Quebec ( ; )
[According to the ]Canadian government
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in ...
, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen
provinces and territories of Canada
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nort ...
. It is the
largest province by area and the second-largest by
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
. Much of the population lives in urban areas along the
St. Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
, between the most populous city,
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, and the provincial capital,
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
. Quebec is the home of the
Québécois nation
A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective Identity (social science), identity of a group of people unde ...
. Located in
Central Canada, the province shares land borders with
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
to the west,
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...
to the northeast,
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
to the southeast, and a coastal border with
Nunavut; in the south it borders
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, and
New York in the United States.
Between 1534 and 1763, Quebec was called ''
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
'' and was the
most developed colony in
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
. Following the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
, Quebec became a
British colony: first as the
Province of Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
(1763–1791), then
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...
(1791–1841), and lastly
Canada East (1841–1867), as a result of the
Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now south ...
. It was
confederated with Ontario,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
, and New Brunswick in 1867, beginning the
Dominion of Canada. Until the early 1960s, the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
played a large role in the social and cultural institutions in Quebec. However, the
Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...
of the 1960s to 1980s increased the role of the Government of Quebec in
l'État québécois (the state of Quebec).
The
Government of Quebec functions within the context of a
Westminster system and is both a
liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...
and a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
. The
Premier of Quebec
The premier of Quebec ( French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of th ...
, presently
François Legault
François Legault (; born May 26, 1957) is a Canadian politician serving as the 32nd premier of Quebec since 2018. A member of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), he has led the party since its founding in 2011. Legault sits as a member of the ...
, acts as
head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...
.
Québécois political culture mostly differs on a
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
-vs-
federalist continuum, rather than a left-vs-right continuum.
Independence debates have played a large role in politics. Quebec society's
cohesion and
specificity is based on three of its unique
statutory
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...
documents: the ''
Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms
The ''Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte des droits et libertés de la personne), also known as the "Quebec Charter", is a statutory bill of rights and human rights code passed by the National Assembly of Quebec on June 27, 1 ...
'', the ''
Charter of the French Language
The ''Charter of the French Language'' (french: link=no, La charte de la langue française), also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101 (''french: link=no, Loi 101''), or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the Provinces and territories of ...
'', and the ''
Civil Code of Quebec''. Furthermore, unlike elsewhere in Canada,
law in Quebec is mixed:
private law is exercised under a
civil-law system, while
public law is exercised under a
common-law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
system.
Quebec's
official language
An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
is French;
Québécois French is the regional
variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
. The
economy of Quebec
The economy of Quebec is diversified and post-industrial with an average potential for growth. Manufacturing and service sectors dominate the economy. If Quebec were a country, its economy would be ranked the 33rd largest in the world just be ...
is mainly supported by its large service sector and varied industrial sector. For exports, it leans on the key industries of
aeronautics,
hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
, mining,
pharmaceuticals, aluminum, wood, and paper. Quebec is well known for producing
maple syrup, for
its comedy, and for making
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
one of the most
popular sports in Canada. It is also renowned for its
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
; the province produces
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
,
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
,
films,
TV shows
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...
,
festivals
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
,
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
, and more.
Etymology
The name ''Québec'' comes from an
Algonquin
Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to:
Languages and peoples
*Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia
**Algonquin la ...
word meaning 'narrow passage' or 'strait'. The name originally referred to the area around
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
where the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
narrows to a cliff-lined gap. Early variations in the spelling included ''Québecq'' and ''Kébec''. French explorer
Samuel de Champlain chose the name ''Québec'' in 1608 for the colonial outpost he would use as the
administrative seat
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
for
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
.
History
Indigenous peoples and European expeditions (pre-1608)
![Jacques_Cartier_1851-1852](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Jacques_Cartier_1851-1852.jpg)
The
Paleo-Indians theorized to have migrated from Asia to America between 20,000 and 14,000 years ago, were the first people to establish themselves on the lands of Quebec, arriving there after the
Laurentide Ice Sheet
The Laurentide Ice Sheet was a massive sheet of ice that covered millions of square miles, including most of Canada and a large portion of the Northern United States, multiple times during the Quaternary glacial epochs, from 2.58 million year ...
melted roughly 11,000 years ago. From them, many
ethnocultural groups emerged. At the time of the European explorations of the 1500s, there were eleven
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
: the
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
and ten
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
the
Abenaki
The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...
s,
Algonquin
Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to:
Languages and peoples
*Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia
**Algonquin la ...
s (or Anichinabés),
Atikamekw,
Cree,
Huron-Wyandot,
Maliseet (also known as Wolastoqiyik or Etchemin),
Miꞌkmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...
s,
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
,
Innu (or Montagnais) and
Naskapi
The Naskapi (Nascapi, Naskapee, Nascapee) are an Indigenous people of the Subarctic native to the historical country St'aschinuw (ᒋᑦ ᐊᔅᒋᓄᐤ, meaning 'our nclusiveland'), which is located in northern Quebec and Labrador, neighb ...
s. At the time, Algonquians organized into seven political entities and lived nomadic lives based on hunting, gathering, and fishing. Inuit, on the other hand, fished and hunted whales and seals along the coasts of Hudson and Ungava Bay.
In the 15th century, the
Byzantine Empire fell, prompting Western Europeans to search for new
sea routes to the
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
. Around 1522–1523,
Giovanni da Verrazzano
Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , , often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1485–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, in the service of King Francis I of France.
He is renowned as the first European to explore the Atlanti ...
persuaded
King Francis I of France
Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...
to commission an expedition to find a western route to
Cathay (China) via a
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...
. Though this expedition was unsuccessful, it established the name "
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
" for northeastern North America. In his first expedition ordered from the Kingdom of France,
Jacques Cartier became the first European explorer to discover and map Quebec when he landed in
Gaspé on July 24, 1534. The second expedition, in 1535, included three ships: the , the and the . That year, Jacques Cartier explored the lands of
Stadacona
Stadacona was a 16th-century St. Lawrence Iroquoian village not far from where Quebec City was founded in 1608.
History
French explorer and navigator Jacques Cartier, while travelling and charting the Saint Lawrence River, reached the village o ...
and decided to name the village and its surrounding territories ''
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
'' (from , 'village' in
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
). After wintering in Stadacona, Cartier returned to France with about 10
St. Lawrence Iroquoians
The St. Lawrence Iroquoians were an Iroquoian Indigenous people who existed from the 14th century to about 1580. They concentrated along the shores of the St. Lawrence River in present-day Quebec and Ontario, Canada, and in the American states o ...
, including Chief
Donnacona
Chief Donnacona (died 1539 in France) was the chief of the St. Lawrence Iroquois village of Stadacona, located at the present site of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
French explorer Jacques Cartier, concluding his second voyage to what is now Can ...
. In 1540, Donnacona told the legend of the
Kingdom of Saguenay to the
King of France. This inspired the king to order a third expedition, this time led by
Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval
Jean-François is a French given name. Notable people bearing the given name include:
* Jean-François Carenco (born 1952), French politician
* Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), French Egyptologist
* Jean-François Clervoy (born 1958), Fr ...
; it was unsuccessful in its goal of finding the kingdom.
After these expeditions, France mostly abandoned North America for 50 years because of its financial crisis; France was involved in the
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...
and there were religious wars between
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
s and
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
s. Around 1580, the rise of the
fur trade (particularly the demand for
beaver pelts) reignited French interest; New France became a
colonial trading post.
In 1603,
Samuel de Champlain travelled to the Saint Lawrence River and, on
Pointe Saint-Mathieu The pointe Saint-Mathieu (Lok Mazé in Breton) is a headland located near Le Conquet in the territory of the commune of Plougonvelin in France, flanked by 20m high cliffs.
Village
At present, there are only a few houses on the point, grouped aroun ...
, established a
defence pact
A defense pact (or defence pact in Commonwealth spelling) is a type of treaty or military alliance in which the signatories promise to support each other militarily and to defend each other.Volker Krause, J. David Singer "Minor Powers, Allianc ...
with the Innu, Wolastoqiyik and Micmacs, that would be "a decisive factor in the maintenance of a French colonial enterprise in America despite an enormous numerical disadvantage vis-à-vis the British".
Thus also began French military support to the
Algonquian and Huron peoples against Iroquois attacks; these would become known as the
Iroquois Wars
The Beaver Wars ( moh, Tsianì kayonkwere), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (french: Guerres franco-iroquoises) were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout t ...
and would last from the early 1600s to the early 1700s.
New France (1608–1763)
![Three_chiefs_of_the_Huron](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Three_chiefs_of_the_Huron.jpg)
In 1608, Samuel de Champlain returned to the region as head of an exploration party. On July 3, 1608, with the support of King
Henry IV, he founded the
Habitation de Québec
Habitation de Québec was an ensemble of buildings interconnected by Samuel de Champlain when he founded Québec during 1608. The site is located in what is now Vieux-Québec. It was located near the site of the abandoned First Nations village ...
(now Quebec City) and made it the capital of New France and its regions (which, at the time, were
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17t ...
, ''Canada'' and
Plaisance in
Newfoundland).
[ The settlement was built as a permanent fur trading outpost, where First Nations traded their furs for French goods, such as metal objects, guns, alcohol, and clothing.] Several missionary groups arrived in New France after the founding of Quebec City, like the Recollects
The Recollects (french: Récollets) were a French reform branch of the Friars Minor, a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects took vows of poverty and devoted their lives to prayer, penance, and spiri ...
in 1615, the Jesuits
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders = ...
in 1625 and the Supliciens in 1657. Coureurs des bois
A coureur des bois (; ) or coureur de bois (; plural: coureurs de(s) bois) was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian trader who travelled in New France and the interior of North America, usually to trade with First Nations peoples by ...
and Catholic missionaries
Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...
used river canoe
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the ter ...
s to explore the interior of the North American continent and establish fur trading forts.
The Compagnie des Cent-Associés
The Company of One Hundred Associates ( French: formally the Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France, or colloquially the Compagnie des Cent-Associés or Compagnie du Canada), or Company of New France, was a French trading and colonization company ch ...
, which had been granted a royal mandate to manage New France in 1627, introduced the Custom of Paris and the seigneurial system Seigneurial system may refer to:
* Manorialism - the socio-economic system of the Middle Ages and Early Modern period
* Seigneurial system of New France
The manorial system of New France, known as the seigneurial system (french: Régime seigneu ...
, and forbade settlement in New France by anyone other than Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
s. In 1629, Quebec surrendered, without battle, to English privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
s led by David Kirke
Sir David Kirke ( – 1654), also spelt David Ker, was an adventurer, privateer and colonial governor. He is best known for his successful capture of Québec in 1629 during the Thirty Years' War and his subsequent governorship of lands in Ne ...
during the Anglo-French War
The Anglo-French Wars were a series of conflicts between England (and after 1707, Britain) and France, including:
Middle Ages High Middle Ages
* Anglo-French War (1109–1113) – first conflict between the Capetian Dynasty and the House of Norma ...
; in 1632, the English king agreed to return the lands with the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve
Paul de Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve (15 February 1612 9 September 1676) was a French military officer and the founder of Fort Ville-Marie (modern day Montreal) in New France (Province of Quebec, Canada).
Early life
Maisonneuve was born in ...
founded Ville-Marie (now Montreal) in 1642.
In 1663, the Company of New France ceded Canada to King Louis XIV, who officially made New France into a royal province of France. New France was now a true colony administered by the Sovereign Council of New France
The Sovereign Council (french: Conseil souverain) was a governing body in New France. It served as both Supreme Court for the colony of New France, as well as a policy-making body, though this latter role diminished over time. The council, though ...
from Quebec City, and functioned off . A governor-general, assisted by the intendant of New France The Intendant of New France was an administrative position in the French colony of New France. He controlled the colony's entire civil administration. He gave particular attention to settlement and economic development, and to the administration of ...
and the bishop of Quebec City, governed Canada and its administrative dependencies: Acadia, Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
and Plaisance. The French settlers were mostly farmers and were known as "Canadiens
French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
" or "Habitants
Habitants () were French settlers and the inhabitants of French origin who farmed the land along the two shores of the St. Lawrence River and Gulf in what is the present-day Province of Quebec in Canada. The term was used by the inhabitants ...
". Though there was little immigration, the colony still grew because of the Habitants' high birth rates. In 1665, the Carignan-Salières regiment developed the string of fortifications known as the "Valley of Forts" to protect against Iroquois invasions and brought along with them 1,200 new men. To redress the severe gender imbalance and boost population growth, King Louis XIV sponsored the passage of approximately 800 young French women (King's Daughters
The King's Daughters (french: filles du roi or french: filles du roy, label=none in the spelling of the era) is a term used to refer to the approximately 800 young French women who immigrated to New France between 1663 and 1673 as part of a pr ...
) to the colony.[ In 1666, intendant Jean Talon organized the first census and counted 3,215 Habitants. Talon also enacted policies to diversify agriculture and encourage births, which, in 1672, had increased the population to 6,700.
New France's territory grew to extend from Hudson Bay all the way to the ]Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
, and would also encompass the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
. In the early 1700s, Governor Callières concluded the Great Peace of Montreal
The Great Peace of Montreal (french: La Grande paix de Montréal) was a peace treaty between New France and 39 First Nations of North America that ended the Beaver Wars. It was signed on August 4, 1701, by Louis-Hector de Callière, governor of ...
, which not only confirmed the alliance between the Algonquian and New France, but also definitively ended the Iroquois Wars. From 1688 onwards, the fierce competition between the French and British to control North America's interior and monopolize the fur trade pitted New France and its Indigenous allies against the Iroquois and English in a series of four successive wars called the French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the U ...
by Americans, and the Intercolonial Wars in Quebec. The first three of these wars were King William's War
King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...
(1688–1697), Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...
(1702–1713), and King George's War (1744–1748). In 1690, the Battle of Quebec became the first time Quebec City's defences were tested. In 1713, following the Peace of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne o ...
, the Duke of Orléans ceded Acadia and Plaisance Bay to Great Britain, but retained Île Saint-Jean
Isle Saint-Jean was a French colony in North America that existed from 1713 to 1763 on what is today Prince Edward Island.
History
After 1713, France engaged in a reaffirmation of its territory in Acadia. Besides the construction of Louisb ...
, and Île-Royale ( Cape Breton Island) where the Fortress of Louisbourg
The Fortress of Louisbourg (french: Forteresse de Louisbourg) is a National Historic Site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century French fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Its two siege ...
was subsequently erected. These losses were significant since Plaisance Bay was the primary communication route between New France and France, and Acadia contained 5,000 Acadians
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...
. In the siege of Louisbourg in 1745, the British were victorious, but returned the city to France after war concessions.
The last of the four French and Indian Wars was called the Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
("The War of the Conquest
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...
" in Quebec) and lasted from 1754 to 1763. In 1754, tensions escalated for control of the Ohio Valley
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
, as authorities in New France became more aggressive in their efforts to expel British traders and colonists from the area. In 1754, George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
launched a surprise attack on a group of sleeping Canadien soldiers, known as the Battle of Jumonville Glen
The Battle of Jumonville Glen, also known as the Jumonville affair, was the opening battle of the French and Indian War, fought on May 28, 1754, near present-day Hopwood and Uniontown in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. A company of provincial ...
, the first battle of the war. In 1755, Governor Charles Lawrence and Officer Robert Monckton
Lieutenant-General Robert Monckton (24 June 1726 – 21 May 1782) was an officer of the British Army and colonial administrator in British North America. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in command to General Ja ...
ordered the forceful Deportation of the Acadians
The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian peo ...
. In 1758, on Île-Royale, British General James Wolfe
James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec. ...
besieged and captured the Fortress of Louisbourg. This allowed him to control access to the Gulf of St. Lawrence through the Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait
(; french: détroit de Cabot, ) is a strait in eastern Canada approximately 110 kilometres wide between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Cape Breton Island.
It is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint L ...
. In 1759, he besieged Quebec for nearly three months from Île d'Orléans
Île d'Orléans (; en, Island of Orleans) is an island located in the Saint Lawrence River about east of downtown Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French, and a large percentage ...
. Then, Wolfe stormed Quebec and fought against Montcalm for control of the city in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe ...
. After a British victory, the king's lieutenant and Lord of Ramezay concluded the Articles of Capitulation of Quebec
The Articles of Capitulation of Quebec were agreed upon between Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Roch de Ramezay, King's Lieutenant, Admiral Sir Charles Saunders, and General George Townshend on behalf of the French and British crowns during the Seven Yea ...
. During the spring of 1760, the Chevalier de Lévis besieged Quebec City and forced the British to entrench themselves during the Battle of Sainte-Foy
The Battle of Sainte-Foy (french: Bataille de Sainte-Foy) sometimes called the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille du Quebec), was fought on April 28, 1760 near the British-held town of Quebec in the French province of Canada during the Seven Y ...
. However, the loss of the French vessels sent to resupply New France after the fall of Quebec City during the Battle of Restigouche marked the end of France's efforts to try to retake the colony. Governor Pierre de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial signed the Articles of Capitulation of Montreal
The Articles of Capitulation of Montreal were agreed upon between the Governor General of New France, Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal, and Major-General Jeffery Amherst on behalf of the French and British crowns. They ...
on September 8, 1760.
While awaiting the results of the Seven Years' War in Europe, New France was put under a British military regime led by Governor James Murray. In 1762, Commander Jeffery Amherst
Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaign ...
ended the French presence in Newfoundland at the Battle of Signal Hill
The Battle of Signal Hill was fought on September 15, 1762, and was the last battle of the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. A British force under Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst recaptured St. John's, which the French had sei ...
. Two months later, France ceded the western part of Louisiana and the Mississippi River Delta to Spain via the Treaty of Fontainebleau. On February 10, 1763, the Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
concluded the war. With the exception of the small islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...
, France ceded its North American possessions to Great Britain. Thus, France had put an end to New France and abandoned the remaining 60,000 Canadiens, who sided with the Catholic clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
in refusing to take an oath to the British Crown. The rupture from France would provoke a transformation within the descendants of the Canadiens that would eventually result in the birth of a new nation.
British North America (1763–1867)
After the British officially acquired Canada in 1763, the British government established a constitution for the newly acquired territory, under the Royal Proclamation
A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
. From this point on, the Canadiens were subordinated to the government of the British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
and circumscribed to a region of the St. Lawrence Valley
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
and Anticosti Island
; moe, Notiskuan; mic, Natigostec
, sobriquet =
, image_name = RiviereHuileAnticosti.jpg
, image_caption = Salmon fisherman on Rivière à l'Huile
, image_map ...
called the Province of Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
. With unrest growing in the colonies to the south, the British were worried that the Canadiens (the majority of the Quebec population) might support what would become the American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. To secure the allegiance of Canadiens to the British crown, Governor James Murray and later Governor Guy Carleton promoted the need for accommodations, resulting in the enactment of the Quebec Act
The Quebec Act 1774 (french: Acte de Québec), or British North America (Quebec) Act 1774, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which set procedures of governance in the Province of Quebec. One of the principal components of the Act w ...
of 1774. This act allowed Canadiens to regain their civil customs, return to the seigneural system, regain certain rights (including the use of the French language), and reappropriate their old territories: Labrador, the Great Lakes, the Ohio Valley, Illinois Country
The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Illinois ; , i.e. the Illinois people)—sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana)—was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is n ...
and the Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
.
As early as 1774, the Continental Congress of the separatist Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...
attempted to rally the Canadiens to its cause. However, its military troops failed to defeat the British counteroffensive during its Invasion of Quebec in 1775. Most Canadiens remained neutral, although some patriotic regiments allied themselves with the Americans in the Saratoga campaign of 1777. When the British Empire recognized the independence of the rebel colonies at the signing of the Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
of 1783, it conceded Illinois and the Ohio Valley to the newly formed United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and denoted the 45th parallel as its border, drastically reducing Quebec's size.
United Empire Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America dur ...
from the US migrated to Quebec and populated various regions, including the Niagara Peninsula, the Eastern Townships and Thousand Islands
The Thousand Islands (french: Mille-Îles) constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for abo ...
. Dissatisfied with the many rights granted to Canadiens and wanting to use the British legal system to which they were accustomed, the Loyalists protested to British authorities until the Constitutional Act of 1791 was enacted, dividing the Province of Quebec into two distinct colonies starting from the Ottawa River: Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...
to the west (predominantly Anglo-Protestant) and Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...
to the east (predominantly Franco-Catholic). Lower Canada's lands consisted of the coasts of the Saint Lawrence River, Labrador and Anticosti Island, with the territory extending north to the boundary of Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land (french: Terre de Rupert), or Prince Rupert's Land (french: Terre du Prince Rupert, link=no), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin; this was further extended from Rupert's Land t ...
, and extending south, east and west to the borders with the US, New Brunswick, and Upper Canada. The creation of Upper and Lower Canada allowed Loyalists to live under British laws and institutions, while Canadiens could maintain their familiar French civil law and Catholic religion. Furthermore, Governor Haldimand drew Loyalists away from Quebec City and Montreal by offering free land on the northern shore of Lake Ontario to anyone willing to swear allegiance to George III. In 1813, Charles-Michel de Salaberry
Lieutenant Colonel Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry, CB (November 19, 1778 – February 27, 1829) was a Canadian military officer and statesman of the seigneurial class who served in various campaigns for the British Army. He won distin ...
became a hero by leading the Canadian troops to victory at the Battle of the Chateauguay
The Battle of the Chateauguay was an engagement of the War of 1812. On 26 October 1813, a combined United Kingdom, British and British North America, Canadian force consisting of 1,530 regulars, volunteers, militia and Mohawk people, Mohawk wa ...
, during the War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
. This loss caused the Americans to abandon the Saint Lawrence Campaign, their major strategic effort to conquer Canada.
Gradually, the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of el ...
, who represented the people, came into conflict with the superior authority of the Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
and its appointed representatives. Starting in 1791, the government of Lower Canada was criticized and contested by the Parti canadien
The Parti canadien () or Parti patriote () was a primarily francophone political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Its members were made up of liberal pro ...
. In 1834, the Parti canadien presented its 92 resolutions The Ninety-Two Resolutions were drafted by Louis-Joseph Papineau and other members of the ''Parti patriote'' of Lower Canada in 1834. The resolutions were a long series of demands for political reforms in the British-governed colony.
Papineau had ...
, a series of political demands which expressed a loss of confidence in the British monarchy
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...
. Discontentment intensified throughout the public meetings of 1837, and the Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now south ...
began in 1837. In 1837, Louis-Joseph Papineau
Louis-Joseph Papineau (October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the ''seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Low ...
and Robert Nelson led residents of Lower Canada to form an armed resistance group called the Patriotes
The patriotes movement was a political movement that existed in Lower Canada (present-day Quebec) from the turn of the 19th century to the Patriote Rebellion of 1837 and 1838 and the subsequent Act of Union of 1840. The partisan embodiment of ...
. They made a Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
in 1838, guaranteeing human rights and equality for all citizens without discrimination. Their actions resulted in rebellions in both Lower and Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...
. The Patriotes forces were victorious in their first battle, the Battle of Saint-Denis. However, the Patriotes were unorganized and badly equipped, leading to their loss against the British army in their second battle, the Battle of Saint-Charles, and their defeat in their final battle, the Battle of Saint-Eustache
The Battle of Saint-Eustache was a decisive battle in the Lower Canada Rebellion in which government forces defeated the principal remaining Patriotes camp at Saint-Eustache on December 14, 1837.
