Sunday, February 5, 2023

Monday, February 5, 1923. Parti libéral du Québec retains its position.

Louis-Alexandre Taschereau retained his position as Premier of Quebec, as he would all the way through 1936.


Taschereau was a member of the Liberal Party (Parti libéral du Québec) and had been elected in 1920 as the Canadian economy started to sink, in advance, into the Great Depression.  He was an opponent of Roosevelt's new Deal, comparing it to fascism and communism, and instead encouraged private enterprise to develop Quebec's forest and hydroelectric potential.  As he did so, his policies challenged Québécois agrarianism, which would begin to lead to its end.

And therefore, I am not a fan.

That may sound silly, but agrarianism is what allowed the Québécois to remain that.  Their agrarian separation and close association with the Catholic Church is what allowed them to remain a people for two centuries of "English" domination.

Taschereau was not a disloyal Francophone or Catholic, but by attacking the agrarian nature of Québécois society he was by default attacking its essence in favor of money.  Ultimately that attack would succeed, leading to the downfall of Québécois agrarianism and ultimately to the undercutting of the culture itself.  It remains, of course, but badly damaged by the experience.

No comments: