Quebec

This article is about the Canadian province. For the similar historical entity, see Province of Quebec (1763-1791). For the city, see Quebec City. For other uses, see Quebec (disambiguation) and Québécois (disambiguation).

Quebec
Country	Canada
Confederation	July 1, 1867 (1st)
Government
• Lieutenant-Governor	Pierre Duchesne
• Premier	Jean Charest
Federal representation	Parliament of Canada
House seats	75 of 338 (22.2%)
Senate seats	24 of 105 (22.9%)
Population
• Total	8,501,833
GDP
• Rank	2nd
• Total (2006)	C$285.158 billion
• Per capita	C$37,278 (10th)
Canadian postal abbr.	QC
Postal code prefix	G, H, J
Rankings include all provinces and territories

Quebec (Template:PronEng or /kəˈbɛk/), in French, Québec (IPA: [kebɛk]) is a province in Canada, and the only one whose people have been declared a nation within Canada.

Quebec is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario, James Bay and Hudson Bay. To the north are the Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay, to the east the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the provinces of New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, and to the south the United States (the states of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine). It also shares maritime borders with the Territory of Nunavut and the provinces of Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is the second most populated province, and most of its inhabitants live along or close to the banks of the Saint Lawrence River. The central and north portion of the province is sparsely populated and inhabited by the aboriginal peoples of Canada. Quebec operates North America's largest and most extensive civil service.

The official language of Quebec is French; it is the sole Canadian province whose population is mainly francophone, and where English is not an official language at the provincial level. Quebec has a strong and active nationalist movement, and has had controversial referendums on independence in 1980 and 1995. While the province's substantial natural resources have long been the mainstay of its economy, Quebec has adapted itself to function effectively in sectors of the knowledge economy such as: information and communication technologies, aerospace, biotechnology, and health industries.

Etymology and boundary changes

Samuel de Champlain, Father of New France

The name "Quebec", which comes from a Míkmaq word meaning "strait, narrows", originally referred to the area around Quebec City where the Saint Lawrence River narrows to a cliff-lined gap. Early variations in the spelling of the name included Québecq (Levasseur, 1601) and Kébec (Lescarbot 1609). . French explorer Samuel de Champlain chose Québec in 1608 for the colonial outpost he would use as the administrative seat for the French colony of Canada and New France. .

The Province of Quebec was founded in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 after the Treaty of Paris formally transferred the French colony of New France to Britain after the Seven Years' War. It restricted the province to an area along the banks of the Saint Lawrence River. The Quebec Act of 1774 expanded the territory of the province to include the Great Lakes and the Ohio River Valley. The Treaty of Versailles, 1783 ceded territories south of the Great Lakes to the United States. After the Constitutional Act of 1791, the territory was divided between Lower Canada (present day Quebec) and Upper Canada (present day Ontario), with each being granted an elected Legislative Assembly. In 1840, these become Canada East and Canada West after the British Parliament unified Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. This territory was redivided into the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario at the Confederation in 1867. Each became one of the first four provinces.

In 1870, Canada purchased Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay Company and over the next few decades the Parliament of Canada transferred portions of this territory to Quebec that would more than triple the size of the province. In 1898, the Canadian Parliament passed the first Quebec Boundary Extension Act that expanded the provincial boundaries northward to include the lands of the aboriginal Cree. This was followed by the addition of the District of Ungava through the Quebec Boundaries Extension Act of 1912 that added the northernmost lands of the aboriginal Inuit to create the modern Province of Quebec.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Quebec

Satellite view of three Monteregian Hills (Saint Bruno, Saint Hilaire, and Rougemont) in Saint Lawrence Valley.

The province occupies a vast territory (nearly three times the size of France), most of which is very sparsely populated. Quebec's highest point is Mont D'Iberville, which is located on the border with Newfoundland and Labrador in the northeastern part of the province.

The most populated region is the Saint Lawrence River valley in the south, where the capital, Quebec City, and the largest city, Montreal, are situated. The region is low-lying and flat, except for isolated igneous outcrops near Montreal called the Monteregian Hills. The combination of rich and easily arable soils and Quebec's warmest climate make the valley Quebec's most prolific agricultural area. A distinctive landscape is divided into narrow rectangular tracts of land that date back to settlement patterns in 17th century New France. The river is one of the worlds largest, sustaining large inland Atlantic ports at Montreal, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City. The Saint Lawrence Seaway provides a link between the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and Great Lakes starting at the Saint Lambert locks in Montreal.

Robert-Bourassa Dam, part of James Bay Project on Canadian Shield.