Prelude
After the victory at Saint-Charles, th ...
.
In response to the rebellions, Lord Durham
Earl of Durham is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1833 for the Whig politician and colonial official John Lambton, 1st Baron Durham. Known as "Radical Jack", he played a leading role in the passing of the Gr ...
was asked to undertake a study and prepare a report
A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents. Usage
In ...
offering a solution to the British Parliament. In his report, Lord Durham recommended that Canadiens be culturally assimilated, with English as their only official language. In order to do this, the British passed the ''Act of Union 1840
The ''British North America Act, 1840'' (3 & 4 Victoria, c.35), also known as the ''Act of Union 1840'', (the ''Act'') was approved by Parliament in July 1840 and proclaimed February 10, 1841, in Montreal. It abolished the legislatures of Lower ...
'', which merged Upper Canada and Lower Canada into a single colony: the Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on th ...
. Lower Canada became the francophone and densely populated Canada East, and Upper Canada became the anglophone and sparsely populated Canada West
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
. This union, unsurprisingly, was the main source of political instability until 1867. Despite their population gap, both Canada East and Canada West obtained an identical number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, which created representation problems. In the beginning, Canada East was under-represented because of its superior population size. Over time, however, massive immigration from the British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
to Canada West occurred, which increased its population. Since the two regions continued to have equal representation in the Parliament, this meant that it was now Canada West that was under-represented. The representation issues were frequently called into question by debates on "Representation by Population", or " Rep by Pop". In this period, the Loyalists and immigrants from the British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
appropriated the term "Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
", referring to Canada, their place of residence. The "Old Canadians" responded to this appropriation of identity by henceforth identifying with their ethnic community, under the name " French Canadian".
As access to new lands remained problematic because they were still monopolized by the Clique du Château, an exodus of Canadiens towards New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
began and went on for the next one hundred years. This phenomenon is known as the Grande Hémorragie
The Quebec diaspora consists of Quebec immigrants and their descendants dispersed over the North American continent and historically concentrated in the New England region of the United States, Ontario, and the Canadian Prairies. The mass emigrati ...
and greatly threatened the survival of the Canadien nation. The massive British immigration ordered from London that soon followed the failed rebellion compounded this problem. In order to combat this, the Church adopted the revenge of the cradle policy. In 1844, the capital of the Province of Canada was moved from Kingston to Montreal.
Political unrest came to a head in 1849, when English Canadian rioters set fire to the Parliament Building in Montreal following the enactment of the ''Rebellion Losses Bill
The Rebellion Losses Bill (full name: ''An Act to provide for the Indemnification of Parties in Lower Canada whose Property was destroyed during the Rebellion in the years 1837 and 1838'') was a controversial law enacted by the legislature of ...
,'' a law that compensated French Canadians whose properties were destroyed during the rebellions of 1837–1838. This bill, resulting from the Baldwin-La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his '' Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Eu ...
coalition and Lord Elgin's advice, was a very important one as it established the notion of responsible government. In 1854, the seigneurial system was abolished, the Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rail ...
was built and the Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty
The Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty of 1854, also known as the Elgin– Marcy Treaty, was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that applied to British North America, including the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, Nov ...
was implemented. In 1866, the ''Civil Code of Lower Canada
The ''Civil Code of Lower Canada'' (french: Code civil du Bas-Canada) was a set of laws that were in effect in Lower Canada on 1 August 1866 and remained in effect in Quebec until repealed and replaced by the Civil Code of Quebec on 1 January 19 ...
'' was adopted.
Canadian province (1867–present)
In 1864, negotiations began for Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...
between the provinces of Canada, New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
. There were two conferences that year: the first conference, the Charlottetown Conference
The Charlottetown Conference (Canada's Conference) was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation. The conference took place between September 1 thr ...
, and the second, the Quebec Conference at Quebec City.
After having fought as a Patriote, George-Étienne Cartier
Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, (pronounced ; September 6, 1814May 20, 1873) was a Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation.
The English spelling of the name—George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling—is explained ...
entered politics in the Province of Canada, eventually becoming one of the co-premiers and an advocate for the union of the British North American provinces. He became one of the leading figures at the Quebec Conference, which produced the Quebec Resolutions
The Quebec Resolutions, also known as the seventy-two resolutions, are a group of statements written at the Quebec Conference of 1864 which laid out the framework for the Canadian Constitution.
They were adopted by the majority of the provinces of ...
, the foundation for Canadian Confederation. Recognized as a Father of Confederation
The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadian ...
, he successfully argued for the establishment of the province of Quebec, initially composed of the historic heart of the territory of the French Canadian nation and where French Canadians would most likely retain majority status.
The Quebec Resolutions were implemented as the ''British North America Act, 1867
The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...
'', passed by the British Parliament at the request of the governments of the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, following the London Conference of 1866
The London Conference was held in London, in the United Kingdom, in 1866. It was the third and final in a series of conferences that led to Canadian Confederation in 1867. Sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunsw ...
. The ''British North America Act, 1867'' was brought into force on July 1, 1867, creating Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. It was composed of four founding provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
and Quebec. These last two came from the splitting of the Province of Canada, and used the old borders of Lower Canada for Quebec, and Upper Canada for Ontario. On July 15, 1867, Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau
Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau (May 30, 1820 – April 4, 1890) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. Chauveau was the first premier of Quebec, following the establishment of Canada in 1867. Appointed to the office in 1867 as the leader of the ...
became Quebec's first premier.
Since this federal system's constitution was founded on the same principles as that of the United Kingdom, each of the provinces was guaranteed sovereign authority in the sphere of its legislative powers.
From Confederation until the First World War, the omnipresence of the Roman Catholic Church was at its peak. The objective of clerico-nationalists was promoting the values of traditional society: family, the French language, the Catholic Church and rural life. Also during this time period, events such as the North-West Rebellion, the Manitoba Schools Question
The Manitoba Schools Question () was a political crisis in the Canadian province of Manitoba that occurred late in the 19th century, attacking publicly-funded separate schools for Roman Catholics and Protestants. The crisis was precipitated by a se ...
and Ontario's Regulation 17
Regulation 17 (french: Règlement 17) was a regulation of the Government of Ontario, Canada, designed to limit instruction in French-language Catholic separate schools. The regulation was written by the Ministry of Education and was issued in July ...
turned the promotion and defence of the rights of French Canadians into an important concern. Under the aegis of the Catholic Church and the political action of Henri Bourassa
Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa (; September 1, 1868 – August 31, 1952) was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. In 1899, Bourassa was outspoken against the British government's request for Canada to send a militia to fight for ...
, various symbols of national pride were developed, like the Flag of Carillon
The flag of Carillon was flown by the troops of General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm during the Battle of Carillon, which was fought by the French and Canadian forces against those of the British in July 1758 at Fort Carillon.
In 2009, it was displa ...
, and "O Canada
"O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...
" – a patriotic song composed for Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (french: Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste, la Saint-Jean, Fête nationale du Québec), also known in English as ''St John the Baptist Day'', is a holiday celebrated on June 24 in the Canadian province of Quebec and by Fren ...
. Many organizations went on to consecrate the affirmation of the French-Canadian people, including the caisses populaires Desjardins in 1900, the in 1904, the Club de hockey Canadien in 1909, ''Le Devoir
''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910.
''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...
'' in 1910, the Congrès de la langue française in 1912, ' in 1915, and ''L'Action nationale
''L'Action nationale'' () is a French-language monthly published in Quebec, Canada.
The magazine publishes critical analyses of Quebec's linguistic, social, cultural and economic realities. Since 1917, approximately 17,000 authors have appeared ...
'' in 1917. In 1885, liberal and conservative MPs formed the Parti national
The Parti National was the name taken by the Liberal Party of Quebec, Canada, under the premiership of Honoré Mercier.
Origin and beliefs
It was founded on November 17, 1885, the day following the execution of Métis Leader Louis Riel. Many ...
out of anger with the previous government for not having interceded in the execution of Louis Riel
Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...
.
In 1898, the Canadian Parliament
The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
enacted the ''Quebec Boundary Extension Act, 1898
The ''Quebec Boundary Extension Act, 1898'' was an Act of the Parliament of Canada that expanded the territory of the province of Quebec. The province's northern boundary was set along the eastern shore of James Bay to the mouth of the Eastmain R ...
'', which gave Quebec part of Rupert's Land, which Canada had bought from the Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
in 1870. This act expanded the boundaries of Quebec northward. In 1909, the government passed a law obligating wood and pulp to be transformed in Quebec, which helped slow the by allowing Quebec to export its finished products to the US instead of its labour force. In 1910, Armand Lavergne
Armand Renaud Lavergne, or La Vergne (February 21, 1880 – March 5, 1935) was a Quebec lawyer, journalist and political figure. He represented Montmagny in the House of Commons of Canada as a Liberal member from 1904 to 1908 and as a Con ...
passed the Lavergne Law, the first language legislation in Quebec. It required the use of French alongside English on tickets, documents, bills and contracts issued by transportation and public utility companies. At this time, companies rarely recognized the majority language of Quebec. Clerico-nationalists eventually started to fall out of favour in the federal elections of 1911. In 1912, the Canadian Parliament enacted the ''Quebec Boundaries Extension Act, 1912
The ''Quebec Boundaries Extension Act, 1912'' was passed by the Parliament of Canada on April 1, 1912. It expanded the territory of the Province of Quebec, extending the northern boundary to its present location. The act transferred to the provin ...
'', which gave Quebec another part of Rupert's Land: the District of Ungava. This extended the borders of Quebec northward all the way to the Hudson Strait
Hudson Strait (french: Détroit d'Hudson) links the Atlantic Ocean and Labrador Sea to Hudson Bay in Canada. This strait lies between Baffin Island and Nunavik, with its eastern entrance marked by Cape Chidley in Newfoundland and Labrador ...
.
When the First World War broke out, Canada was automatically involved and many English Canadians volunteered. However, because they did not feel the same connection to the British Empire and there was no direct threat to Canada, French Canadians saw no reason to fight. A few did enlist in the 22nd Battalion, precursor to the Royal 22e Régiment. By late 1916, the number of casualties were beginning to cause reinforcement problems. After enormous difficulty in the federal government, because virtually every French-speaking MP opposed conscription while almost all the English-speaking MPs supported it, the ''Military Service Act'' became law on August 29, 1917. French Canadians protested in what is now called the Conscription Crisis of 1917, which eventually led to the .
In 1927, the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Aug ...
drew a clear border between northeast Quebec and south Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
. However, the Quebec government did not recognize the ruling of this council, resulting in a boundary dispute
A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities.
Context and definitions
Territorial disputes are often related to the possession of natural resources s ...
which remains ongoing. The Statute of Westminster 1931 was enacted, and it confirmed the autonomy of the Dominion
The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire.
"Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...
s – including Canada and its provinces – from the United Kingdom, as well as their free association in the Commonwealth. In the 1930s, Quebec's economy was affected by the Great Depression because it greatly reduced American demand for Quebec exports. Between 1929 and 1932 the unemployment rate increased from 7.7% to 26.4%. In an attempt to remedy this, the Quebec government enacted infrastructure projects, campaigns to colonize distant regions (mostly in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Bas-Saint-Laurent
The Bas-Saint-Laurent (Lower Saint-Lawrence), is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlanti ...
), financial assistance to farmers, and the – the ancestor to Canada's Employment Insurance
Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a compu ...
.
French Canadians remained opposed to conscription during the Second World War. When Canada declared war in September 1939, the federal government pledged not to conscript soldiers for overseas service. As the war went on, more and more English Canadians voiced support for conscription, despite firm opposition from French Canada. Following a 1942 poll that showed 72.9% of Quebec's residents were ''against'' conscription, while 80% or more were ''for'' conscription in every other province, the federal government passed ''Bill 80'' for overseas service. Protests exploded and the Bloc Populaire emerged to fight conscription. The stark differences between the values of French and English Canada popularized the expression the " Two Solitudes".
In the wake of the conscription crisis, Maurice Duplessis
Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and hi ...
of the Union Nationale ascended to power and implemented a set of conservative policies known as the . He focused on defending provincial autonomy, Quebec's Catholic and francophone heritage, and laissez-faire liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
instead of the emerging welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...
. However, as early as 1948, French Canadian society began to develop new ideologies and desires in response to significant societal changes such as new inventions like the television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, the baby boom, workers' conflicts, electrification of the countryside
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...
, emergence of a middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...
, the rural exodus
Rural flight (or rural exodus) is the migratory pattern of peoples from rural areas into urban areas. It is urbanization seen from the rural perspective.
In industrializing economies like Britain in the eighteenth century or East Asia in the ...
and urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
, expansion of universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
and bureaucracies
The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...
, creation of a motorway system, renaissance of literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
and poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, and others. The more French Canadian society was shaken by social change, the more the traditional elites – grouped around clerical circles and Duplessis – reflexively hardened their conservative and French-Canadian nationalism.
Modern Quebec (1960–present)
The Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...
was a period of intense modernization, secularization and social reform where, in a collective awakening, French Canadians clearly expressed their concern and dissatisfaction with their inferior socioeconomic position and the cultural assimilation of francophone minorities in the English-majority provinces. It resulted, among many other things, in the formation of the modern Québécois identity and Québécois nation. In 1960, the Liberal Party of Quebec was brought to power with a two-seat majority, having campaigned with the slogan "" ("It's time for things to change"). This government made many reforms in the fields of social policy, education, health and economic development. It created the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Labour Code, Ministry of Social Affairs
A Ministry of Social Affairs or Department of Social Affairs is the common name for a government department found in states where the government is divided into ministries or departments. While there is some variation in the responsibilities of ...
, Ministry of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, Office québécois de la langue française
The (, OQLF; en, Quebec Board of the French Language) is a public organization established on 24 March 1961, by the Quebec Liberal Party, Liberal government of Jean Lesage. Attached to the , its initial mission, defined in its report of 1 Apri ...
, Régie des rentes and Société générale de financement
Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA.
Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...
. In 1962, the government of Quebec nationalized its electricity and dismantled the financial syndicates of Saint Jacques Street
Saint Jacques Street (officially in french: rue Saint-Jacques), or St. James Street, is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running from Old Montreal westward to Lachine.
The street is commonly known by two names, "St. James Street" in ...
.
The Quiet Revolution was particularly characterized by the 1962 Liberal Party's slogan "" ("Masters in our own house"), which, to the Anglo-American conglomerates that dominated the economy and natural resources of Quebec, announced a collective will for freedom of the French-Canadian people. As a result of confrontations between the lower clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
and the laity, state institutions began to deliver services without the assistance of the church, and many parts of civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.[Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...]
, the reform of Quebec's institutions was overseen and supported by the Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
. In 1965, the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism
The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (french: Commission royale d’enquête sur le bilinguisme et le biculturalisme, also known as the Bi and Bi Commission and the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission) was a Canadian royal commissio ...
wrote a preliminary report underlining Quebec's distinct character, and promoted open federalism, a political attitude guaranteeing Quebec to a minimum amount of consideration. To favour Quebec during its Quiet Revolution, Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968.
Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...
adopted a policy of open federalism. In 1966, the Union Nationale was re-elected and continued on with major reforms.
In 1967, President of France
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...
Charles de Gaulle visited Quebec, the first French head of state to do so, to attend Expo 67
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...
. There, he addressed a crowd of more than 100,000, making a speech ending with the exclamation: "" ("Long live free Quebec"). This declaration had a profound effect on Quebec by bolstering the burgeoning modern Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement (french: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement whose objective is to achieve the sovereignty of Quebec, a province of Canada since 1867, including in all matters related to any provision o ...
and resulting in a political crisis between France and Canada. Following this, various civilian groups developed, sometimes confronting public authority, for example in the October Crisis
The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cr ...
of 1970. The meetings of the Estates General of French Canada in November 1967 marked a tipping point where relations between francophones of America, and especially francophones of Canada, ruptured. This breakdown greatly affected Quebec society's evolution.
In 1968, class conflicts and changes in mentalities intensified. That year, Option Quebec sparked a constitutional debate on the political future of the province by pitting federalist and sovereignist doctrines against each other. In 1973, the liberal government of Robert Bourassa initiated the James Bay Project
The James Bay Project (french: projet de la Baie-James) refers to the construction of a series of hydroelectric power stations on the La Grande River in northwestern Quebec, Canada by state-owned utility Hydro-Québec, and the diversion of neighb ...
on La Grande River
La Grande River (french: La Grande Rivière; cr, Chisasibi, script=latn; both meaning "great river") is a river in northwestern Quebec, Canada, which rises in the highlands of north central Quebec and flows roughly west to drain into James Bay. ...
. In 1974, it enacted the Official Language Act, which made French the official language of Quebec. In 1975, it established the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms
The ''Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte des droits et libertés de la personne), also known as the "Quebec Charter", is a statutory bill of rights and human rights code passed by the National Assembly of Quebec on June 27, 1 ...
and the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement
The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (french: Convention de la Baie-James et du Nord québécois) is an Aboriginal land claim settlement, approved in 1975 by the Cree and Inuit of northern Quebec, and later slightly modified in 1978 by th ...
.
Quebec's first modern sovereignist government, led by René Lévesque
René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...
, materialized when the Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
was brought to power in the 1976 Quebec general election
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Ph ...
. The Charter of the French Language
The ''Charter of the French Language'' (french: link=no, La charte de la langue française), also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101 (''french: link=no, Loi 101''), or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the Provinces and territories of ...
came into force the following year, strengthening the linguistic rights of Quebecois. Between 1966 and 1969, the Estates General of French Canada confirmed the state of Quebec
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* '' State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our ...
to be the nation's fundamental political milieu and for it to have the right to self-determination. In the 1980 referendum on sovereignty, 60% of the votes were against. After the referendum, Lévesque went back to Ottawa to start negotiating constitutional changes. On the night of November 4, 1981, the Kitchen Accord took place. Delegations from the other nine provinces and the federal government reached an agreement in the absence of Quebec's delegation, which had left for the night. Because of this, the National Assembly refused to recognize the new Constitution Act, 1982
The ''Constitution Act, 1982'' (french: link=no, Loi constitutionnelle de 1982) is a part of the Constitution of Canada.Formally enacted as Schedule B of the ''Canada Act 1982'', enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 60 of t ...
, which patriated the Canadian constitution and made numerous modifications to it. The 1982 amendments apply to Quebec despite Quebec never having consented to it.
Between 1982 and 1992, the Quebec government's attitude changed to prioritize reforming the federation. The subsequent attempts at constitutional amendments by the Mulroney
Mulroney is a surname of Irish origin. Notable people with the surname include:
* Mulroney family
**Brian Mulroney (born 1939), Progressive Conservative Prime Minister of Canada 1984–1993
*** Mila Mulroney (born 1953), wife of Brian Mulroney
*** ...
and Bourassa governments ended in failure with both the Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord (french: Accord du lac Meech) was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the gov ...
of 1987 and the Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown Accord (french: Accord de Charlottetown) was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October ...
of 1992, resulting in the creation of the Bloc Québécois. In 1995, Jacques Parizeau called a referendum on Quebec's independence from Canada. This consultation ended in failure for sovereignists, though the outcome was very close: 50.6% "no" and 49.4% "yes". The Unity Rally, a controversial event paid for by sponsors outside Quebec, supporting the "no" side, took place on the eve of the referendum.
In 1998, following the Supreme Court of Canada's decision on the Reference Re Secession of Quebec
''Reference Re Secession of Quebec'', 998
Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescenti ...
2 SCR 217 is a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the legality, under both Canadian and international law, of a unilateral secession of Quebec from Canada.
Both the Quebec gover ...
, the Parliaments of Canada and Quebec defined the legal frameworks within which their respective governments would act in another referendum. On October 30, 2003, the National Assembly voted unanimously to affirm "that the people of Québec form a nation". On November 27, 2006, the House of Commons passed a symbolic motion declaring "that this House recognize that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada." In March 2007, the Parti Québécois was pushed back to official opposition in the National Assembly, with the Liberal party leading. During the 2011 Canadian federal election
The 2011 Canadian federal election was held on May 2, 2011, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 41st Canadian Parliament.
The writs of election for the 2011 election were issued by Governor General David Johnston on Marc ...
s, Quebec voters rejected the Bloc Québécois in favour of the previously minor New Democratic Party (NDP). As the NDP's logo is orange, this was called the "orange wave". After three subsequent Liberal governments, the Parti Québécois regained power in 2012 and its leader, Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a member of the National Assembly in various ridings since 1981 as a member of the Parti Québ ...
, became the first female premier of Quebec. The Liberal Party of Quebec then returned to power in 2014. In 2018, the Coalition Avenir Québec won the provincial general elections. Between 2020 and 2021, Quebec took measures to protect itself against the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
File:Canada (New France) Location Map.svg, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in the 18th century.
File:Province of Quebec 1763, 1774, 1784.gif, The Province of Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
from 1763 to 1783.
File:Évolution territoriale du Bas-Canada.gif, Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...
from 1791 to 1841. ( Patriots' War in 1837, Canada East in 1841)
File:Évolution territoriale du Québec.gif, Quebec from 1867 to 1927.
File:Disputed territory between Quebec and Labrador map-blank.svg, Quebec today. Quebec (in blue) has a border dispute with Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
(in red).
Geography
Located in the eastern part of Canada, Quebec occupies a territory nearly three times the size of France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
or Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. Most of Quebec is very sparsely populated. The most populous physiographic
Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, ...
region is the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands, or simply St. Lawrence Lowlands, is a physiographic region of Eastern Canada that comprises a section of southern Ontario bounded on the north by the Canadian Shield and by 3 of the Great Lakes — Lake Huron ...
. The combination of rich soils and Quebec's relatively warm climate makes this valley the most prolific agricultural area of Quebec. The rural part of the landscape is divided into narrow rectangular tracts of land that extend from the river and date back to the seigneurial system.
Quebec's topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...
is very different from one region to another due to the varying composition of the ground, the climate, and the proximity to water. More than 95% of Quebec's territory, including the Labrador Peninsula
The Labrador Peninsula, or Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the sout ...
, lies within the Canadian Shield. It is generally a quite flat and exposed mountainous terrain interspersed with higher points such as the Laurentian Mountains
The Laurentian Mountains (French: ''Laurentides'') are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of at Mont Raoul Blanchard, northeast of Quebec City in the Laurentid ...
in southern Quebec, the Otish Mountains
The Monts Otish (Otish Mountains) are a range of tall hills in the geographic centre of Quebec, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean ...
in central Quebec and the Torngat Mountains
The Torngat Mountains are a mountain range on the Labrador Peninsula at the northern tip of Newfoundland and Labrador and eastern Quebec. They are part of the Arctic Cordillera. near Ungava Bay
Ungava Bay (french: baie d'Ungava, ; iu, ᐅᖓᕙ ᑲᖏᖅᓗᒃ/) is a bay in northeastern Canada separating Nunavik (far northern Quebec) from Baffin Island. Although not geographically apparent, it is considered to be a marginal sea of the ...
