Maurice Duplessis was Premier of Quebec, Canada, from 1936 to 1939 and again from 1944 to 1959 as leader of the Union Nationale (UN) caucus in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, the lower house of the Quebec Legislature. The first term of the longest-serving premier of the province since Confederation lasted three years (1936–1939) and was interrupted when he lost a snap election in 1939. He returned to power in 1944 and ruled the province uninterruptedly until his death in September 1959, maintaining majorities in three following elections (1948, 1952 and 1956). The premier's death threw the Union Nationale into disarray. The next year, the party lost power to the Liberals under Jean Lesage, who reversed a lot of Duplessis's policies and radically changed Quebec's politics by leading the province through the Quiet Revolution.

Duplessis became premier on 17 August 1936, shortly after he took full control of the Union Nationale. It started as a coalition between the Action libérale nationale (ALN), composed of a group of dissident Liberal members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), and its junior partner, the Conservatives, of which Duplessis was leader prior to these parties' merger into the UN. He finished the consolidation of his grip over the new party, which he would maintain until his death. The first term proved difficult for Duplessis as the Great Depression spawned numerous problems on the economic front. Duplessis's first term marked the introduction of old-age pensions and minimum wages for almost all workers. He strengthened workplace accident protections, created the Ministry of Health and instituted a popular rural loan program. At the same time, borrowing soared to the point the federal government had to intervene to restrict it and the laissez-faire policies of his predecessors, which he previously promised to put an end to, were continued. Notably, Duplessis refused to nationalize the hydroelectric plants. A controversial act aimed to repress communists was passed during the first term, known as the Padlock Law, and the government passed regulations weakening organized labour.

During the second period of Duplessis governments, the economic situation improved thanks to the post–World War II expansion that the Western world entered into. Duplessis generally promoted a model of economic development with little state intervention, low taxation and very limited government-sponsored welfare. The budget was in the long term balanced. The province noted solid economic growth and much investment into the province's resources, usually by large out-of-province companies and with few conditions. Significant progress in rural electrification and building schools was noted during these fifteen years. He also approved the current flag of Quebec.

Duplessis was known for strong advocacy for provincial autonomy, to the point of refusing federal subsidies, investments and social programs in the province. The government cracked down on increasingly powerful trade unions as well as the Jehovah's Witnesses, while also maintaining a cozy (and often clientelist and corrupt) relationship with both business interests and the Catholic Church. The cooperation of the government with the highest tiers of the clergy (unlike in his first term) was particularly close, with many healthcare, social and education duties being delegated or shared with church officials. This, together with the government's authoritarian tendencies and staunch conservatism, led many contemporary observers to describe Duplessis's Quebec as a somewhat backward region relative to the rest of North America. Some of his strongest critics labelled the period the Grande Noirceur (Great Darkness).

First government (1936–1939)

Composition Composition of the first Duplessis government (1936–1939)PersonGovernment positionDateNotesMaurice DuplessisPremier and President of the Executive Council26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Attorney General26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Minister of Roads7 July 1938 – 30 November 1938Minister of Lands and Forests23 February 1937 – 27 July 1938Martin Beattie FisherTreasurer26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Albiny PaquetteProvincial Secretary26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Minister of Health15 December 1936 – 8 November 1939Bona DussaultMinister of Agriculture26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Henry Lemaître Auger26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Onésime GagnonMinister of Mines, Hunting and Fisheries26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Minister of Mines and Fisheries from 15 December 1936John Samuel BourqueMinister of Public Works26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Minister of Lands and Forests27 July 1938 – 8 November 1939William TremblayMinister of Labour26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Oscar DrouinMinister of Lands and Forests26 August 1936 – 23 February 1937Lost position due to his resignation from the Union NationaleFrançois LeducMinister of Roads26 August 1936 – 7 July 1938Expelled during a technical reorganization of the cabinetJoseph BilodeauMinister of Municipal Affairs, Industry and Commerce26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Anatole CarignanMinister of Roads30 November 1938 – 8 November 1939Antonio ÉlieMinister without portfolio26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Thomas Joseph CoonanMinister without portfolio26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Gilbert LaytonMinister without portfolio26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939Thomas ChapaisMinister without portfolio26 August 1936 – 8 November 1939From the Legislative Council The first government of Maurice Duplessis was formed in peculiar circumstances. The Union Nationale at the time was far from a monolithic party, as it included both former ALN and Conservative members. Fourteen of these formed the cabinet. Onésime Gagnon, Duplessis's challenger in the 1933 Conservative leadership contest, was appointed Minister of Mines, Hunting and Fisheries, and four former Liberals received their ministerial seats; however, Philippe Hamel, one of ALN's main ideologues, was not offered a position in the provincial cabinet. Among other consequences of the 1936 election, Camillien Houde, who had a feud with Duplessis, unexpectedly decided to resign from his mayorship of Montreal, citing bad relations with the new Premier, despite a looming election three months later (the Union Nationale-backed candidate won it).