More than 90 percent of Quebec's area lies within the Canadian Shield, a rough, rocky terrain sculpted and scraped clean of soil by successive ice ages. It is rich in the mineral and hydro-electric resources that are a mainstay of the Quebec economy. In the Labrador Peninsula portion of the Shield, the far northern region of Nunavik includes the Ungava Peninsula and consists of Arctic tundra inhabited mostly by the Inuit. Further south lie subarctic taiga and boreal forest, where spruce, fir, and poplar trees provide raw materials for Quebec's pulp and paper and lumber industries. Although inhabited principally by the Cree, Naskapi, and Innu First Nations, thousands of temporary workers reside at Radisson to service the massive James Bay Hydroelectric Project on the La Grande and Eastmain rivers. The southern portion of the shield extends to the Laurentians, a mountain range just north of Montreal and Quebec City that attracts local and international tourists to ski hills and lakeside resorts.

The tree-covered Appalachian Mountains flank the eastern portion of the province, extending from New England into the Eastern Townships, northeastward through the Beauce region, and on to the Gaspé Peninsula, where they disappear into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This region sustains a mix of forestry, industry, and tourism based on its natural resources and landscape.

Climate

Quebec has three main climate regions. Southern and western Quebec, including most of the major population centres, have a humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfb) with warm, humid summers and long, cold winters. The main climatic influences are from western and northern Canada which move eastward and from the southern and central United States that move northward. Due to the influence of both storm systems from the core of North America and the Atlantic Ocean, precipitation is abundant throughout the year, with most areas receiving more than 1,000 mm (40 inches) of precipitation, including over 300 cm (120 inches) of snow in many areas. Severe summer weather (such as tornadoes and severe thunderstorms) are far less common than in southern Ontario, although they occasionally occur.

Most of central Quebec has a subarctic climate (Koppen Dfc). Winters are long and among the coldest in eastern Canada, while summers are warm but very short due to the higher latitude and the greater influence of Arctic air masses. Precipitation is also somewhat less than farther south, except at some of the higher elevations.

The northern regions of Quebec have an arctic climate (Koppen ET), with very cold winters and short, much cooler summers. The primary influences in this region are the Arctic Ocean currents (such as the Labrador Current) and continental air masses from the High Arctic.

History

Main article: History of Quebec

First Nations: before 1500

At the time of first European contact and later colonization, Algonquian, Iroquoian and Inuit groups were the peoples that inhabited what is now Québec. Their lifestyles and cultures reflected the land on which they lived. Seven Algonquian groups lived nomadic lives based on hunting, gathering, and fishing in the rugged terrain of the Canadian Shield: (James Bay Cree, Innu, Algonquins) and Appalachian Mountains (Mi'kmaq, Abenaki). St. Lawrence Iroquoians lived more settled lives, planting squash and maize in the fertile soils of St. Lawrence Valley. The Inuit continue to fish, whale, and seal in the harsh Arctic climate along the coasts of Hudson and Ungava Bay. These peoples traded fur and food, and sometimes warred with each other.

Early European exploration: 1500

Basque whalers and fishermen traded furs with Saguenay natives throughout the 1500s. [2]

The first French explorer to reach Quebec was Jacques Cartier, who planted a cross either in Gaspé in 1534 or at Old Fort Bay on the Lower North Shore. He sailed into the St. Lawrence River in 1535 and established an ill-fated colony near present-day Quebec City at the site of Stadacona, an Iroquoian village.

New France

Main article: New France

Samuel de Champlain was part of a 1603 expedition from France that traveled into the St. Lawrence River. In 1608, he returned as head of an exploration party and founded Quebec City with the intention of making the area part of the French colonial empire. Champlain's Habitation de Quebec, built as a permanent fur trading outpost, was where he would forge a trading, and ultimately a military alliance, with the Algonquin and Huron nations. Natives traded their furs for many French goods such as metal objects, guns, alcohol, and clothing.

Hélène Desportes, born July 7, 1620, to the French habitants (settlers) Pierre Desportes and his wife Françoise Langlois, was the first child of European descent born in Quebec.

From Quebec, coureurs des bois, voyageurs and Catholic missionaries used river canoes to explore the interior of the North American continent, establishing fur trading forts on the Great Lakes (Étienne Brûlé 1615), Hudson Bay (Radisson and Groseilliers 1659-60), Ohio River and Mississippi River (La Salle 1682), as well as the Prairie River and Missouri River (de la Verendrye 1734-1738).

After 1627, King Louis XIII of France introduced the seigneurial system and forbade settlement in New France by anyone other than Roman Catholics. Sulpician and Jesuit clerics founded missions in Trois-Rivières (Laviolette) and Montréal or Ville-Marie (Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance) to convert New France's Huron and Algonkian allies to Catholicism. The seigneurial system of governing New France also encouraged immigration from the motherland.

New France became a Royal Province in 1663 under King Louis XIV of France with a Sovereign Council that included intendant Jean Talon. This ushered in a golden era of settlement and colonization in New France, including the arrival of les "Filles du Roi". The population would grow from about 3,000 to 60,000 people between 1666 and 1760. Colonists built farms on the banks of St. Lawrence River and called themselves "Canadiens" or "Habitants". The colony's total population was limited, however, by a winter climate significantly harsher than that found in France; by the spread of diseases; and by the refusal of the French crown to allow Huguenots, or French Protestants, to settle there. The population of New France lagged far behind that of the 13 Colonies to the south, leaving it vulnerable to attack.

Conquest of New France

In 1753 France began building a series of forts in the British Ohio Country. They refused to leave after being notified by the British Governor and, in 1754, George Washington launched an attack on the French Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh) in the Ohio Valley in an attempt to enforce the British claim to take territory. This frontier battle set the stage for the French and Indian War in North America. By 1756, France and Britain were battling the Seven Years' War worldwide. In 1758, the British mounted an attack on New France by sea and took the French fort at Louisbourg.

On 13 September 1759, General James Wolfe defeated General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec City. France ceded its North American possessions to Great Britain through the Treaty of Paris (1763). By the British Royal Proclamation of 1763, Canada (part of New France) was renamed the Province of Quebec.

In 1774, fearful that the French-speaking population of Quebec (as the colony was now called) would side with the rebels of the Thirteen Colonies to the south, the British Parliament passed the Quebec Act giving recognition to French law, Catholic religion and French language in the colony; before that Catholics had been excluded from public office and recruitment of priests and brothers forbidden, effectively shutting down Quebec's schools and colleges. The first British policy of assimilation (1763-1774) was deemed a failure. Both the petitions and demands of the Canadiens' élites, and Governor Guy Carleton, played an important part in convincing London of dropping the assimilation scheme, but the looming American revolt was certainly a factor. By the Quebec Act, the Quebec people obtained their first Charter of rights. That paved the way to later official recognition of the French language and French culture. The Act allowed Canadiens to maintain French civil law and sanctioned the freedom of religious choice, allowing the Roman Catholic Church to remain. It also restored the Ohio Valley to Quebec, reserving the territory for the fur trade.

The act, designed to placate one North American colony, had the opposite effect among its neighbors to the south. The Quebec Act was among the Intolerable Acts that infuriated American colonists, who launched the American Revolution. A 1775 invasion by the American Continental Army met with early success, but was later repelled at Quebec City.

The English defeat at Yorktown 1781

When the American army came to Quebec they found many sympathetic supporters. According to Baby, Tachereau and Williams, as many as 747 people in Quebec took up active service with the Americans. Most notably Clément Gosselin of the 2nd Canadian Regiment. At sea, Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil beat the British Navy at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. John Graves Simcoe, the founder of Ontario, was soundly defeated by the French Cavalry of the Duke of Lauzun, who was brought to America by Louis-Philippe.

William Howe who led the attack on the Plains of Abraham before Wolfe, was met by the 2nd Canadian Regiment at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777. This was a diversion battle while other Quebecers in the 1st Canadian Regiment of James Livingston defeated John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777.

At the end of the war, 50,000 Loyalists came to Canada and settled amongst a population of 90,000 French people. English Canada was built by the British who were defeated by the Americans, French and Quebecers at the Battle of Yorktown.

The American Revolutionary War was ultimately successful in winning the independence of the Thirteen Colonies. With the Treaty of Paris (1783), the British would cede its territory south of the Great Lakes to the new United States of America.

The Patriotes' Rebellion in Lower and Upper Canada

Main article: Lower Canada Rebellion

Like their counterparts in Upper Canada, in 1837, English and French speaking residents of Lower Canada, led by Louis-Joseph Papineau and Robert Nelson, formed an armed resistance group to seek an end to British colonial rule. They made a Declaration of rights with equality for all citizens without discrimination, and a Declaration of Independence in 1838. Their actions resulted in rebellions in both Lower and Upper Canada. An unprepared British Army had to raise a local militia force and the rebel forces were soon defeated after having scored a victory in Saint-Denis, Quebec, east of Montreal. The British army also burned the Church of St-Eustache, killing the rebels who were hiding within it. The bullet and cannonball marks on the walls of the church are still visible to this day.

Act of Union

After the rebellions, Lord Durham was asked to undertake a study and prepare a report on the matter and to offer a solution for the British Parliament to assess.

The final report recommended that the population of Lower Canada be assimilated. Following Durham's Report, the British government merged the two colonial provinces into one Province of Canada in 1840 with the Act of Union.

However, the political union proved contentious. Reformers in both Canada West (formerly Upper Canada) and Canada East (formerly Lower Canada) worked to repeal limitations on the use of the French language in the Legislature. The two colonies remained distinct in administration, election, and law.

In 1848, Baldwin and LaFontaine, allies and leaders of the Reformist party, obtained the grant (from Lord Elgin) for responsible government and returned the French language to legal status in the Legislature.

Canadian Confederation

In the 1860s, the delegates from the colonies of British North America (Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland) met in a series of conferences to discuss self-governing status for a new confederation.

The first Charlottetown Conference took place in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island followed by the Quebec Conference in Quebec City which led to a delegation going to London, England to put forth the proposal for the national union.

As a result of those deliberations, in 1867 the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the British North America Act, providing for the Confederation of most of these provinces.

The former Province of Canada was divided into its two previous parts as the provinces of Ontario (Upper Canada) and Quebec (Lower Canada).

• New Brunswick and Nova Scotia joined Ontario and Quebec in the new Dominion of Canada.
• Prince Edward Island joined in 1873 and the Dominion of Newfoundland entered Confederation in 1949.

The "Quiet Revolution"

Main article: Quiet Revolution

The conservative government of Maurice Duplessis and his Union Nationale dominated Quebec politics from 1944 to 1960 with the support of the Roman Catholic church. Pierre Elliot Trudeau and other liberals formed an intellectual opposition to Duplessis's regime, setting the groundwork for the Quiet Revolution under Jean Lesage's Liberals. The Quiet Revolution was a period of dramatic social and political change that saw the decline of Anglo supremacy in the Quebec economy, the decline of the Roman Catholic Church's influence, the nationalization of hydro-electric companies under Hydro-Québec and the emergence of a sovereignist movement under former Liberal minister René Lévesque.

The Quiet Revolution has been described by some people as the time when everyone stopped going to church; so that by the end of 1963 the Catholic churches were virtually empty. Whether this is a factual comment or simply an expression of the felt change that Quebec was going through at the time, it provides a telling commentary to the widespread change that the people in Quebec underwent during the Quiet Revolution. The period spawned a significant movement for statehood which resulted in two referendums (in 1980 and 1995) which rejected sovereignty-association.

Beginning in 1963, a terrorist group that became known as the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) launched a decade of bombings, robberies and attacks directed primarily at English institutions, resulting in at least five deaths. In 1970, their activities culminated in events referred to as the October Crisis [3] when James Cross, the British trade commissioner to Canada, was kidnapped along with Pierre Laporte, a provincial minister and Vice-Premier, who was murdered a few days later. In their published Manifesto, the terrorists stated: "In the coming year Bourassa (Quebec Premier) will have to face reality; 100,000 revolutionary workers, armed and organized."

At the request of Premier Robert Bourassa, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act. Once the emergency Act was in place, arrangements were made for all detainees to see legal counsel. In addition, the Quebec Ombudsman [4], Louis Marceau, was instructed to hear complaints of detainees and the Quebec government agreed to pay damages to any person unjustly arrested (only in Quebec). On February 3, 1971, John Turner, the Minister of Justice of Canada, reported that 497 persons had been arrested throughout Canada under the War Measures Act, of whom 435 had been released. The other 62 were charged, of which 32 were crimes of such seriousness that a Quebec Superior Court judge refused them bail. The crisis ended after a few weeks after the death of Pierre Laporte at the hands of his captors. The fallout of the crisis marked the zenith and twilight of the FLQ which lost membership and public support.

In 1977, the newly elected Parti Québécois government of René Lévesque introduced the Charter of the French Language. Often known as Bill 101, it defined French as the only official language of Quebec in areas of provincial jurisdiction.

The Parti Québécois and constitutional crisis

Lévesque and his party had run in the 1970 and 1973 Quebec elections under a platform of separating Quebec from the rest of Canada. The party failed to win control of Quebec's National Assembly both times — though its share of the vote increased from 23% to 30% — and Lévesque himself was defeated both times in the riding he contested. In the 1976 election, he softened his message by promising a referendum (plebiscite) on sovereignty-association rather than outright separation, by which Quebec would have independence in most government functions but share some other ones, such as a common currency, with Canada. On November 15, 1976, Lévesque and the Parti Québécois won control of the provincial government for the first time. The question of sovereignty-association was placed before the voters in the 1980 Quebec referendum. During the campaign, Pierre Trudeau promised that a vote for the NO side was a vote for reforming Canada. Trudeau advocated the patriation of Canada's Constitution from the United Kingdom. The existing constitutional document, the British North America Act, could only be amended by the United Kingdom Parliament upon a request by the Canadian parliament.

Sixty percent of the Quebec electorate voted against the proposition. Polls showed that the overwhelming majority of English and immigrant Quebecers voted against, and that French Quebecers were almost equally divided, with older voters less in favour, and younger voters more in favour. After his loss in the referendum, Lévesque went back to Ottawa to start negotiating a new constitution with Trudeau, his minister of Justice Jean Chrétien and the nine other provincial premiers. Lévesque insisted Quebec be able to veto any future constitutional amendments. The negotiations quickly reached a stand-still.

