Union Nationale Premier after election Jean Lesage Liberal

The 1960 election set the stage for the Quiet Revolution, a major social transformation of all aspects of Quebec society throughout the 1960s. Among many other changes, the influence and power of the Catholic Church fell sharply as Quebec became a secular society.

This election put an end to 16 years of continuous Union Nationale rule, much of it under Maurice Duplessis. Duplessis had died in 1959, ending a period that was later derisively referred to as La Grande Noirceur (the Great Darkness).

Duplessis' successor, longtime minister Paul Sauvé, saw the need to modernize a government that had long been one of the most conservative provincial governments in Canada. He initiated a "hundred days of change" that began to transform Quebec society, but they were cut short when Sauvé died suddenly after only a few months in office. He was succeeded by another longtime minister, Antonio Barrette. However, with its second new leader in less than a year and its third in less than two years, and no published platform, the Union Nationale was thus in disarray when it went into the election.

Background

On September 7, 1959, Maurice Duplessis died during a visit to the northern mining town of Schefferville. His nearly 20 years as premier (interrupted from 1939 to 1944 by Adélard Godbout) were marked by conservatism, clientelism, deference to the Catholic hierarchy, defence of provincial powers from federal interference, opposition to Keynesianism, and fierce anti-syndicalism. Contrary to some accounts of the Grande Noirceur, however, Quebec in the late 1950s was on the path to modernization, with a largely urbanized population and a significant manufacturing sector.

Three days after the death of "le Chef" (the Boss), the cabinet chose Paul Sauvé as his successor. Sauvé undertook his "100 days" of change under the slogan "désormais " (From now on), determined to modernize the machinery of government after years of stagnation under Duplessis. On January 2, 1960, while he had wind in his sails and threatened the Liberals' momentum, the new premier died suddenly in Saint-Eustache, in his riding of Deux-Montagnes. On January 7, Antonio Barrette was chosen as premier. The party thus headed into the election with its third leader in under a year. Further undermining the government's stability was the exposure of the natural gas scandal, reported by Le Devoir on June 13, 1958.

Jean Lesage had been elected leader of the Liberal Party on May 31, 1958, succeeding Georges-Émile Lapalme. Lesage aimed to take advantage of the government's setbacks. Particularly critical of official corruption and Union Nationale policies on federal-provincial relations, he promised to create a "strong and dynamic state" against the "occupying regime". The party could also count on recently recruited star candidate René Lévesque to promote its program.

In addition to the two main parties, the Social Democratic Party (the Quebec branch of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation) participated in the election, led by trade unionist Michel Chartrand. Lacking funds, however, it failed to present a candidate.

On March 18, 1960, an Act was passed that raised the number of seats in the legislature to 95:

• Duplessis, named in honour of the late premier, was created from parts of Saguenay.
• Bourget was carved out of Laval.

The writ of election dropped on April 27, setting the electoral campaign in motion.

Campaign

Despite the Liberal Party's ambitious program and the disarray of the UN, it was difficult to predict the outcome of the vote at the outset of the campaign. The incumbent party still enjoyed significant support and many constituencies faced close races. No leaders' debate was held as the parties could not agree on a format.

The campaign revolved around the two leaders, Barrette and Lesage. Barrette stressed continuity with his predecessors, frequently appearing in publicity campaigns featuring Duplessis and Sauvé. He travelled across the province, relying more on voters' faith in him personally than on an electoral platform, which the UN did not publish. At the beginning of the campaign, he even wrote in the party's organ Montréal-Matin: "Our program was formulated in 1931 and current legislation bears witness to its implementation."

Lesage meanwhile led an "American-style" campaign, focusing on voter outreach to counter the public's perception of him as haughty. He took inspiration from Harry Truman, sometimes spending up to three days in the same region listening to local demands.