. While low and medium altitude peaks extend from western Quebec to the far north, high altitudes mountains emerge in the Capitale-Nationale
Capitale-Nationale (; en, National Capital region) is one of the 17 administrative regions of Quebec. It is anchored by the provincial capital, Quebec City, and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. It has a land area of 18,7 ...
region to the extreme east. Quebec's highest point at is Mont d'Iberville, known in English as Mount Caubvick
Mount Caubvick (known as Mont D'Iberville in Quebec) is a mountain located in Canada on the border between Labrador and Quebec in the Selamiut Range of the Torngat Mountains. It is the highest point in mainland Canada east of the Rockies. The m ...
. In the Labrador Peninsula portion of the Shield, the far northern region of Nunavik includes the Ungava Peninsula and consists of flat Arctic tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...
inhabited mostly by the Inuit. Further south is the Eastern Canadian Shield taiga
The Eastern Canadian Shield taiga is an ecoregion of Canada as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) categorization system.
Setting
Located in northeastern Canada, this ecoregion covers a large part of northern Quebec and most of Labrador, re ...
ecoregion and the Central Canadian Shield forests
The Central Canadian Shield forests are a taiga ecoregion of Eastern Canada, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) categorization system.
Setting
This ecoregion consists of rolling hills, lakes, bogs and rocky outcrops covering a large curv ...
. The Appalachian region has a narrow strip of ancient mountains along the southeastern border of Quebec.
Quebec has one of the world's largest reserves of fresh water, occupying 12% of its surface and representing 3% of the world's renewable fresh water. More than half a million lakes and 4,500 rivers empty into the Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, through the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
, image = Baie de la Tour.jpg
, alt =
, caption = Gulf of St. Lawrence from Anticosti National Park, Quebec
, image_bathymetry = Golfe Saint-Laurent Depths fr.svg
, alt_bathymetry = Bathymetry ...
and the Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
, by James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
, Hudson, and Ungava bays. The largest inland body of water is the Caniapiscau Reservoir
The Caniapiscau Reservoir () is a reservoir on the upper Caniapiscau River in the Côte-Nord administrative region of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is the largest body of water in Quebec and the second largest reservoir in Canada.
The ...
; Lake Mistassini
Lake Mistassini () is the largest natural lake by surface area in the province of Quebec, Canada, with a total surface area of approximately and a net area (water surface area only) of . It is located in the Jamésie region of the province, appro ...
is the largest natural lake. The Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
has some of the world's largest sustaining inland Atlantic ports. Since 1959, the Saint Lawrence Seaway
The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Ameri ...
has provided a navigable link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes.
The public lands
In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land, state land, or Crown land (Australia, and Canada). The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countrie ...
of Quebec cover approximately 92% of the Québécois territory, including almost all of the bodies of water. Protected areas
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
can be classified into about twenty different legal designations (ex. exceptional forest ecosystem, protected marine environment, national park, biodiversity reserve, wildlife reserve, zone d'exploitation contrôlée A ''zone d'exploitation contrôlée'' (in French; acronym ZEC) is a "Controlled harvesting zone" located in public lands areas of Quebec, in Canada. ZECs are a system of territorial infrastructures set up in 1978 by the Government of Quebec to take ...
(ZEC), etc.). More than 2,500 sites in Quebec today are protected areas. As of 2013, protected areas comprise 9.14% of the Québécois territory.
Climate
In general, the climate of Quebec is cold and humid, with variations determined by latitude, maritime and elevation influences. Because of 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 of precipitation, including over of snow in many areas. During the summer, severe weather patterns (such as tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
es and severe thunderstorms) occur occasionally.
Quebec is divided into four climatic zones: arctic, subarctic, humid continental and East maritime. From south to north, average temperatures range in summer between and, in winter, between . In periods of intense heat and cold, temperatures can reach in the summer and during the Quebec winter, Most of central Quebec, ranging from 51 to 58 degrees North has a subarctic climate (Köppen ''Dfc''). Winters are long, very cold, and snowy, 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 Climate of the Arctic, arctic climate (Köppen ''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.
The all-time record high temperature was and the all-time record low was . The all-time record of the greatest precipitation in winter was established in winter 2007–2008, with more than five metres of snow in the area of Quebec City. March 1971, however, saw the "Eastern Canadian Blizzard of March 1971, Century's Snowstorm" with more than in Montreal to in RCAF Station Mont Apica, Mont Apica of snow within 24 hours in many regions of southern Quebec. The winter of 2010 was the warmest and driest recorded in more than 60 years.
Flora and fauna
Given the geology of the province and its different climates, there are a number of large areas of vegetation in Quebec. These areas, listed in order from the northernmost to the southernmost are: the tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...
, the taiga, the Boreal forest of Canada, Canadian boreal forest (coniferous), Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest, mixed forest and deciduous forest. On the edge of Ungava Bay and Hudson Strait is the tundra, whose flora is limited to lichen with less than 50 growing days per year. Further south, the climate is conducive to the growth of the Boreal forest of Canada, Canadian boreal forest, bounded on the north by the taiga. Not as arid as the tundra, the taiga is associated with the subarctic regions of the Canadian Shield and is characterized by a greater number of both plant (600) and animal (206) species. The taiga covers about 20% of the total area of Quebec. The Canadian boreal forest is the northernmost and most abundant of the three forest areas in Quebec that straddle the Canadian Shield and the upper lowlands of the province. Given a warmer climate, the diversity of organisms is also higher: there are about 850 plant species and 280 vertebrate species. The mixed forest is a transition zone between the Canadian boreal forest and deciduous forest. This area contains a diversity of plant (1000) and vertebrates (350) species, despite relatively cool temperatures. The ecozone mixed forest is characteristic of the Laurentides, Laurentians, the Chaudière-Appalaches, Appalachians and the eastern lowland forests. The third most northern forest area is characterized by deciduous forests. Because of its climate, this area has the greatest diversity of species, including more than 1600 vascular plants and 440 vertebrates.
The total forest area of Quebec is estimated at . From the Abitibi-Témiscamingue to the Côte-Nord, North Shore, the forest is composed primarily of conifers such as the ''Abies balsamea'', the jack pine, the Picea glauca, white spruce, the Picea mariana, black spruce and the Larix laricina, tamarack. The deciduous forest of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands is mostly composed of deciduous species such as the Acer saccharum, sugar maple, the Acer rubrum, red maple, the Fraxinus americana, white ash, the Fagus grandifolia, American beech, the Juglans cinerea, butternut (white walnut), the Ulmus americana, American elm, the Tilia americana, basswood, the Carya cordiformis, bitternut hickory and the Quercus rubra, northern red oak as well as some conifers such as the eastern white pine and the Thuja occidentalis, northern whitecedar. The distribution areas of the Betula papyrifera, paper birch, the Populus tremuloides, trembling aspen and the Sorbus, mountain ash cover more than half of Quebec's territory.
Biodiversity of the estuary and gulf of Saint Lawrence River includes aquatic mammal wildlife, such as the blue whale, the Beluga (whale), beluga, the minke whale and the harp seal (earless seal). The Nordic marine animals include the walrus and the narwhal. Inland waters are populated by small to large freshwater fish, such as the largemouth bass, the American pickerel, the walleye, the ''Acipenser oxyrinchus'', the muskellunge, the Atlantic cod, the Arctic char, the brook trout, the ''Microgadus tomcod'' (tomcod), the Atlantic salmon, and the rainbow trout.
Among the birds commonly seen in the southern part of Quebec are the American robin, the house sparrow, the red-winged blackbird, the mallard, the common grackle, the blue jay, the American crow, the black-capped chickadee, some New World warbler, warblers and swallows, the European starling, starling and the rock pigeon. Avian fauna includes birds of prey like the golden eagle, the peregrine falcon, the snowy owl and the bald eagle. Sea and semi-aquatic birds seen in Quebec are mostly the Canada goose, the double-crested cormorant, the northern gannet, the European herring gull, the great blue heron, the sandhill crane, the Atlantic puffin and the common loon.
The large land wildlife includes the white-tailed deer, the moose, the muskox, the Reindeer, caribou (reindeer), the American black bear and the polar bear. The medium-sized land wildlife includes the cougar, the coyote, the eastern wolf, the bobcat, the Arctic fox, the fox, etc. The small animals seen most commonly include the eastern grey squirrel, the snowshoe hare, the groundhog, the skunk, the raccoon, the chipmunk and the North American beaver, Canadian beaver.
Government and politics
Quebec is founded on the Westminster system, and is both a liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...
and a constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
with Parliamentary system, parliamentary regime. The head of government in Quebec is the Premier of Quebec, premier (called in French), who leads the largest party in the unicameral National Assembly () from which the Executive Council of Quebec is appointed. The Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, lieutenant governor represents the King of Canada and acts as the province's head of state.
Quebec has 78 Member of Parliament (Canada), members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons of Canada. They are elected in federal elections. At the level of the Senate of Canada, Quebec is represented by 24 senators, which are appointed on the advice of the prime minister of Canada. Quebec has a network of three offices for representing itself and defending its interests in Canada; these offices' mandate is to ensure an institutional presence of the Government of Quebec near other Canadian governments and to allow Quebec to Social relation, interact effectively with the other provinces of the country.
The Quebec State holds Administration (government), administrative and police authority in the areas of exclusive jurisdiction. The Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor (Quebec), Conseil du trésor supports the ministers of the Executive Council in their function of stewardship of the state. The Parliament of the 40th Quebec Legislature, 40th legislature is made up of the following parties: Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), Parti libéral du Québec (PLQ), Québec solidaire (QS) and Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
(PQ), as well as an National Assembly of Quebec#Current standings, independent member. There are List of political parties in Quebec, 22 official political parties in Quebec.
Subdivisions
Quebec's territory is divided into 17 Regions of Quebec, administrative regions as follows:
#Bas-Saint-Laurent
The Bas-Saint-Laurent (Lower Saint-Lawrence), is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlanti ...
#Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
#Capitale-Nationale
Capitale-Nationale (; en, National Capital region) is one of the 17 administrative regions of Quebec. It is anchored by the provincial capital, Quebec City, and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. It has a land area of 18,7 ...
#Mauricie
#Estrie
#Urban agglomeration of Montreal, Montréal
#Outaouais
# Abitibi-Témiscamingue
#Côte-Nord
#Nord-du-Québec
#Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine
#Chaudière-Appalaches
#Laval, Quebec, Laval
#Lanaudière
#Laurentides
#Montérégie
#Centre-du-Québec
The province also has the following divisions:
*4 territories (Abitibi County, Quebec, Abitibi, Ashuanipi, Rivière-Mistassini, Quebec, Mistassini and Nunavik) which group together the lands that once formed the District of Ungava
*36 Judicial districts of Quebec, judicial districts
*73
*125
For municipal purposes, Quebec is composed of:
*1,117 Local government in Quebec, local municipalities of various Types of municipalities in Quebec, types:
**11 Urban agglomerations of Quebec, agglomerations () grouping 42 of these local municipalities
**45 List of boroughs in Quebec, boroughs () within 8 of these local municipalities
*89 Regional county municipality, regional county municipalities or RCMs ()
*2 Metropolitan Community (Quebec), metropolitan communities ()
*the regional Kativik Regional Government, Kativik administration
*the List of unorganized territories in Quebec, unorganised territories
Public policies
The Québécois constitution is enshrined in a series of social and cultural traditions that are defined in a set of judicial judgments and legislative documents, including the ("Law on the National Assembly"), the ("Law on the Executive"), and the ("Electoral Law of Quebec"). Other notable examples include the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms
The ''Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte des droits et libertés de la personne), also known as the "Quebec Charter", is a statutory bill of rights and human rights code passed by the National Assembly of Quebec on June 27, 1 ...
, the Charter of the French language, and the Civil Code of Quebec. Since 1969, the Official Languages Act (Canada), Official Languages Act has guaranteed a legal and linguistic context conducive to the development of the province.