Then on the night of November 4, 1981 (widely known in Quebec as La nuit des longs couteaux or the "Night of the Long Knives"'), Federal Justice Minister Jean Chretien met all the provincial premiers except René Lévesque to sign the document that would eventually become the new Canadian constitution. The next morning, they put Lévesque in front of the "fait accompli." Lévesque refused to sign the document, and returned to Quebec. In 1982, Trudeau had the new constitution approved by the British Parliament, with Quebec's signature still missing (a situation that persists to this day). The Supreme Court of Canada confirmed Trudeau's assertion that every province's approval is not required to amend the constitution.

In subsequent years, two attempts were made to gain Quebec's approval of the constitution. The first was the Meech Lake Accord of 1987, which was finally abandoned in 1990 when the provinces of Manitoba and Newfoundland refused to support it. This led to the formation of the sovereignist Bloc Québécois party in Ottawa under the leadership of Lucien Bouchard, who had resigned from the federal cabinet. The second attempt, the Charlottetown Accord of 1992, was rejected by 56.7% of all Canadians and 57% of Quebecers. This result caused a split in the Quebec Liberal Party that led to the formation of the new Action Démocratique (Democratic Action) party led by Mario Dumont and Jean Allaire.

On October 30, 1995, with the Parti Québécois back in power since 1994, a second referendum on sovereignty took place. This time, it was rejected by a slim majority (50.6% NO to 49.4% YES); a clear majority of French-speaking Quebecers voted in favour of sovereignty.

The referendum was enshrouded in controversy. Federalists complained that an unusually high number of ballots had been rejected in pro-federalist areas, notably in the largely Jewish and Greek riding of Chomedey (11.7 % or 5,500 of its ballots were spoiled, compared to 750 or 1.7% in the general election of 1994) although Quebec's chief electoral officer found no evidence of outright fraud. The Government of Canada was accused of not respecting provincial laws with regard to spending during referendums (leading to a corruption scandal that would become public a decade later, greatly damaging the Liberal Party's standing), and to having accelerated the naturalization of immigrant people living in the province of Quebec (43,850 immigrants were naturalized in 1995, whereas the average number between 1988 and 1998 was 21,733).

The same night of the referendum, an angry Jacques Parizeau, then premier and leader of the "Yes" side, declared that the loss was due to "money and the ethnic vote". Parizeau resigned over public outrage and as per his commitment to do so in case of a loss. Lucien Bouchard became Quebec's new premier in his place.

Federalists accused the sovereignist side of asking a vague, overly complicated question on the ballot. Its English text read as follows:

Do you agree that Québec should become sovereign after having made a formal offer to Canada for a new economic and political partnership within the scope of the bill respecting the future of Québec and of the agreement signed on June 12, 1995?

After winning the next election, Bouchard retired from politics in 2001. Bernard Landry was then appointed leader of the Parti Québécois and premier of Quebec. In 2003, Landry lost the election to the Quebec Liberal Party and Jean Charest. Landry stepped down as PQ leader in 2005, and in a crowded race for the party leadership, André Boisclair was elected to succeed him. The PQ has promised to hold another referendum should it return to government.

Quebec as a nation

Given the province's heritage and the preponderance of French (unique among the Canadian provinces), there is an ongoing debate in Canada regarding the status of Quebec and/or its people (wholly or partially). Prior attempts to amend the Canadian constitution to acknowledge Quebec as a 'distinct society' – referring to the province's uniqueness within Canada regarding law, language, and culture – have been unsuccessful; however, the federal government under prime minister Jean Chrétien would later endorse recognition of Quebec as a distinct society. On October 30, 2003, the National Assembly voted unanimously to affirm "that the Quebecers form a nation". On November 27 2006, the House of Commons passed a motion moved by prime minister Stephen Harper declaring that "this House recognize[s] that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada.", although there is considerable debate and uncertainty over what this means.

Government

Main articles: Politics of Quebec and Monarchy in Quebec

The Lieutenant Governor represents Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. The head of government is the Premier (called premier ministre in French) who leads the largest party in the unicameral National Assembly or Assemblée Nationale, from which the Council of Ministers is appointed.

Until 1968, the Quebec legislature was bicameral, consisting of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly. In that year the Legislative Council was abolished, and the Legislative Assembly was renamed the National Assembly. Quebec was the last province to abolish its legislative council.

The government of Quebec awards an order of merit called the National Order of Quebec. It is inspired in part by the French Legion of Honour. It is conferred upon men and women born or living in Quebec (but non-Quebecers can be inducted as well) for outstanding achievements.

Administrative subdivisions

Main article: Administrative subdivisions of Quebec

Quebec has subdivisions at the regional, supralocal and local levels. Excluding administrative units reserved for Aboriginal lands, the primary types of subdivision are:

At the regional level:

• 17 administrative regions.

At the supralocal level:

• 86 regional county municipalities or RCMs (municipalités régionales de comté, MRC);
• 2 metropolitan communities (communautés métropolitaines).