Duplessis immediately came into conflict his minister of roads, François Leduc, who was deeply critical of being forced to cooperate with the business interests of "friends of the party". Leduc, however, refused to resign. Duplessis, who accused the minister of roads of various "abuses", then decided to submit a request to the Lieutenant Governor to dismiss the whole government, only to secretly assemble it later from the same members but without the recalcitrant minister. It was the first time ever since Confederation that a premier used this method to fire a government minister. Five nationalist MLAs led by Philippe Hamel, and which also included Oscar Drouin, Ernest Grégoire, René Chaloult and Adolphe Marcoux, also parted ways with Duplessis. They quit the Union Nationale altogether and founded the short-lived Parti National after Duplessis failed to keep up on his electoral pledges to fend off foreign capital. Duplessis thus assumed the interim positions of the minister of roads (from Leduc) and minister of lands and forests (from Drouin). This was in addition to the position of Premier of Quebec and the Attorney General of Quebec, a position which he appointed himself for the whole duration of his time in office.

Economical and welfare policies

During his speech from the throne, Duplessis emphasized that his priority was giving "[advantage to] human capital over money capital". He announced four measures seeking to implement his agenda: creation of the Farm Credit Bureau (Office du crédit agricole du Québec), cancellation of the so-called Dillon law (which had been adopted to restrict the possibility of challenging election results, as the Conservatives sought to do when they lost in 1931), adoption of an old-age pension program together with the federal government and enhancement of the law on workplace accidents, as well as a ban on ministers to sit on corporate boards of directors. In particular, the rural loan program proved extremely popular in the countryside, which was a factor in the party's longevity. Duplessis started it due to his conviction that agriculture still was the main driver of economic progress in the province.

This was, however, where the similarities with the electoral pledges ended. Despite assurances that he would reform the economy, the policies he pursued largely mirrored those of the Liberals his party had just deposed. He also opened the province to more foreign capital, notably to Robert R. McCormick, an American media mogul and an outspoken critic of the New Deal policies, who built a new paper plant in Baie-Comeau. Duplessis also resented the idea of nationalization of hydroelectric plants, as some ALN members proposed while the Union Nationale was still a coalition. This attracted accusations of hypocrisy from his adversaries, and even some members of his own party were not happy with what they saw was "selling off Quebec to the foreigners". These MLAs formed the Parti National.

His social welfare record in the first term was somewhat progressive. Old-age pensions and workplace accident protections were instituted during his first year in office, as were some public works projects, such as the completion of the Montreal Botanical Garden. The Union Nationale was the first Quebec cabinet to include the Ministry of Health, and it also financed the new , a research facility similar to Paris's Pasteur Institute. In line with the Catholic Church's teaching, Duplessis launched a program of assistance to needy mothers who were married (but not to other women), as well as to the blind and the orphaned. Despite these initiatives, the condition of Quebec's economy did not improve during his term as the effects of the Great Depression were still strong. Duplessis was thus forced to look to the debt markets for money. Public debt ballooned from $150 million to $286 million during his three years in power (C$ to C$ in dollars), which was the highest rate of debt accumulation since Confederation to that date. Ottawa therefore started controlling the province's borrowing, which Duplessis decried as an invasion on Quebec's fiscal autonomy.

Duplessis adopted the Fair Wage Act () and created the Fair Wage Board. Before the Fair Wage Act, only women were entitled to a minimum wage, but Duplessis extended this to almost all workers for the first time. The Board determined "fair wages" ($4.80–$24 per week, which is $-$ in ) using a complex scheme that sorted employees according to the type of company they worked for, the nature of their job and the job class they belonged to. The law was far from ideal. It did not apply to railway, agriculture workers and home servants. Trade unions were reluctant to embrace these regulations as they preferred collective bargaining, which led to agreements to which the Fair Wage Act did not apply. Moreover, the government's application of the law was patchy because employers, including government agencies, were repeatedly granted exemptions from existing orders of the Board. In some cases, the ordinances were used to effectively suppress wage increases. The patchwork of regulations, exemptions and cancellations of orders made enforcement such a nightmare that the Board struggled to interpret its own orders, which often lacked consistency. By 1940, minimum wages were raised above Ontario levels, but almost a fifth of workers were not paid what they were due by law, partially because the workers had little awareness of their rights.

Societal issues