In the past several years, a new business elite dominated by francophones has emerged in Quebec, which for centuries has been dominated economically by anglophones. This thesis is an attempt to describe the economic changes in Quebec, particularly the major personalities in the province's business world, behind this phenomenon. The paper briefly covers the past few centuries of Quebec's history, focusing on the business milieu, but places greater emphasis on the past two decades.

This thesis is descriptive rather than analytical; it is an extended, book-length piece of journalism rather than an academic dissertation. Through the personalities of the men and women, in the past and present, who have acted as the main players in Quebec's economic elite, the paper aims to demonstrate how the nature of the province's business 'establishment' has profoundly changed in the past twenty years or so. In doing so, the aim of this thesis is to contribute to a greater understanding of current social, political, and economic trends in the province of Quebec.