At the local level:

• 1,117 local municipalities of various types;
• 11 agglomerations (agglomérations) grouping 42 of these local municipalities;
• within 8 local municipalities, 45 boroughs (arrondissements).

Population centres

The data are from the 2006 census of Canada.

Census metropolitan areas by population

Census metropolitan area	2006 pop.	2001 pop.¹	Region²	Image
Greater Montreal	3,635,571	3,451,027	Montréal
Quebec City (provincial capital)	715,515	686,569	Capitale-Nationale
Gatineau³	283,959	261,704	Outaouais
Sherbrooke	186,952	175,950	Estrie	File:Sherbrooke.jpg
Saguenay	151,643	154,938	Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean	File:Chicoutimi.JPG
Trois-Rivières	141,529	137,507	Mauricie

¹These figures are adjusted to reflect boundary changes for the 2006 census.

²Where a metropolitan area straddles more than one administrative region, the region of the central municipality is given.

³These figures pertain to the part of the Ottawa-Gatineau census metropolitan area that is in Quebec. The total figures for the CMA, including the part in Ontario, are 1,130,761 (2006), 1,067,800 (2001).

Major municipalities

The municipalities of the Montreal, Quebec, and Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan areas exceeding 50,000 in population in 2006 are given below with their administrative regions in parentheses.

Montreal CMA:

• Montreal (Montréal), 1,620,693;
• Laval (Laval), 368,709;
• Longueuil (Montérégie), 229,330;
• Terrebonne (Lanaudière), 94,703;
• Repentigny (Lanaudière) 76,237;
• Brossard (Montérégie), 71,154;
• Saint-Jérôme (Laurentides), 63,729.

The population of the Island of Montreal was 1,854,442.

Quebec CMA:

• Quebec City (Capitale-Nationale), 491,142;
• Lévis (Chaudière-Appalaches), 130,006.

Ottawa-Gatineau CMA:

• Gatineau (Outaouais), 242,124.

The population of Ottawa, Ontario is 812,129.

Other census agglomerations

Census agglomeration	2006	2001¹	Region²
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu	87,492	79,600	Montérégie
Drummondville	78,108	72,778	Centre-du-Québec
Granby	68,352	63,069	Montérégie
Shawinigan	56,434	56,412	Mauricie
Saint-Hyacinthe	55,823	54,275	Montérégie
Victoriaville	48,893	46,908	Centre-du-Québec
Sorel-Tracy	48,295	47,802	Montérégie
Rimouski	46,807	46,012	Bas-Saint-Laurent
Joliette	43,595	39,720	Lanaudière
Rouyn-Noranda	39,924	39,621	Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield	39,672	39,028	Montérégie
Alma	32,603	32,930	Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
Val-d'Or	32,288	32,433	Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Saint-Georges	31,364	29,759	Chaudière-Appalaches
Baie-Comeau	29,808	30,401	Côte-Nord
Sept-Îles	27,827	27,623	Côte-Nord
Thetford Mines	26,107	26,721	Chaudière-Appalaches
Rivière-du-Loup	24,570	23,229	Bas-Saint-Laurent
Amos	17,918	18,302	Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Matane	16,438	16,597	Bas-Saint-Laurent
La Tuque	15,293	15,725	Mauricie
Dolbeau-Mistassini	14,546	14,879	Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
Cowansville	12,666	12,558	Montérégie
Lachute	11,832	11,628	Laurentides

¹These figures are adjusted to reflect boundary changes for the 2006 census.

²Where a census agglomeration straddles more than one administrative region, the region of the central municipality is given.

The municipalities of Quebec which are not part of a CMA or CA but which had populations exceeding 10,000 in 2006, with administrative regions in parentheses, are: Gaspé (Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine), 14,819; Saint-Lin-Laurentides (Lanaudière), 14,159; Mont-Laurier (Laurentides), 13,405; Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine (Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine), 12,560; Sainte-Marie (Chaudière-Appalaches), 11,584; Montmagny (Chaudière-Appalaches), 11,353; Sainte-Adèle (Laurentides), 10,634; Roberval (Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean), 10,544; Saint-Félicien (Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean), 10,477; Sainte-Sophie (Laurentides), 10,355; Prévost (Laurentides), 10,132; Rawdon (Lanaudière), 10,058.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Quebec

Montreal, North America's Francophone metropolis

The St. Lawrence River Valley is a fertile agricultural region, producing dairy products, fruit, vegetables, foie gras, maple syrup (Quebec is the world's largest producer), and livestock.

North of the St. Lawrence River Valley, the territory of Quebec is extremely rich in resources in its coniferous forests, lakes, and rivers—pulp and paper, lumber, and hydroelectricity are still some of the province's most important industries.

