Stéphane Savard

Stéphane Savard, « L’instrumentalisation d’Hydro-Québec par l’Union nationale (1944-1960) : quels rôles pour le développement hydroélectrique? » published in the edited collection Duplessis, son milieu, son époque (Québec : Septentrion, 2010), edited by Xavier Gélinas and Lucia Ferretti.

Savard’s article deals with a key symbol of Quebec modernity: Hydro-Quebec. The author examines the development strategies of this crown corporation during the period when the province was led by Premier Maurice Duplessis, an individual known for his conservative ideology regarding the role of the state in the economy. Far from dismantling this new crown corporation, created by his predecessor Adélard Godbout, Maurice Duplessis granted substantial responsibilities in the sectors of industrial and regional development to this new state-run corporation.   Moreover, he made this crown corporation a symbol of technological and scientific innovation that would permit francophones to work in sectors in which few had done so before. The section of this article which deals with the symbolism of Hydro-Québec as a business capable of taming the forces of nature is particularly innovative. Primarily using the parliamentary debates of the Quebec Legislative Assembly, this article reveals the strategies employed by this crown corporation.