Quebec's international policy is founded upon the , formulated in 1965. While Quebec's Ministry of International Relations (Quebec), Ministry of International Relations coordinates international policy, its Quebec Government Offices, Quebec's general delegations are the main interlocutors in foreign countries. Under the rule of law, any agreement made abroad, by the federal or Quebecois government, is only applicable in domestic politics by the consent of popular sovereignty. Quebec is the only Canadian province that has set up a ministry to exclusively embody the state's powers for international relations.
Since 2006, Quebec has adopted a green plan to meet the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol regarding climate change. The Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment, and Fight Against Climate Change (MELCC) is the primary entity responsible for the application of environmental policy. The Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (SEPAQ) is the main body responsible for the management of national parks and wildlife reserves. On November 23, 2009, Jean Charest announced Quebec's greenhouse gas reduction targets at the Copenhagen conference: Quebec intended to reduce its emissions by 20% by 2020 (compared to the emissions of 1990) and focus on the transportation sector, which accounts for 40% of GHG emissions in Quebec. Nearly 500,000 people took part in a climate protest on the streets of Montreal in 2019.
Agriculture in Quebec has been subject to agricultural zoning regulations since 1978. Faced with the problem of expanding urban sprawl, agricultural zones were created to ensure the protection of fertile land, which make up 2% of Quebec's total area. are essentially public property. The calculation of annual cutting possibilities is the responsibility of the . The Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) seeks to protect the interests of its members, including forestry workers, and works jointly with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Quebec), Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ) and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (Quebec), Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
The has the mandate to oversee social and workforce developments through Emploi-Québec and its local employment centers (CLE). This ministry is also responsible for managing the (QPIP) as well as last-resort financial support for families and people in need. The (CNESST) is the main body responsible for the application of labour laws in Quebec and enforcing the collective agreements concluded between unions of employees and their employers.
When it comes to taxation, Revenu Québec takes the majority of its revenue through a Progressive tax, progressive income tax, a 9.975% sales tax and various other taxes (such as carbon, corporate and capital gains taxes), Equalization payments in Canada, equalization payments from the federal government, transfer payments from other provinces and direct payments. By some measures Quebec is the most taxed province; a 2012 study indicated that "Quebec companies pay 26 per cent more in taxes than the Canadian average". A 2014 report by the Fraser Institute indicated that "relative to its size, Quebec is the most indebted province in Canada by a wide margin".
Immigration to Quebec is supported by integration programs favouring French, as it is the common language, as well as the principles of pluralism and interculturalism. The is responsible for the selection and integration of immigrants. Quebec's health and social services network is administered by the Ministry of Health and Social Services (Quebec), Ministry of Health and Social Services. It is composed of 95 (RLS; 'local service networks') and 18 (ASSS; 'health and social services agencies'). Quebec's health system is supported by the ''Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec'' (RAMQ) which works to maintain the accessibility of services for all citizens of Quebec.
The (CPEs; 'centres for young children') are institutions that link family policies to education. They are administered by the . Education in Quebec, Quebec's education system is administered by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (Quebec), Ministry of Education and Higher Education (Primary school, primary and Secondary school, secondary schools), the (CEGEP) and the . In 2012, the annual cost for postsecondary tuition was CA$2,168 (€1,700)—less than half of Canada's average tuition. Part of the reason for this is the relative democratization of higher education implemented during the Quiet Revolution, when the Quebec government froze tuition fees to a relatively low level and created CEGEPs. When Jean Charest's government decided in 2012 to sharply increase university fees, students protests erupted. Because of these protests, Quebec's tuition fees remain relatively low.
External relationships
International relationships-wise, Quebec's closest partner is the United States, with which it has a long history of economic relations and military-related interactions; 87% of Quebec's international exports head to the United States, and Quebec has several economic and military pacts with the U.S. like NAFTA and NORAD. Products of American culture like songs, movies, fashion and food strongly affect Québécois culture.
Quebec has a historied relationship with France as it was a part of the French Empire and both regions share a language. The and the francophonie are a few of the tools used for relations between Quebec and France. In Paris, a ''place du Québec'' was inaugurated in 1980. Quebec also has a historied relationship with the United Kingdom, having been a part of the British Empire. Quebec and the UK currently share the same Queen Elizabeth II, head of state.
Quebec has a Quebec Government Offices, network of 32 offices in 18 countries. These offices serve the purpose of representing Quebec in the country in which they are situated and are overseen by Quebec's Ministry of International Relations (Quebec), Ministry of International Relations. Quebec, like other Canadian provinces, also maintains representatives in some Canadian embassies and consulates general. As of 2019, the Government of Quebec has delegates-general (Agent-general, agents-general) in Brussels, London, Mexico City, Munich, New York City, Paris and Tokyo; delegates to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and Rome; and offices headed by directors offering more limited services in Barcelona, Beijing, Dakar, Hong Kong, Mumbai, São Paulo, Shanghai, Stockholm, and Washington, D.C., Washington. In addition, there are the equivalent of Consul (representative)#honorary consul, honorary consuls, titled ''antennes'', in Berlin, Philadelphia, Qingdao, Seoul, and Silicon Valley.
Quebec also has a representative to UNESCO and participates in the Organization of American States. Quebec is a member of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie and of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie.
Law
Quebec law is the shared responsibility of the Government of Canada, federal and Government of Quebec, provincial government. The federal government is responsible for criminal law, foreign affairs and laws relating to the regulation of Canadian commerce, interprovincial transportion, and telecommunications. The provincial government is responsible for private law, the administration of justice, and several social domains, such as social assistance, healthcare, education, and natural resources.
Quebec law is influenced by two judicial traditions (Civil law (legal system), civil law and common law) and four classic sources of law (legislation, case law, doctrine and customary law). Private law in Quebec affects all relationships between individuals (Natural person, natural or Juridical person, juridical persons) and is largely under the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Quebec. The Parliament of Canada also influences Quebec private law, in particular through its power over banks, bankruptcy, marriage, divorce and maritime law. The ' is the primary component of Quebec's private law and is Codification (law), codified in the Civil Code of Quebec. Public law in Quebec is largely derived from the common law tradition. Quebec constitutional law governs the rules surrounding the Quebec government, the Parliament of Quebec and Quebec's courts. Quebec administrative law governs relations between individuals and the Quebec public administration. Quebec also has some limited jurisdiction over criminal law. Finally, Quebec, like the federal government, has tax law power. Certain portions of Quebec law are considered mixed. This is the case, for example, with human rights and freedoms which are governed by the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms
The ''Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte des droits et libertés de la personne), also known as the "Quebec Charter", is a statutory bill of rights and human rights code passed by the National Assembly of Quebec on June 27, 1 ...
, a Charter which applies to both government and citizens.
English is not an official language in Quebec law. However, both English and French are required by the Constitution Act, 1867 for the enactment of laws and regulations, and any person may use English or French in the National Assembly and the courts. The books and records of the National Assembly must also be kept in both languages.
Courts
Although Quebec is a civil law jurisdiction, it does not follow the pattern of other civil law systems which have court systems divided by subject matter. Instead, the court system follows the English model of unitary courts of general jurisdiction. The provincial courts have jurisdiction to decide matters under provincial law as well as federal law, including Civil law (legal system), civil, Criminal law, criminal and constitutional law, constitutional matters. The major exception to the principle of general jurisdiction is that the Federal Court (Canada), Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal have exclusive jurisdiction over some areas of federal law, such as review of federal administrative bodies, federal taxes, and matters relating to national security.
The Quebec courts are organized in a pyramid. At the bottom, there are the municipal courts, the Professions Tribunal, the Human Rights Tribunal, and administrative tribunals. Decisions of those bodies can be reviewed by the two trial courts, the Court of Quebec the Superior Court of Quebec. The Court of Quebec is the main criminal trial court, and also a court for small civil claims. The Superior Court is a trial court of general jurisdiction, in both criminal and civil matters. The decisions of those courts can be appealed to the Quebec Court of Appeal. Finally, if the case is of great importance, it may be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Court of Appeal serves two purposes. First, it is the general court of appeal for all legal issues from the lower courts. It hears appeals from the trial decisions of the Superior Court and the Quebec Court. It also can hear appeals from decisions rendered by those two courts on appeals or judicial review matters relating to the municipal courts and administrative tribunals. Second, but much more rarely, the Court of Appeal possesses the power to respond to reference questions posed to it by the Executive Council of Quebec, Quebec Cabinet. The Court of Appeal renders more than 1,500 judgments per year.
Law enforcement
The Sûreté du Québec is the main police force of Quebec. The Sûreté du Québec can also serve a support and coordination role with other police forces, such as with municipal police forces or with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The RCMP has the power to enforce certain federal laws in Quebec. However, given the existence of the Sûreté du Québec, its role is more limited than in the other provinces.
Municipal police, such as the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal and the Service de police de la Ville de Québec, are responsible for law enforcement in their municipalities. The Sûreté du Québec fulfills the role of municipal police in the 1038 municipalities that do not have a municipal police force. The Indigenous communities of Quebec have their own police forces.
For offences against provincial or federal laws in Quebec (including the Criminal Code (Canada), Criminal Code), the is responsible for prosecuting offenders in court through Crown attorneys. The Department of Justice (Canada), Department of Justice of Canada also has the power to prosecute offenders, but only for offences against specific federal laws (ex. selling narcotics). Quebec is responsible for operating the Ministry of Public Security (Quebec), prison system for sentences of less than two years, and the federal government operates Incarceration in Canada, penitentiaries for sentences of two years or more.
Demographics
In the Canada 2016 Census, 2016 census, Quebec had a population of 8,164,361, a 3.3% change from its 2011 population of 7,903,001. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. Quebec accounts for a little under 23% of the Canadian population. The List of population centres in Quebec, most populated cities in Quebec are Montreal (1,762,976), Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
(538,738), Laval, Quebec, Laval (431,208), and Gatineau, Quebec, Gatineau (281,501).
In 2016, Quebec's median age was 41.2 years. As of 2020, 20.8% of Québécois are less than 20, 59.5% are aged between 20 and 64, and 19.7% are 65 or older. In 2019, Quebec witnessed an increase in the number of births compared to the year before (84,200 vs 83,840) and had a replacement rate of about 1.6 per woman. As of 2020, the average Québécois lifespan is 82.3 years. Quebec in 2019 registered the highest rate of population growth since 1972, with an increase of 110,000 people, mostly because of the arrival of a high number of Permanent residency, non-permanent residents. As of 2019, most international immigrants come from China, India or France. In 2016, 3 out of 10 Québécois possessed a postsecondary degree or diploma. Most residents, particularly couples, are property owners. In 2016, 80% of both property owners and renters considered their housing to be "unaffordable".
In 2016, the North American Aboriginal population of Quebec numbered 359,430 people, being composed of 17,175 Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
, 289,610 First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
people, and 61,260 Métis. There is an undercount, as some Indian bands regularly refuse to participate in Canadian censuses. In 2016, the Mohawk people, Mohawk reserves of Kahnawake and Doncaster, Quebec, Doncaster 17 along with the Indian settlement of Kanesatake and Rapid Lake, Lac-Rapide, a reserve of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, were not counted. Almost 9% of the population of Quebec belongs to a visible minority group. Most visible minorities in Quebec live in or near Montreal.