High-tech industries are very important around Montreal. It includes the aerospace companies like aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, the jet engine company Pratt & Whitney, the flight simulator builder CAE and defence contractor Lockheed Martin, Canada. Those companies and other major subcontractors make Quebec the fourth biggest player worldwide in the aviation industry. In the video game industry, large players like Electronic Arts and Ubisoft have studios in Montreal.

Château Frontenac, the world's most photographed hotel, is iconic to the province of Quebec.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Quebec

Quebec is the largest French-speaking society in the Americas. Most French Canadians live in Quebec, though there are other concentrations of French-speakers throughout Canada with varying degrees of ties to Quebec. Montreal is the cosmopolitan cultural heart of Quebec.

English-speaking Quebecers constitute an official language minority whose number, according to the 2001 census and depending on the method of reckoning, ranges from 557,040 (mother tongue, single response) to 918,955 ("first official language spoken" English plus half of those with both English and French as first official language spoken), constituting 7.8% to 12.9% of the population. [5] [6] [7] Quebec is also home to 11 aboriginal nations. The total Aboriginal identity population of Quebec was 79,400 in 2001.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Quebec

Quebec's fertility rate is now among the lowest in Canada. At 1.48, it is well below the replacement fertility rate of 2.1. This contrasts with the fertility rate before 1960 which was among the highest of any industrialized societies. The fertility rate in 2006 was 1.62.

Although Quebec represents only 24% of the population of Canada, the number of international adoptions in Quebec is the highest of all provinces of Canada. In 2001, 42% of international adoptions in Canada were carried out in Quebec.

Population of Quebec since 1851

Year	Population	Five-year % change	Ten-year % change	Rank among provinces
1851	892,061	n/a	n/a	2
1861	1,111,566	n/a	24.6	2
1871	1,191,516	n/a	7.2	2
1881	1,359,027	n/a	14.1	2
1891	1,488,535	n/a	9.5	2
1901	1,648,898	n/a	10.8	2
1911	2,005,776	n/a	21.6	2
1921	2,360,665	n/a	17.8	2
1931	2,874,255	n/a	21.8	2
1941	3,331,882	n/a	15.9	2
1951	4,055,681	n/a	21.8	2
1956	4,628,378	14.1	n/a	2
1961	5,259,211	13.6	29.7	2
1966	5,780,845	9.9	24.9	2
1971	6,027,765	4.3	14.6	2
1976	6,234,445	3.4	7.8	2
1981	6,438,403	3.3	6.8	2
1986	6,532,460	1.5	4.8	2
1991	6,895,963	5.6	7.1	2
1996	7,138,795	3.5	9.3	2
2001	7,237,479	1.4	5.0	2
2006	7,546,131	4.3	5.7	2

Source: Statistics Canada [8][9]

Ethnic origins

Ethnic origin	Population	Percent
"Canadian"	4,897,475	68.73%
French	2,111,570	29.67%
Irish	291,545	5.09%
Italian	249,205	3.70%
English	218,415	3.07%
Scottish	156,140	2.19%
North American Indian	130,165	1.83%
German	88,700	1.24%
Jewish	82,450	1.16%
Haitian	74,465	1.05%

The information regarding ethnicities at the right is from the 2001 Canadian Census. The percentages add up to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g., "French-Canadian" generates an entry in both the category "French" and the category "Canadian".) Groups with greater than 70,000 responses are included.

Religious groups

Quebec is unique among the provinces in its overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population. This is a legacy of colonial times; only Catholics were permitted to settle in the New France colony.

• 90.2% Christian
  • 83.3% Roman Catholic
  • 4.7% Protestant
  • 1.4% Eastern Orthodox
  • 0.8% other Christian
• 7.1% non-religious
• 1.5% Muslim
• 1.2% Jewish

Language

Main article: Demolinguistics of Quebec

Quebec is the only Canadian province where French is the only official language. In 2001 the population was: [10]

• French speakers: 82.0%
• English speakers: 7.9%
• Others: 10.1% (Italian 5.2%, Spanish 2.3%, Arabic 2.9%, and others)

National symbols

The Fleurdelisé leads a ship to harbour near Quebec City.

Coat of Arms

In 1939, the government of Quebec singlehandedly ratified its coat of arms to reflect Quebec's political history: French rule (gold lilly on blue background), British rule (lion on red background) and Canadian rule (maple leaves) and with Quebec's motto below "Je me souviens".

Motto

Main article: Je me souviens

Je me souviens ("I remember") was first carved under the coat of arms of Quebec's Parliament Building façade in 1883. It is an official part of the coat of arms and has been the official license plate motto since 1978, replacing "La belle province" (the beautiful province). The expression La belle province is still used mostly in tourism as a nickname for the province.

Flag

Main article: Flag of Quebec

The Quebec flag in it's present form with it's 4 white "fleur-de-lis" lilies on a blue background with a white cross replaced the Union Jack on Quebec's Parliament Building on January 21 1948. The "Fleurdelisé" has seen many transformations since it first arrived on the shores of the Gaspésie in 1534 with Jacques Cartier. In 1900 Quebec finally sought to have it's own uniquely designed flag and by 1903, the parent of today's flag had taken shape.