The majority of races were two- and three-way contests, but some ridings had more fractured campaigns:

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1960)

Candidates	Lib	UN	Ind	I-UN	I-Lib	Comm	Lib-Rép	PSD	CF	UN-Lab	Lab	Total
2	58	58										116
3	25	25	4	13	6			1		1		75
4	8	8	6	4	4		1		1			32
5	1	1		1	1	1						5
>5	3	3	4	4	9	1					1	25
Total	95	95	14	22	20	2	1	1	1	1	1	253

Ridings with more than five candidates (1960)

Riding	Lib	UN	Ind	I-UN	I-Lib	Comm	Lib-Rép	PSD	CF	UN-Lab	Lab	Total
Montréal–Saint-Henri	1	1	2	1	1							6
Maisonneuve	1	1		2	2	1						7
Montréal–Saint-Louis	1	1	2	1	6						1	12
Total	3	3	4	4	9	1					1	25

Controversy in L'Assomption

After a judicial recount, the UN had won L'Assomption by only one vote. In July 1961, a panel of judges overturned the result, voiding the reelection of Victor-Stanislas Chartrand and declaring the Liberal candidate Frédéric Coiteux the victor by 10 votes. Allegations of voter impersonation, threats and bribery were cited by the judges in voiding 11 votes in the count. Chartrand had attempted to resign his seat and thus trigger a byelection, but that was not accepted pending the outcome in court.

Results

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (1960)

Political party		Party leader	MPPs				Votes
			Candidates	1956	1960	±	#	±	%	± (pp)
	Liberal	Jean Lesage	95	20	52	32	1,077,135	248,871	51.38%	6.50
	Union Nationale	Antonio Barrette	95	72	42	30	977,307	21,225	46.61%	5.19
	Independent		14	1	1		22,187	11,018	1.06%	0.74
	Independent-Unionist		22	–	–	–	10,531	6,423	0.50%	0.28
	Independent-Liberal		20	–	–	–	8,208	3,770	0.39%	0.15
	Other candidates
	█ Communist		2	–	–	–	536	5,981	0.03%	0.33
	█ Libéral républicain		1	–	–	–	188	188	0.01%	New
	█ Social Democratic		1	–	–	–	166	11,066	0.01%	0.60
	█ Capital familial		1	–	–	–	144	51	0.01%	–
	█ UN-Labour		1	–	–	–	134	382	0.01%	0.02
	█ Labour		1	–	–	–	50	1,224	0.00%	0.07
Total			253	93	95		2,096,586		100%
Rejected ballots							33,521	4,740
Voter turnout							2,130,107	255,597	81.66	3.34
Registered electors							2,608,439	215,079

Seats and popular vote by party

Party	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
█ Liberal	52 / 95	51.38%	6.50		6.5
█ Union Nationale	42 / 95	46.61%	-5.19
█ Independent	1 / 95	1.06%	-0.74
█ Other	0 / 95	0.95%	-0.57

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1960 Quebec general election