Religion
According to the 2021 Canadian census, 2021 census, religious groups in Quebec included:
*Christianity in Canada, Christianity (5,385,240 persons or 64.8%)
*Irreligion in Canada, Irreligion (2,267,720 persons or 27.3%)
*Islam in Canada, Islam (421,710 persons or 5.1%)
*Judaism in Canada, Judaism (84,530 persons or 1.0%)
*Buddhism in Canada, Buddhism (48,365 persons or 0.6%)
*Hinduism in Canada, Hinduism (47,390 persons or 0.6%)
*Sikhism in Canada, Sikhism (23,345 persons or 0.3%)
*Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous Spirituality (3,790 persons or <0.1%)
*Other (26,385 persons or 0.3%)
The Roman Catholic Church has long occupied a central and integral place in Quebec society since the foundation of Quebec City in 1608. However, since the Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...
, which secularized Quebec, irreligion has been growing significantly.
The oldest parish church in North America is the Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec. Its construction began in 1647, when it was known under the name ''Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix'', and it was finished in 1664. The most frequented place of worship in Quebec is the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. This basilica welcomes millions of visitors each year. Saint Joseph's Oratory is the largest place of worship in the world dedicated to Saint Joseph. Many pilgrimages include places such as Saint Benedict Abbey, Quebec, Saint Benedict Abbey, , Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica, Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, Marie-Reine-du-Monde de Montréal Basilica-Cathedral, Saint-Michel Basilica-Cathedral, and St. Patrick's Basilica, Montreal, Saint-Patrick's Basilica. Another important place of worship in Quebec is the Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral, which was erected between 1800 and 1804. It was the first Anglican cathedral built outside the British Isles.
Language
As of the 2021 Canadian census, 2021 Canadian Census, the ten most spoken languages in the province included French (7,786,735 or 93.72%), English (4,317,180 or 51.96%), Spanish (453,905 or 5.46%), Arabic (343,675 or 4.14%), Italian (168,040 or 2.02%), Haitian Creole (118,010 or 1.42%), Mandarin (80,520 or 0.97%), Portuguese (65,605 or 0.8%), Russian (55,485 or 0.7%), and Greek (50,375 or 0.6%). The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses.
Quebec differs from other Canadian provinces in that French language, French is the only Official language, official and preponderant language, while English language, English predominates in the rest of Canada. French is the common language, understood and spoken by 94.46% of the population. Quebec is the only Canadian province whose population is mainly Francophone; 6,102,210 people (78.1% of the population) recorded it as their sole native language in the 2011 Canadian census, 2011 Census, and 6,249,085 (80.0%) recorded that they spoke it most often at home. Knowledge of French is widespread even among those who do not speak it natively; in 2011, about 94.4% of the total population reported being able to speak French, alone or in combination with other languages. A considerable number of Quebec residents consider themselves to be bilingual in French and English: about 42.6% of the population (3,328,725 people) report knowing both languages, the highest proportion of any Canadian province.
Québécois French is the most widely used Variation (linguistics), variant. The Office québécois de la langue française
The (, OQLF; en, Quebec Board of the French Language) is a public organization established on 24 March 1961, by the Quebec Liberal Party, Liberal government of Jean Lesage. Attached to the , its initial mission, defined in its report of 1 Apri ...
oversees the application of the linguistic policy on the territory jointly with the Conseil supérieur de la langue française (Quebec), Superior Council of the French Language and the Commission de toponymie du Québec. Their recommendations then become part of the debate on the standard for Quebec French and are represented in Grand dictionnaire terminologique, Le Grand Dictionnaire terminologique (GDT), the (BDL) and various other works. Through its linguistic recommendations, the GDT fights against the invasion of Frenglish into the French language. Canada is estimated to be home to between 32 and 36 regional French accents, 17 of which can be found in Quebec. There are also people in Quebec who will naturally speak using ''Standard Québécois'' or Joual, both of which are considered sociolects rather than regional accents.
The Commission of Inquiry on the Situation of the French Language and Linguistic Rights in Quebec, Gendron Commission report of 1968 established the foundations for the white paper, white book of the government of Quebec' linguistic policy. Dependent on Public inquiry, commissions of inquiry, this policy statement is also accompanied the Charter of the French language ("Bill 101") since 1977. As French's demographic weight continues to decline, Quebec faces the threat of assimilation. Several institutions seek to protect and promote French such as the Office québécois de la langue française
The (, OQLF; en, Quebec Board of the French Language) is a public organization established on 24 March 1961, by the Quebec Liberal Party, Liberal government of Jean Lesage. Attached to the , its initial mission, defined in its report of 1 Apri ...
, the Conseil supérieur de la langue française (Quebec), Superior Council of the French Language, and the Commission de toponymie du Québec.
As of 2011, English language, English is the mother tongue of nearly 650,000 Quebecers (8% of the population). These anglophones, sometimes called Anglo-Quebecers, Anglo-Québécois, constitute the second largest linguistic group in Quebec. In addition, in 2001, roughly 50,000 people (0.7% of the population) considered their mother tongue to be both French and English. Anglo-Quebecers reside mainly in the west of the island of Montreal (West Island), downtown Montreal and the Pontiac, Quebec, Pontiac.
Three families of Indigenous languages encompassing eleven languages exist in Quebec: the Algonquian languages, Algonquian language family (Abenaki language, Abenaki, Algonquin
Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to:
Languages and peoples
*Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia
**Algonquin la ...
, Malecite-Passamaquoddy language, Maliseet-passamaquoddy, Mi'kmaq language, Mi'kmaq, and the linguistic continuum of Atikamekw language, Atikamekw, Cree language, Cree, Innu language, Innu-aimun, and Naskapi language, Naskapi), the Eskimo–Aleut languages, Inuit–Aleut language family (Nunavimmiutitut, an Inuit grammar, Inuktitut dialect spoken by the Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
of Nord-du-Québec), and the Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian language family (Mohawk language, Mohawk and Wendat language, Wendat). In the 2016 census, 50,895 people in Quebec said they knew at least one Indigenous language. Furthermore, 45,570 people declared having an Indigenous language as their mother tongue. In Quebec, most Indigenous languages are transmitted quite well from one generation to the next with a mother tongue retention rate of 92%.
As of the 2016 Canadian census, 2016 census, the most common immigrant languages are Arabic language, Arabic (2.5% of the total population), Spanish language, Spanish (1.9%), Italian language, Italian (1.4%), Creole languages (mainly Haitian Creole) (0.8%) and Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin (0.6%).
Aboriginals
In 2016, the North American Aboriginal population of Quebec numbered 359,430 people, being composed of 17,175 Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
, 289,610 First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
people and 61,260 Métis.[ The Inuit of Quebec live mainly in Nunavik in Nord-du-Québec. They make up the majority of the population living north of the 55th parallel. There are ten First Nations ethnic groups in Quebec: the ]Abenaki
The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...
, the Algonquin
Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to:
Languages and peoples
*Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia
**Algonquin la ...
, the Attikamek, the Cree, the Wolastoqiyik, the Mi'kmaq, the Innu, the Naskapi
The Naskapi (Nascapi, Naskapee, Nascapee) are an Indigenous people of the Subarctic native to the historical country St'aschinuw (ᒋᑦ ᐊᔅᒋᓄᐤ, meaning 'our nclusiveland'), which is located in northern Quebec and Labrador, neighb ...
s, the Huron-Wendat Nation, Huron-Wendat and the Mohawks. The Mohawks were once part of the Iroquois Confederacy.
Aboriginal rights were enunciated in the Indian Act and adopted at the end of the 19th century. This act confines First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
within the Indian reserve, reserves created for them. The Indian Act is still in effect today. In 1975, the Cree, Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
and the Quebec government agreed to an agreement called the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement
The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (french: Convention de la Baie-James et du Nord québécois) is an Aboriginal land claim settlement, approved in 1975 by the Cree and Inuit of northern Quebec, and later slightly modified in 1978 by th ...
that would extended indigenous rights beyond reserves, and to over two-thirds of the Québécois territory. Because this extension was enacted without the participation of the Government of Canada, federal government, the extended indigenous rights only exist in Quebec. In 1978, the Naskapi
The Naskapi (Nascapi, Naskapee, Nascapee) are an Indigenous people of the Subarctic native to the historical country St'aschinuw (ᒋᑦ ᐊᔅᒋᓄᐤ, meaning 'our nclusiveland'), which is located in northern Quebec and Labrador, neighb ...
s joined the agreement when the Northeastern Quebec Agreement was signed. Discussions have been underway with the Montagnais of the Côte-Nord and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean for the potential creation of a similar autonomy in two new distinct territories that would be called ''Innu Assi'' and ''Nitassinan''.
A few political institutions have also been created over time:
* The
* The Grand Council of the Crees
* The Makivik Corporation
Acadians
The subject of is an important one as more than a million Québécois are of Acadians, Acadian ascent, with roughly 4.8 million Québécois possessing one or multiple Acadian ancestors in their genealogy tree, because a large number of Acadians had fled Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17t ...
to take refuge in Quebec during the Great Upheaval. Furthermore, more than a million Québécois wear a patronym of Acadian origin.
Quebec houses an Acadian community spread out across several regions. Acadians mainly live on the Magdalen Islands and in Gaspesia, but about thirty other communities are present elsewhere in Quebec, mostly in the Côte-Nord and Centre-du-Québec regions. An Acadian community in Quebec can be called a "Cadie" or "Petite Cadie", and some cities and villages use the demonym "Cadien".
Economy
Quebec has an Developed country, advanced, Market economy, market-based, and open economy. In 2009, its gross domestic product (GDP) of US$32,408 per capita at purchasing power parity remains lower than the Canadian average of US$37,830 per capita. The economy of Quebec is ranked the 37th largest economy in the world just behind Greece and 28th for the GDP per capita. The economy of Quebec represents 20.36% of the List of Canadian provinces and territories by gross domestic product, total GDP of Canada. The provincial debt-to-GDP ratio peaked at 50.7% in 2012–2013, and is projected to decline to 33.8% in 2023–2024.
Like most industrialized countries, the economy of Quebec is based mainly on the services sector. Quebec's economy has traditionally been fuelled by abundant natural resources and a well-developed infrastructure, but has undergone significant change over the past decade. Firmly grounded in the knowledge economy, Quebec has one of the highest growth rates of GDP in Canada. The knowledge sector represents about 30.9% of Quebec's GDP. In 2011, Quebec experienced faster growth of its Research and development, research-and-development (R&D) spending than other Canadian provinces. Quebec's spending in R&D in 2011 was equal to 2.63% of GDP, above the European Union average of 1.84% and will have to reaches the target of devoting 3% of GDP to research and development activities in 2013 according to the Lisbon Strategy. The percentage spent on research and technology is the highest in Canada and higher than the averages for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the G7 countries.
Some of the most important national Québécois companies include: Bombardier Inc, Bombardier, Desjardins Group, Desjardins, the National Bank of Canada, the Jean Coutu Group, Transcontinental (company), Transcontinental média, Quebecor, the Metro Inc., Métro Inc. food retailers, Hydro-Québec, the Société des alcools du Québec, the Bank of Montreal, Saputo Inc, Saputo, the Cirque du Soleil, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Normandin restaurants, and Vidéotron.
Exports and imports
Thanks to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Quebec was, , experiencing an increase in its ability to compete on the international market. The province saw its exports increase significantly. NAFTA is especially advantageous as it gives Quebec, among other things, access to a market of 130 million consumers within a radius of 1,000 kilometres. These international exchanges contribute to the strength of the Quebec economy, most particularly in terms of employment. about 60% of exports are made to outside of Canada.
In 2008, Québécois exports to other provinces in Canada and abroad totalled 157.3 billion Canadian dollar, CND$, or 51.8% of Quebec's gross domestic product (GDP). Of this total, 60.4% were international exports, and 39.6% were interprovincial exports. The breakdown by destination of international merchandise exports is: United States (72.2%), Europe (14.4%), Asia (5.1%), Middle East (2.7%), Central America (2.3%), South America (1.9%), Africa (0.8%) and Oceania (0.7%). Quebec's main economic partner remains the rest of Canada.
