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 , 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. :*
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==