Fonds F0303 - Maurice Duplessis fonds

Open original Digital object

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Maurice Duplessis fonds

General material designation

Parallel title

Other title information

Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

F0303

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

Physical description area

Physical description

5 microfilm reels ; 156 m in length
1 microfilm reel : positive and negative ; 47 m in length
3 microfilm reels ; 16 mm, 80 m in length

Title proper of publisher's series

Parallel titles of publisher's series

Other title information of publisher's series

Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

Note on publisher's series

Archival description area

Name of creator

(1890-1959)

Biographical history

Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (1890-1959) was twice premier and attorney general of Quebec, in the period 1936-1939 and again in 1944-1959. A Conservative member of the provincial legislature, he rose to take over that party in 1931, attracted dissident Liberals and nationalists and introduced the Unione Nationale Party for the 1935 election. The following year the Liberal government was defeated and Duplessis became premier as head of the UN. Although he lost the next election, Duplessis was returned to power in 1944 and was re-elected in three ensuing elections. Duplessis was known in Quebec as an ardent nationalist who frustrated federal government plans to enact a more centralist national government in the 1940s and 1950s while at the same time passing social legislation and building a public infrastructure (schools, roads, hospitals) on an unprecedented scale in Quebec. He died in office in 1959.

Custodial history

The material on these nine microfilm reels was collected by Conrad Black in the course of writing his biography of Duplessis and consists of original material, photocopied material and microfilmed material.

Scope and content

The fonds consists of correspondence and papers (1928-1959), arranged chronologically, receipts for monies received from Maurice Duplessis and others, including receipts from organizations, associations and student awards. There are also the proceedings of the meetings of the Public Accounts Committee Inquiry (1936), through which Duplessis exposed the corruption of the Liberal government of the day. The fonds also contains scrapbooks of newspaper clippings relating to political and social developments in Quebec (1929-1949) with concentration on the period, 1934-1936, as well as newspaper clippings relating to the death and funeral of Duplessis. In addition, there is correspondence with and/or concerning several prominent Quebecois including Daniel Johnson, Thibaudeau Rinfret, Msgr. Ferdinand Vandry, Georges Vanier, and companies located in the province (Dominion Textiles, Noranda Mines), and related subjects.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

Language of material

Script of material

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

No restrictions on access.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Finding aids

A reel list is attached to this description.

Associated materials

See Maurice Duplessis Papers at the University of Windsor Archives, Leddy Library.

Related materials

Accruals

The fonds comprises the following accession: 1980-008. Further accruals are expected.

General note

Originals of some of the microfilmed material are held in the University of Windsor Archives. This is true of material on reels 1-5, which Conrad Black collected as original material. Reels 6-9 were microfilmed by Black, and these reels of microfilmed material were copied by the York University Archives in 1980.

Alternative identifier(s)

Standard number area

Standard number

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Control area

Status

Final

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

2002/04/04 Jizi Chen:. Word Perfect (Creation)
2002/04/04 Awaiting review by the Data Collection Archivist
2003/04/16 Shannon MacDonald. Added URL for online finding aid. Updated wording in accruals, access restrictions.
2018/04/04 KCP. Added GMD, finding aid note, and published
2018/11/15 J Grant. Added reel list.

Language of description

Sources

Digital object (Master) rights area

Digital object (Reference) rights area

Digital object (Thumbnail) rights area

Accession area

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

Related places

Related genres