Cité Libre was an influential political journal published in Quebec through the 1950s and 1960s. Co-founded in 1950 by editor and future Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the publication served as an organ of opposition to the conservative and authoritarian government of Maurice Duplessis.
The journal published contributions by intellectuals such as Trudeau, Gérard Pelletier, Rene Levesque, Pierre Vallières and other intellectuals and activists. In doing so, the journal gained a reputation for its radical viewpoints at a time when anti-Duplessis views were difficult to get into print due to government repression. The journal was also anti-clerical in orientation, criticising the influence of the Roman Catholic Church over Quebec society and civil libertarian expressing support for the Asbestos Strike and opposition to repressive measures undertaken by Duplessis such as the Padlock law. Editor Trudeau helped form the Rassemblement , a group devoted to turning the public against Duplessis. This group, combined with Cité Libre, helped foster the intellectualism that revived the Québec Liberal Party, which defeated the Union Nationale in 1960.
Many of the themes raised by Cité Libre found fruition during Quebec's Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. A number of the journal's contributors went on to take leading parts in that movement. As the 1960s progressed, Quebec society became divided between Quebec nationalists and sovereigntists such as Levesque and Vallières and Canadian federalists such as Trudeau and Pelletier. This caused a rift among the journal's board members, ultimately leading to the magazine's evolution into a federalist journal. As well, the journal abandoned its earlier interest in socialist ideas and became more and more liberal in orientation. The division among Quebec's left, as well as the entry of a number of Cité Libre figures into electoral politics, led to the journal's demise in 1966.
The journal was briefly revived in 2000, in English and French and describing itself as "Quebec's Voice for Liberalism", but only put a few issues before ceasing publication.
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Last updated: 05-22-2005 15:20:12
