Significant political, social and cultural changes would follow Jean Lesage’s election as Premier of Quebec. The Quiet Revolution marked the beginning of the secularization of Quebec society and the modernization of the Quebec state. The provincial government would undertake reforms, such as the nationalization of hydroelectricity and the creation of a Ministry of Education, to enable French-speaking Quebecers to become “maîtres chez eux” (masters of their own house), an expression used by the Lesage government in 1962. The aim was to improve living conditions for Francophones and encourage their full participation in the Quebec economy, which until then had been largely controlled by English-speaking elites.

The following years would be marked by the emergence of Quebec nationalism and the growth of the sovereigntist movement.