Quebec 1962: Lesage's radical liberalization quickly becomes very popular in urban areas, mostly popular in suburban areas while rural Quebec remains loyal to the GOP. Former DNR Commissioner Daniel Johnson has assumed leadership of a rudderless GOP, but faced against a popular Democratic incumbent and a divided party his cause is hopeless. The second televised gubernatorial debate (Barrette had refused in 1960) is held, which is widely seen as a huge Lesage victory. Earlier that year Lesage had attempted legislation to nationalize the private electricity sector. Filibustered by Republican legislators and lacking the supermajority required for cloture, both parties agreed to schedule a concurrent ballot proposition titled Question 2. It passed 63/37, and by year's end enabling legislation would be enacted. As a result, Democrats gained an Assembly supermajority. Johnson faced 4 years of arduous rebuilding and many pundits believed the state would be solidly Democratic for the foreseeable future. However Johnson and the most astute GOP strategists, such as Young Republican chairman Brian Mulroney, believed otherwise.
1966: Johnson had finally imposed a lasting peace between GOP factions and updated the party platform to reflect what all realized were the new realities in 1965. As the GOP leader predicted, Lesage's boldly progressive legislation sparked an intense rural and to a lesser extent, suburban backlash which was missed by many national and state pundits. In the administration, only DNR Commissioner Rene Levesque, an antiestablishment progressive and native Gaspésien, sensed potentially serious political problems. Yet even he felt Lesage was moving too slowly rather than too fast, a viewed widely shared by administration progressives. Like the national party Democrats were almost openly warring between progressives and establishment wings, which caused Lesage considerable grief later in his term. In the meantime advocates of Quebec independence had formed the National Independence Rally (NIR/RIN). Johnson quickly made a secret deal with their leader, journalist Pierre Bourgault, to cooperate in exchange for mutual policy goals. They debated allowing NIR candidates to run as fusion candidates, but instead decided to remain separate to avoid scaring each other's base. This would prove an important element in the general election. An imperious Lesage, oblivious to the offence taken by swing voters at his arrogance, buoyantly accepted renomination in June. Lapalme decided to retire after 20 years in politics, and Lesage replaced him with Education Commissioner Paul Gerin-Lajoie. This was done to reconcile progressives and lay a marker for future education reforms in a third Lesage term. The general election was as ideologically polarizing as 1962, but Johnson also reassured independents that he would govern as a moderate conservative while extending some of Lesage's reforms. Combined with superior GOP organization and candidates, this was enough for Johnson to narrowly wrest the governorship from Lesage. The incumbent was both despondent and angry at his loss, promising he would be back and blaming the media for his loss. Now it was Democrats cast into opposition with bitter recriminations among publicly warring factions. Democratic leadership would pass to Assembly Minority Leader Gerard D. Levesque.
The Assembly was 58/50 Republican and the Senate 15/9 Republican.
1966: Johnson had finally imposed a lasting peace between GOP factions and updated the party platform to reflect what all realized were the new realities in 1965. As the GOP leader predicted, Lesage's boldly progressive legislation sparked an intense rural and to a lesser extent, suburban backlash which was missed by many national and state pundits. In the administration, only DNR Commissioner Rene Levesque, an antiestablishment progressive and native Gaspésien, sensed potentially serious political problems. Yet even he felt Lesage was moving too slowly rather than too fast, a viewed widely shared by administration progressives. Like the national party Democrats were almost openly warring between progressives and establishment wings, which caused Lesage considerable grief later in his term. In the meantime advocates of Quebec independence had formed the National Independence Rally (NIR/RIN). Johnson quickly made a secret deal with their leader, journalist Pierre Bourgault, to cooperate in exchange for mutual policy goals. They debated allowing NIR candidates to run as fusion candidates, but instead decided to remain separate to avoid scaring each other's base. This would prove an important element in the general election. An imperious Lesage, oblivious to the offence taken by swing voters at his arrogance, buoyantly accepted renomination in June. Lapalme decided to retire after 20 years in politics, and Lesage replaced him with Education Commissioner Paul Gerin-Lajoie. This was done to reconcile progressives and lay a marker for future education reforms in a third Lesage term. The general election was as ideologically polarizing as 1962, but Johnson also reassured independents that he would govern as a moderate conservative while extending some of Lesage's reforms. Combined with superior GOP organization and candidates, this was enough for Johnson to narrowly wrest the governorship from Lesage. The incumbent was both despondent and angry at his loss, promising he would be back and blaming the media for his loss. Now it was Democrats cast into opposition with bitter recriminations among publicly warring factions. Democratic leadership would pass to Assembly Minority Leader Gerard D. Levesque.
The Assembly was 58/50 Republican and the Senate 15/9 Republican.
