1939: Quebec

The political struggle which had been under way in Quebec for several years between the provincial semi-fascist movement led by Premier Duplessis and the Dominion Government culminated on Oct. 25, 1939, in a general provincial election which was won by the pro-Dominion groups. Few campaigns in Canadian history have been more bitter. Confident that Canada's entrance into the European War had strengthened his hand in his struggle with Ottawa, Duplessis dissolved the provincial legislature and called an election a year earlier than necessary. His party — the Union Nationale — waged its campaign primarily on the issue of conscription, hoping thereby to capitalize on the anti-war sentiment which undoubtedly exists in Quebec in this war as it did in 1914-18. The rejuvenated Liberal Party, under the leadership of Adelard Godbout, circumvented Duplessis's tactics by also coming out strongly against conscription — which had never even been proposed at Ottawa. Mr. Godbout was aided by Quebec's three representatives in the Dominion Cabinet — Ernest Lapoint, Minister of Justice; P. J. A. Cardin, the Minister of Public Works; and Postmaster-General C. G. Power. The three Dominion Ministers argued that a Liberal Cabinet was likely to have far more weight at Ottawa, if the issue of conscription ever came up, than would a hostile Duplessis government. As a token of their sincerity they staked their seats in the Dominion Cabinet on the outcome of the election. Defeat for the Liberals, therefore, would have meant a cabinet crisis in Ottawa with unpredictable consequences.

Although a Duplessis victory had been expected in many quarters, the results showed a landslide for the Liberals. The Union Nationale's tremendous majority of 71 of the 86 seats in the previous legislature was completely wiped out, and the Liberals captured 68 seats in the new legislature. Duplessis himself was reelected by a scant majority, while seven of his Cabinet ministers were defeated. The third party in the election, the Action Liberale National, received about 5 per cent of the total vote. Mayor Houde of Montreal was returned as an independent.

While the war issue was paramount in the campaign, it is probable that the poor fiscal record of the Duplessis Government contributed to its defeat. To a degree, also, the results may reflect reaction against his notorious Padlock Law, whereby Liberal and Labor sympathizers were victimized along with Communists in a measure allowing the Government to padlock any private dwelling, hall, or meeting house which contained 'Communist' literature — the term 'Communist' being left purposely undefined. The results indicate that the support of the Catholic Church, largely responsible for his dramatic victory three years previously, had been mostly withdrawn from Duplessis at this election. Some observers believe that the visit of King George and Queen Elizabeth in May and June was a factor in swinging the province from its extreme anti-British stand.

On Nov. 8, a Liberal Ministry headed by Adelard Godbout took the oath of office. The new Cabinet consisted of: Premier and Minister of Agriculture and Colonization — Adelard Godbout; Minister of Roads and Public Works — T. D. Bouchard; Minister of the Treasury — J. A. Mathewson; Attorney-General — Wilfrid Girouard; Minister of Lands and Forests, Games, and Fisheries — Pierre Emil Cote; Minister of Municipal Affairs, Trade and Commerce — Oscar Drouin; Minister of Labor and Mines — Edgar Rouchette; Provincial Secretary and Minister of Health — Henri Grouix, and six ministers without portfolios.

Conflict between Quebec's provincial government and the Dominion Government raged almost without ceasing in the months prior to the outbreak of the war. At the opening of the Quebec legislature in January, the province reaffirmed its opposition to any amendment to the Canadian constitution which would strengthen the Ottawa government. Later Duplessis accused the Federal Government of being 'accomplices' of the Communists because radical literature had been distributed by the Dominion mails contrary to the spirit of the Padlock Law. A lull in the bickering occurred during the enthusiastic reception given to the King and Queen — although some critics accused the Quebec government of being less than sincere in its welcome. In July a long-standing dispute between the provincial authorities and the Dominion over the handling of relief culminated in the temporary stoppage of all work relief projects. Provincial officials blamed the Federal Government for having released no funds since April, while the Dominion insisted that the Province follow the Federal policy of using relief funds for direct relief rather than more expensive work projects so that no one might go hungry. A compromise was finally worked out under which Federal funds were obtained and work relief minimized. During the electoral campaign, Duplessis accused the Dominion Government of using its war power to censor the Union Nationale on the air. Indirect threats of secession were uttered by Union Nationale ministers as a possibility in the event that conscription were adopted.

Although the fiscal affairs of the Province were in a serious condition as the year ended. Quebec shared with the rest of Canada a high degree of prosperity in its mining industry. The Quebec Bureau of Mines estimated the gold production of the Province for the first nine months of the year at 720,285 ounces, worth $25,487,865, as against 641,365 ounces valued at $22,447,775 in the corresponding period of 1938. Production of silver for the first eight months totaled 756,590 ounces as compared with 729,157 ounces in the 1938 period.