Riding	Winning party								Turnout	Votes
Name	1956		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		Lib	UN	Ind	I-UN	I-Lib	Other	Total
Abitibi-Est		UN		Lib	14,061	51.25%	852	3.11%	86.12%	14,061	13,209	–	–	–	166	27,436
Abitibi-Ouest		Lib		Lib	6,321	52.78%	666	5.56%	90.08%	6,321	5,655	–	–	–	–	11,976
Argenteuil		UN		UN	8,835	60.02%	2,951	20.05%	89.88%	5,884	8,835	–	–	–	–	14,719
Arthabaska		UN		Lib	10,609	53.09%	1,269	6.35%	93.52%	10,609	9,340	–	–	35	–	19,984
Bagot		UN		UN	5,335	55.84%	1,116	11.68%	91.53%	4,219	5,335	–	–	–	–	9,554
Beauce		UN		Lib	12,939	54.07%	1,946	8.13%	87.31%	12,939	10,993	–	–	–	–	23,932
Beauharnois		UN		UN	11,385	49.86%	148	0.65%	91.88%	11,237	11,385	–	85	128	–	22,835
Bellechasse		UN		Lib	5,601	52.06%	444	4.13%	86.88%	5,601	5,157	–	–	–	–	10,758
Berthier		UN		UN	6,669	52.65%	809	6.39%	89.56%	5,860	6,669	138	–	–	–	12,667
Bonaventure		Lib		Lib	8,513	51.61%	532	3.23%	86.03%	8,513	7,981	–	–	–	–	16,494
Bourget	New			Lib	34,411	53.08%	5,270	8.13%	75.94%	34,411	29,141	–	–	1,277	–	64,829
Brome		Lib		Lib	3,578	55.51%	710	11.01%	87.15%	3,578	2,868	–	–	–	–	6,446
Chambly		Lib		Lib	25,921	49.91%	599	1.15%	79.01%	25,921	25,322	–	–	688	–	51,931
Champlain		UN		UN	11,572	50.32%	147	0.64%	91.87%	11,425	11,572	–	–	–	–	22,997
Charlevoix		UN		UN	7,097	52.60%	702	5.20%	87.84%	6,395	7,097	–	–	–	–	13,492
Châteauguay		UN		UN	7,539	53.44%	1,276	9.05%	88.10%	6,263	7,539	–	305	–	–	14,107
Chicoutimi		UN		UN	16,749	51.32%	860	2.63%	89.96%	15,889	16,749	–	–	–	–	32,638
Compton		Lib		UN	5,725	53.77%	802	7.53%	89.31%	4,923	5,725	–	–	–	–	10,648
Deux-Montagnes		UN		Lib	6,978	50.15%	299	2.15%	89.43%	6,978	6,679	121	137	–	–	13,915
Dorchester		UN		UN	8,002	50.92%	288	1.83%	86.74%	7,714	8,002	–	–	–	–	15,716
Drummond		UN		Lib	12,268	50.21%	101	0.41%	92.04%	12,268	12,167	–	–	–	–	24,435
Duplessis	New			Lib	6,552	56.31%	1,528	13.13%	78.05%	6,552	5,024	–	60	–	–	11,636
Frontenac		UN		UN	6,418	51.77%	438	3.53%	90.59%	5,980	6,418	–	–	–	–	12,398
Gaspé-Nord		UN		Lib	4,824	49.79%	11	0.11%	88.24%	4,824	4,813	–	51	–	–	9,688
Gaspé-Sud		UN		UN	7,656	52.72%	791	5.45%	90.34%	6,865	7,656	–	–	–	–	14,521
Gatineau		UN		UN	9,846	55.42%	2,140	12.05%	80.51%	7,706	9,846	–	214	–	–	17,766
Hull		Lib		Lib	15,195	60.90%	5,692	22.81%	84.36%	15,195	9,503	–	–	252	–	24,950
Huntingdon		UN		UN	3,671	56.75%	873	13.50%	85.85%	2,798	3,671	–	–	–	–	6,469
Iberville		UN		Lib	4,124	53.52%	542	7.03%	92.81%	4,124	3,582	–	–	–	–	7,706
Îles-de-la-Madeleine		UN		UN	2,759	56.99%	677	13.98%	91.24%	2,082	2,759	–	–	–	–	4,841
Jacques-Cartier		Lib		Lib	46,024	59.32%	16,325	21.04%	73.08%	46,024	29,699	–	1,529	336	–	77,588
Joliette		UN		UN	12,479	64.75%	5,685	29.50%	89.70%	6,794	12,479	–	–	–	–	19,273
Jonquière-Kénogami		UN		Lib	15,310	56.86%	6,014	22.33%	89.82%	15,310	9,296	2,134	–	–	188	26,928
Kamouraska		UN		UN	6,056	53.84%	864	7.68%	84.65%	5,192	6,056	–	–	–	–	11,248
L'Assomption		UN		Lib	7,999	49.73%	10	0.06%	89.16%	7,999	7,989	–	94	–	–	16,082
L'Islet		UN		Lib	5,862	58.09%	1,632	16.17%	86.47%	5,862	4,230	–	–	–	–	10,092
Labelle		UN		UN	5,857	52.33%	522	4.66%	89.81%	5,335	5,857	–	–	–	–	11,192
Lac-Saint-Jean		UN		Lib	9,844	56.65%	2,310	13.29%	91.75%	9,844	7,534	–	–	–	–	17,378
Laval		UN		Lib	51,752	56.43%	11,790	12.86%	80.21%	51,752	39,962	–	–	–	–	91,714
Laviolette		UN		UN	11,013	51.71%	728	3.42%	88.87%	10,285	11,013	–	–	–	–	21,298
Lévis		UN		Lib	13,194	54.74%	2,286	9.48%	90.25%	13,194	10,908	–	–	–	–	24,102
Lotbinière		UN		UN	6,272	50.65%	161	1.30%	90.17%	6,111	6,272	–	–	–	–	12,383
Maisonneuve		UN		UN	22,682	46.10%	2,130	4.33%	73.78%	20,552	22,682	–	3,147	2,443	373	49,197
Maskinongé		UN		UN	5,481	54.29%	867	8.59%	92.95%	4,614	5,481	–	–	–	–	10,095
Matane		UN		Lib	9,131	53.55%	1,210	7.10%	84.38%	9,131	7,921	–	–	–	–	17,052
Matapédia		UN		Lib	7,263	56.76%	1,730	13.52%	86.25%	7,263	5,533	–	–	–	–	12,796
Mégantic		UN		Lib	14,221	59.22%	4,427	18.43%	91.88%	14,221	9,794	–	–	–	–	24,015
Missisquoi		UN		UN	7,867	57.74%	2,108	15.47%	89.83%	5,759	7,867	–	–	–	–	13,626