Three official emblems

The government of Quebec recognises three official emblems:

• The floral emblem of Quebec is the Iris versicolor. Its colours reflect Quebec's cultural diversity and recognises the important role of water in nature's balance. It was formerly the Madonna lily, to recall the fleur-de-lis, but has been changed to the iris, which is native to Quebec.

The harfang des neiges (snowy owl), official bird of Quebec.

• The avian emblem of Quebec is since 1987 the snowy owl. It represents Quebec's white winters, vast territory and rooting in a a semi-nordic climate.
• An official tree, the yellow birch (bouleau jaune, merisier), symbolises the importance quebecers give to the forests. It's known for the variety of its uses and commercial value, as well as its beautiful autumn colours.

In 1998 the Montreal Insectarium sponsored a poll to propose an official insect that saw the butterfly White Admiral (Limenitis arthemis) [11] win with 32 % of the 230 660 votes against the Spotted lady beetle (Coleomegilla maculata lengi), the Ebony Jewelwing damselfly (Calopteryx maculata), a species of bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) and the six-spotted tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata sexguttata). The Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs supports and finances actions to officially recognize the White Admiral as the insect emblem.

Quebec's National Holiday

Main article: Fête nationale du Québec

In 1974, then premier René Lévesque declared June 24 to be Quebec's National Holiday. Historically June 24 was a holiday honouring one of of Quebec's patron saints, St. John the Baptist, which is why it is commonly known as La Saint-Jean-Baptiste (often shortened to La St-Jean. On this day, the song "Gens du pays" by Gilles Vigneault is oft heard and commonly regarded as Quebec's unofficial anthem.

Sports teams

• National Hockey League
  • Montreal Canadiens

• Canadian Football League
  • Montreal Alouettes

• Can-Am League
  • Quebec Capitales

• National Women's Hockey League
  • Montreal Axion (currently on hiatus)
  • Quebec Avalanche (currently on hiatus)

• United Soccer Leagues
  • Montreal Impact

Former sports teams

• National Hockey League
  • Quebec Nordiques (moved to Denver, Colorado and are now the Colorado Avalanche)
  • Quebec Bulldogs (moved to Hamilton, Ontario and became the Hamilton Tigers for the rest of the team's existence)
  • Montreal Maroons (defunct)
  • Montreal Wanderers (defunct)

• Major League Baseball
  • Montreal Expos (moved to Washington, D.C. and are now the Washington Nationals)

• American Hockey League
  • Quebec Citadelles (merged with the Hamilton Bulldogs)
  • Quebec Aces (moved to Richmond, Virginia and became the Richmond Robins for the rest of the team's existence)

• Canadian-American League
  • Quebec Braves/Alouettes/Athletics (defunct)
  • Trois-Rivieres Royals (defunct)

See also

• Alliance Quebec
• Anglo-Quebecer
• Autoroute (Quebec) (Quebec's Autoroute system)
• Canada
• Charter of the French Language
• Cinema of Quebec
• Civil Code of Quebec
• Civil unions in Quebec
• Distinct society
• Education in Quebec
• État québécois
• French in Canada
• A few acres of snow
• Irish Quebecer
• Jews in Canada
• List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols
• List of cities in Canada
• Quebec lists:

  Cathedrals · Communities · County seats · Lieutenant Governors · Actors · Authors · Counties (historic) · County regional municipalities (current) · Premiers · Provincial highways · Regions · Universities · Quebecers · Airports · Quebec-related topics

• Musicians of Quebec
• National Assembly of Quebec
• National Order of Quebec
• New France
• Office québécois de la langue française
• Politics of Canada
• Quebec French
• Quebec general elections
• Quebec sovereignty movement
• Québécois
• Same-sex marriage in Quebec
• Scots-Quebecer
• Scouting in Québec
• Timeline of Quebec history

External links

• Template:En icon Discover the Quebec in pictures,photos
• Template:En icon Government of Quebec
• Template:En icon All Quebec: live radio stations, newspapers, history, biographies, sports, love, etc.
• Template:En icon Bonjour Québec, Quebec government official tourist site
• Template:En icon Laws to protect the endangered French languages
• Template:En icon CBC Digital Archives - Quebec Elections: 1960-1998
• Template:Fr icon Agora, online encyclopaedia from Quebec
• Template:En icon Template:Wikitravel

History:

• Template:En icon Quebec History, online encyclopaedia made by Marianapolis College
• Template:En icon History of the 1759 British invasion of Quebec
• Template:En icon The 1837-1838 Rebellion in Lower Canada, Images from the McCord Museum's collections
• Template:Fr icon Bibliothèque nationales du Québec Map Collection, 5,000 digitized maps