Was There a Crisis? Living Standards in Lower Canada, 1760 to 1848.

This article examines the debated claim of an agricultural crisis in Lower Canada (modern Quebec) during the early 19th century, which purportedly caused falling living standards due to declining wheat production. Using newly compiled data on real wages, literacy rates (proxied by signatures on marriage records), and infant mortality from 1760 to 1850, the study finds no evidence of a crisis; instead, it documents modest increases in real wages, rising literacy, and declining infant mortality. These indicators, representative of the majority population, suggest improving living standards rather than stagnation or decline. The findings align with recent research showing Quebec’s economic structural changes—such as a shift from wheat farming to other sectors—were driven by productivity growth and trade liberalization, not by forced or painful adjustment. Overall, the study challenges the traditional narrative of an agricultural crisis and supports the view that living standards in Quebec improved during this period.