The Rocket

 Before the turn of the century, through the advocation of the Inuit people, the federal government divided up the Northwest Territories in the Arctic into two, creating the new territory of Nunavut out of the eastern part.

The next thematic area looks at Quebec and Francophones in Canada. It begins with a man who remains a legend in the province and country long after his death. Maurice "Rocket" Richard was one of the greatest players in hockey history, playing for the Montreal Canadiens and earning the undying devotion of millions. One of his jerseys and one of his hockey sticks resides here.

In the 1960s, Quebec underwent what was called the Quiet Revolution- a time of societal transformation and a look towards modernity. 

Part of this came from the end of the premiership of Marcel Duplessis, who died in office after eighteen years in 1959. His iron grip on power gave way to new possibilities and a strong turn in a different direction.

Hydro-Quebec has had some big infrastructure projects in the interior in the post-war decades. One of those examples is the Manic 5 project. European readers will recognize Tintin at lower right- the creator once paid a visit to the area and left a sketch behind.

The project left a big mark that still resides in the province today. Some mementos of the time are seen here.

In 1967, Quebec saw the visit of the French president, who proceeded to stick his big nose where it didn't belong. Charles de Gaulle, the war hero (in his own mind) with an ego that could match that witless orange goon south of the border these days, paid a state visit to Canada. He made a speech at Montreal's city hall advocating an independent Quebec, setting off a diplomatic firestorm.

His speech is played on a screen above, the infamous Vive le Quebec libre speech. He was sent home by an angry federal government (rightfully so). I will always maintain that he did absolutely nothing in World War Two that couldn't have been done by others, that he took credit for things that were not his to take credit for, that France would have been better served if a lucky German sniper had taken him out in 1940, and that he is one of history's colossal assholes. I expect he's burning in hell these days, complaining about everything as usual.

The 1960s saw the rise of the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ), a terrorist group that carried out a series of bombing attacks for years. Police equipment seen here speaks to the time.