Montcalm		UN		UN	4,432	51.49%	441	5.12%	90.35%	3,991	4,432	184	–	–	–	8,607
Montmagny		UN		Lib	5,865	49.89%	9	0.08%	89.21%	5,865	5,856	–	35	–	–	11,756
Montmorency		UN		UN	6,266	54.38%	1,009	8.76%	90.98%	5,257	6,266	–	–	–	–	11,523
Montréal–Jeanne-Mance		UN		UN	38,015	51.32%	2,467	3.33%	74.86%	35,548	38,015	–	515	–	–	74,078
Montréal-Laurier		UN		Lib	14,012	47.83%	129	0.44%	79.31%	14,012	13,883	489	–	910	–	29,294
Montréal-Mercier		UN		UN	16,423	51.46%	929	2.91%	74.84%	15,494	16,423	–	–	–	–	31,917
Montréal–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce		Lib		Lib	29,857	66.18%	14,602	32.37%	60.87%	29,857	15,255	–	–	–	–	45,112
Montréal-Outremont		Lib		Lib	27,069	62.98%	15,174	35.30%	58.38%	27,069	11,895	4,017	–	–	–	42,981
Montréal–Saint-Henri		Lib		Lib	17,820	49.87%	1,387	3.88%	74.92%	17,820	16,433	385	420	672	–	35,730
Montréal–Saint-Jacques		UN		UN	9,190	53.08%	1,463	8.45%	66.19%	7,727	9,190	–	186	211	–	17,314
Montréal–Saint-Louis		Lib		Lib	10,580	41.06%	101	0.39%	61.34%	10,580	10,479	3,569	213	876	50	25,767
Montréal–Sainte-Anne		Ind		Ind	9,206	57.90%	3,754	23.61%	63.73%	5,452	1,243	9,206	–	–	–	15,901
Montréal–Sainte-Marie		UN		UN	15,690	56.95%	4,328	15.71%	71.40%	11,362	15,690	–	498	–	–	27,550
Montréal-Verdun		Lib		Lib	18,354	57.64%	5,397	16.95%	72.26%	18,354	12,957	–	97	269	163	31,840
Napierville-Laprairie		UN		UN	8,551	50.05%	16	0.09%	90.06%	8,535	8,551	–	–	–	–	17,086
Nicolet		UN		UN	7,281	52.86%	788	5.72%	84.45%	6,493	7,281	–	–	–	–	13,774
Papineau		UN		UN	11,941	53.74%	1,661	7.47%	90.51%	10,280	11,941	–	–	–	–	22,221
Pontiac		UN		UN	5,181	58.37%	1,486	16.74%	82.14%	3,695	5,181	–	–	–	–	8,876
Portneuf		UN		Lib	12,086	54.45%	1,975	8.90%	91.19%	12,086	10,111	–	–	–	–	22,197
Québec-Centre		UN		UN	9,480	53.50%	1,239	6.99%	83.93%	8,241	9,480	–	–	–	–	17,721
Québec-Comté		UN		Lib	27,839	55.95%	7,153	14.38%	88.18%	27,839	20,686	–	1,232	–	–	49,757
Québec-Est		UN		UN	20,536	52.32%	1,956	4.98%	88.68%	18,580	20,536	–	–	–	134	39,250
Québec-Ouest		Lib		Lib	11,635	55.87%	2,523	12.11%	87.04%	11,635	9,112	–	79	–	–	20,826
Richelieu		UN		Lib	9,617	52.91%	1,145	6.30%	88.91%	9,617	8,472	88	–	–	–	18,177
Richmond		Lib		Lib	9,691	53.50%	1,269	7.01%	90.57%	9,691	8,422	–	–	–	–	18,113
Rimouski		Lib		Lib	11,585	55.84%	2,422	11.67%	85.70%	11,585	9,163	–	–	–	–	20,748
Rivière-du-Loup		Lib		Lib	8,671	51.71%	572	3.41%	88.58%	8,671	8,099	–	–	–	–	16,770
Roberval		UN		Lib	12,761	58.50%	3,971	18.21%	87.78%	12,761	8,790	–	261	–	–	21,812
Rouville		UN		UN	5,915	52.71%	609	5.43%	89.07%	5,306	5,915	–	–	–	–	11,221
Rouyn-Noranda		Lib		Lib	8,387	52.29%	735	4.58%	88.47%	8,387	7,652	–	–	–	–	16,039
Saguenay		UN		Lib	10,475	59.14%	3,237	18.27%	80.09%	10,475	7,238	–	–	–	–	17,713
Saint-Hyacinthe		Lib		Lib	11,456	55.16%	2,144	10.32%	85.60%	11,456	9,312	–	–	–	–	20,768
Saint-Jean		UN		Lib	8,869	50.60%	210	1.20%	91.85%	8,869	8,659	–	–	–	–	17,528
Saint-Maurice		Lib		Lib	15,040	53.12%	1,767	6.24%	91.02%	15,040	13,273	–	–	–	–	28,313
Saint-Sauveur		UN		UN	14,216	58.79%	4,252	17.58%	88.63%	9,964	14,216	–	–	–	–	24,180
Shefford		UN		UN	12,286	52.98%	1,383	5.96%	88.16%	10,903	12,286	–	–	–	–	23,189
Sherbrooke		UN		Lib	17,661	51.02%	1,396	4.03%	84.11%	17,661	16,265	–	692	–	–	34,618
Stanstead		UN		Lib	8,234	51.28%	410	2.55%	86.51%	8,234	7,824	–	–	–	–	16,058
Témiscamingue		UN		UN	4,289	53.44%	552	6.88%	89.78%	3,737	4,289	–	–	–	–	8,026
Témiscouata		UN		UN	5,606	53.46%	726	6.92%	86.55%	4,880	5,606	–	–	–	–	10,486
Terrebonne		UN		Lib	25,936	58.72%	8,387	18.99%	89.07%	25,936	17,549	–	681	–	–	44,166
Trois-Rivières		UN		UN	13,221	46.65%	103	0.36%	89.22%	13,118	13,221	1,856	–	–	144	28,339
Vaudreuil-Soulanges		UN		Lib	9,051	50.41%	149	0.83%	90.85%	9,051	8,902	–	–	–	–	17,953
Verchères		UN		Lib	5,583	50.01%	63	0.56%	91.08%	5,583	5,520	–	–	60	–	11,163
Westmount–Saint-Georges		Lib		Lib	10,988	61.75%	4,183	23.51%	55.12%	10,988	6,805	–	–	–	–	17,793
Wolfe		UN		Lib	3,972	51.85%	334	4.36%	92.17%	3,972	3,638	–	–	51	–	7,661
Yamaska		UN		UN	4,030	56.51%	929	13.03%	87.84%	3,101	4,030	–	–	–	–	7,131

