Sixty years ago, the first province-wide strike took place in Quebec’s hospitals. This massive walkout proved decisive for working conditions in the healthcare sector in Quebec and led to the very first national collective agreement. The impact of this strike is still being felt today. In 1966, Quebec was in the midst of the Quiet Revolution. The state was playing an increasingly prominent role in the management of healthcare at a time when nuns were still active in the sector. “We had to break free from the nuns’ influence. Many people held the view that we care for others because it is a vocation. It is Christian charity. And none of that required 1/8adequate pay 3/8 for the staff looking after the sick. But there came a point where, in order to organize the services, 1/8it became necessary 3/8to centralise negotiations to achieve our aims,” explains Réjean Leclerc, president of the Health and Social Services Federation (FSSS–CSN). Camille Robert, assistant professor in the Department of History at the University of Montreal, agrees. “Salaries at the time were very, very low, even though there was greater government funding for hospitals. We’re still somewhat caught up in this notion of a calling, which was inherited from the days when nuns ran the hospitals,” she says. In the early 1960s, the right to strike was not recognised by the Labour Code. “A new Labour Code was adopted in 1964, which specifically recognised the right to strike for public-sector employees, including hospital staff,” explains Robert. “From that point on, it became easier to organise strikes because, prior to that, such strikes were considered illegal.” At the time, working conditions were negotiated on a hospital-by-hospital basis, which led to disparities. “From one hospital to another, there were significant differences in pay and benefits,” says Robert. And so, the National Federation of Services, which is affiliated to the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN), sought to hold its first round of negotiations and organise its first province-wide strike in order to standardise working conditions. So that all hospital staff would finally have benefits and wages that were relatively similar.” The history professor explains that there was a deadlock at the negotiating table, particularly on the part of the hospital administrations, which were grouped together in an employers’ association. At the end of June, the National Federation of Services put a strike mandate to a vote among its members, and 92 per cent of them supported the industrial action. The general strike began in July. Around 32,000 employees from 139 hospitals walked out. ‘It was around this time that the provincial government stepped in, because prior to that it hadn’t necessarily been involved in the negotiations,’ says Camille Robert. The early days of essential services Newspaper archives mention concerns regarding healthcare services. Doctors, in particular, made public statements to share their worries. In some respects, history is repeating itself, as nowadays we often hear the expression ‘holding the public hostage’ when health-care staff walk out. “It’s quite different today,” comments Robert. ”It’s very strictly regulated. There’s a law on essential services that requires around 90 per cent of services to be provided during a strike.” In this sense, the regulations would not allow for a similar strike in the modern era. “I’ve read that there were some service disruptions, but they had no consequences,” says Réjean Leclerc. He explains that 60 years ago, strikers made themselves available to provide care. “That’s clearly documented in trade union reports and articles,” says Mr Leclerc. They organised the services amongst themselves. Essentially, we see the early days of essential services being organised by the employees themselves, who said: ”To ensure the public is on our side, we must provide a minimum level of service so that it isn’t claimed that people are dying in hospitals and that it’s the fault of the strike and the strikers.” In an attempt to reach an agreement, Premier Daniel Johnson appointed a mediator, which worked to a certain extent, according to Robert. He then placed the hospitals under state control. ‘It was at that point that the state really asserted itself as an employer and as a negotiator to bring the dispute to an end,’ explains the professor. The strike lasted around three weeks, and staff returned to work on Aug. 4. Paving the way for other major strikes Subsequently, teachers followed a similar course of action. “This is a trend we’re seeing more and more in the public sector, where there is a desire to standardise and improve working conditions for everyone,” explains Robert. Hospital staff have managed to secure several gains. Firstly, a pay rise and also the introduction of the Rand formula. “This is effectively the deduction of union dues at source, rather than having to collect them from each worker,” summarises Robert. The dues are deducted directly from pay and paid to the union. Staff also have a bank of sick leave and improved holiday entitlements. Furthermore, the employer must provide premises for the hospital’s trade union, and elected union representatives may take time off work to carry out their union duties. The 1966 strike in Quebec’s hospitals was a turning point. “It’s a strike that’s relatively little known today, but which was nonetheless quite pivotal for what followed,” says Robert. It marked a turning point where the state assumed its role as an employer. It standardised and improved working conditions in hospitals, and eventually in schools and the rest of the civil service. “These were quite significant moments in labour relations. I would even say that they paved the way for other major strikes that took place, such as the Common Front strikes in 1972 and 1976, and there were others after that,” comments the history professor. She points out that these strikes had an even broader scope, as they brought together the entire public and parapublic sectors, involving more than 200,000 workers. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 8, 2026.