  = open seat

  = turnout is above provincial average

  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature

  = incumbent had switched allegiance

  = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature

  = incumbency arose from byelection gain

  = other incumbents renominated

  = multiple candidates

  = adjusted on judicial recount

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place		Total
		Lib	UN
	Liberal		52	52
	Union Nationale	42		42
	Independent	1		1
Total		43	52	95

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party

Parties	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
█ Liberal	52	43
█ Union Nationale	42	52	1
█ Independent	1		7	3	1
█ Independent UN			15	4	3
█ Independent Liberal			12	2
█ Social Democratic			1
█ UN-Labour			1
█ Communist				1
█ Capital familial				1
█ Libéral républicain				1

Resulting composition of the 27th Quebec Legislative Assembly

Source		Party
		Lib	UN	Ind	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	16	40	1	57
	Open seats held	1	1		2
	Ouster of incumbent	1			1
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	23			23
	Incumbents defeated - previous incumbents returned	3			3
	Open seats gained	5			5
	Open seats gained - previous incumbents returned	1			1
	Byelection gain held		1		1
New ridings	New MPPs elected	2			2
Total		52	42	1	95

See also

• List of Quebec premiers
• Politics of Quebec
• Timeline of Quebec history
• List of Quebec political parties
• 26th Legislative Assembly of Quebec

Further reading

• Saywell, John T., ed. (1961). Canadian Annual Review for 1960. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

External links

• CBC TV video clip