In 2008, Quebec imported $178 billion worth of goods and services, or 58.6% of its GDP. Of this total, 62.9% of goods were imported from international markets, while 37.1% of goods were interprovincial imports. The breakdown by origin of international merchandise imports is as follows: United States (31.1%), Europe (28.7%), Asia (17.1%), Africa (11.7%), South America (4.5%), Central America (3.7%), Middle East (1.3%) and Oceania (0.7%).
Primary sector
Quebec produces most of Canada's hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
and is the second biggest hydroelectricity producer in the world (2019). Because of this, Quebec has been described as a potential clean energy superpower. In 2019, Quebec's electricity production amounted to 214 terawatt-hours (TWh), 95% of which comes from hydroelectric power stations, and 4.7% of which come from wind energy. The public company Hydro-Québec occupies a dominant position in the production, transmission and distribution of electricity in Quebec. Hydro-Québec operates 63 hydroelectric power stations and 28 large reservoirs. Because of the remoteness of Hydro-Québec's Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system, TransÉnergie division, it operates the largest electricity transmission network in North America. Quebec stands out for its use of renewable energy. In 2008, electricity (more than 99% of which came from renewable energy sources) ranked as the main form of energy used in Quebec (41.6%), followed by oil (38.2%) and natural gas (10.7%). By 2017, 47% of all energy came from renewable sources. The Québécois government's energy policy seeks to build, by 2030, a low carbon economy. The policy aims in particular to reduce the quantity of petroleum products consumed by 40%, increase renewable energy production by 25%, and increase the production of bioenergy by 50%.
Quebec ranks among the top ten areas to do business in mining in the world. In 2011, the mining industry accounted for 6.3% of Quebec's GDP and it employed about 50,000 people in 158 companies. It has around 30 mines, 158 exploration companies and 15 primary processing industries. While many metallic and industrial minerals are exploited, the main ones are gold, iron, copper and zinc. Others include: titanium, asbestos, silver, magnesium and nickel, among many others. Quebec is also as a major source of diamonds. Since 2002, Quebec has seen an increase in its mineral explorations. In 2003, the value of mineral exploitation reached $3.7 billion.
The Agrifood, agri-food industry plays an important role in the economy of Quebec, with meat and dairy products being the two main sectors. It accounts for 8% of the Quebec's GDP and generate $19.2 billion. In 2010, this industry generated 487,000 jobs in agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing of food, beverages and tobacco and food distribution.
Secondary sector
In 2021, Quebec's aerospace industry employed 35,000 people and its sales totalled C$15.2 billion. Many aerospace companies are active here, including CMC Electronics, Bombardier Aerospace, Bombardier, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Héroux-Devtek, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Rolls-Royce, General Electric, Bell Textron, L3Harris, Safran, SONACA, CAE Inc., and Airbus, among others. Montreal is globally considered one of the aerospace industry's great centres, and several international aviation organisations seat here. Both Aéro Montréal and the CRIAQ were created to assist aerospace companies.
The pulp and paper industry industry accounted for 3.1% of Quebec's GDP in 2007 and generated annual shipments valued at more than $14 billion. This industry employs 68,000 people in several regions of Quebec. It is also the main -and in some circumstances only- source of manufacturing activity in more than 250 municipalities in the province. The forest industry has slowed in recent years because of the United States – Canada softwood lumber dispute, softwood lumber dispute. In 2020, this industry represented 8% of Quebec's exports.
As Quebec has few significant deposits of fossil fuels, all hydrocarbons are imported. Refinery, Refiners' sourcing strategies have varied over time and have depended on market conditions. In the 1990s, Quebec purchased much of its oil from the Brent Crude, North Sea. Since 2015, it now consumes almost exclusively the crude produced in western Canada and the United States. Quebec's two active refineries have a total capacity of 402,000 barrels per day, greater than local needs which stood at 365,000 barrels per day in 2018.
Thanks to hydroelectricity, Quebec is the world's fourth largest Aluminium foil, aluminum producer and creates 90% of Canadian aluminum. Three companies make aluminum here: Rio Tinto (corporation), Rio Tinto, Alcoa and Aluminium Alouette. Their 9 ''alumineries'' produce 2,9 million tons of aluminum annually and employ 30,000 workers.
Tertiary sector
The Financial services, finance and insurance sector employs more than 168,000 people. Of this number, 78,000 are employed by the banking sector, 53,000 by the insurance sector and 20,000 by the securities and investment sector. The Bank of Montreal, founded in 1817 in Montreal, was Quebec's first bank but, like many other large banks, its central branch is now in Toronto. Several banks remain under Quebecois control, including the National Bank of Canada, the Desjardins Group and the Laurentian Bank of Canada, Laurentian Bank.
The Tourism in Quebec, tourism industry is a major sector in Quebec. The Ministry of Tourism (Quebec), Ministry of Tourism ensures the development of this industry under the commercial name "Bonjour Québec". Quebec is the second most important province for tourism in Canada, receiving 21.5% of tourists' spending (2021). The industry provides employment to over 400,000 people. These employees work in the more than 29,000 tourism-related businesses in Quebec, most of which are restaurants or hotels. 70% of tourism-related businesses are located in or close to Montreal or Quebec City. It is estimated that, in 2010, Quebec welcomed 25.8 million tourists. Of these, 76.1% came from Quebec, 12.2% from the rest of Canada, 7.7% from the United States and 4.1% from other countries. Annually, tourists spend more than $6.7 billion in Quebec's tourism industry.
Quebec's Information technology, IT sector has 7,600 businesses and employs 140,000 people. Its most developed sectors are telecommunications, multimedia and video game software, computer services, microelectronics, and the components sector. There are currently 115 telecommunications companies established in the province, including Motorola, Ericsson and Mitec. The multimedia and video game sector has been growing fast since the early 2000s. The Digital Alliance, which claims 191 active members in video games, online education, mobility and Internet services, estimates the annual revenue of the sector at $827 million in 2014. The microelectronics sector is made up of more than 100 companies employing 13,000 people. Computer services, software development, and consulting engineering employ 60,000 skilled workers. While the largest IT employers are CMC Electronics, IBM, and Matrox, many other tech companies are present here, including Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Microids, Strategy First, Eidos-Montréal, Eidos, Activision, Artificial Mind and Movement, A2M, Frima Studio, etc.
Approximately 1.1 million Quebecers work in the field of science and technology. In 2007, the Government of Quebec launched the Stratégie québécoise de la recherche et de l'innovation (SQRI) aiming to promote development through research, science and technology. The government hoped to create a strong culture of innovation in Quebec for the next decades and to create a sustainable economy.
Quebec is considered one of world leaders in Basic research, fundamental scientific research, having produced ten Nobel Prize, Nobel laureates in either physics, chemistry, or medicine. It is also considered one of the world leaders in sectors such as aerospace, information technology, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, and therefore plays a significant role in the world's scientific and technological communities. Between 2000 and 2011, Quebec had over 9,469 scientific publications in biomedical research and engineering. The contribution of Quebec in science and technology represented approximately 1% of the research worldwide between the 1980s and 2009.
The province is one of the world leaders in the field of space science and contributed to important discoveries in this field. One of the most recent is the discovery of the complex extrasolar planets system HR 8799. HR 8799 is the first direct observation of an exoplanet in history. The Canadian Space Agency was established in Quebec due to its major role in this research field. A total of four Quebecers have been in space since the creation of the CSA: Marc Garneau, Julie Payette, and David Saint-Jacques as CSA astronauts, plus Guy Laliberté as a private citizen who paid for his trip. Quebec has also contributed to the creation of some Canadian artificial satellites including SCISAT-1, ISIS (satellite), ISIS, Radarsat-1 and Radarsat-2.
Quebec ranks among the world leaders in the field of life science. William Osler, Wilder Penfield, Donald Olding Hebb, Donald Hebb, Brenda Milner, and others made significant discoveries in medicine, neuroscience and psychology while working at McGill University in Montreal. Quebec has more than 450 biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies which together employ more than 25,000 people and 10,000 highly qualified researchers. Montreal is ranked fourth in North America for the number of jobs in the pharmaceutical sector.
Education
The education system of Quebec, administered by the government of Quebec's Ministry of Education and Higher Education (Quebec), Ministry of Education and Higher Education, differs from those of other Canadian provinces. The province has five levels of education: first ; then CEGEP (see College education in Quebec); and finally . Attached to these levels are the options to also attend professional development opportunities, Andragogy, classes for adults, and continuing education. For every level of teaching, there exists a public network and private network: the public network is financed by taxes while the private options must be paid for by the student. In 2020, school boards were replaced by school service centres.
All universities in Quebec exist by virtue of laws adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec in 1967 during the Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...
. Their financing mostly comes from public taxes, but the laws under which they operate grants them more autonomy than other levels of education.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Development and security of land transportation in Canada are provided by Transports Québec. Other organizations, such as the Canadian Coast Guard and Nav Canada, provide the same service for the sea and air transportation. The ''Commission des transports du Québec'' works with the freight carriers and the public transport.
The ''réseau routier québécois'' (Quebec road network) is managed by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ; Quebec Automobile Insurance Corporation) and consists of about of highways and national, regional, local, collector and forest roads. In addition, Quebec has almost 12,000 bridges, tunnels, retaining walls, culverts and other structures such as the Quebec Bridge, the Laviolette Bridge and the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge–Tunnel.
In the waters of the Saint Lawrence there are eight deep-water ports for the transhipment of goods. In 2003, 3886 cargo and 9.7 million tonnes of goods transited the Quebec portion of the Saint Lawrence Seaway
The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Ameri ...
.
Concerning rail transport, Quebec has of railways integrated in the large North American network. Although primarily intended for the transport of goods through companies such as the Canadian National (CN) and the Canadian Pacific (CP), the Quebec railway network is also used by inter-city passengers via Via Rail Canada and Amtrak. In April 2012, plans were unveiled for the construction of an railway running north from Sept-Îles, Quebec, Sept-Îles, to support mining and other resource extraction in the Labrador Trough.
Quebec's air network includes 43 airports that offer scheduled services on a daily basis. In addition, the Government of Quebec owns airports and heliports to increase the accessibility of local services to communities in the Basse-Côte-Nord and northern regions.
Various other transport networks crisscross the province of Quebec, including hiking trails, snowmobile trails and bike paths. The Route Verte, Green Road is the largest at nearly in length.
Healthcare
Québécois public health pursues a health policy that emphasizes prevention, is based on the analysis of health-related data, and evolves with the needs of the population. Like in other nations, the public health policies implemented in Québécois society have enabled Québécois to considerably extend their life expectancy since the mid-20th century.
Health and social services are part of the same administration. The Quebec health system is also public, which means that the État québécois, state acts as the main insurer and administrator, that funding is provided by general taxation, and that patients have access to care regardless of their income level.
There are 34 health establishments in Quebec, 22 of which are a (CISSS). They ensure the distribution of different services on the territories they are assigned to. Quebec has approximately 140 hospitals for general or specialised care (CHSGS). Quebec also has other types of establishments in its healthcare system, such as ''Centre local de services communautaires'' (CLSC), ''Centre d'hébergement et de soins de longue durée'' (CHSLD), ''Centre de réadaptation'' and ''Centre de protection de l'enfance et de la jeunesse''. Finally, there are private healthcare establishments (paid for directly by the patient) like , pharmacies, private clinics, dentists, community organisations and retirement homes.
A 2021 Ipsos poll found that 85% of Quebecer agree that their health care system is too bureaucratic to respond to the needs of the population.
Culture
Quebec has developed its own unique culture from its historic New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
roots. Its culture also symbolizes a distinct perspective: being a French-speaking nation surrounded by a bigger English-speaking culture. The culture has also been influenced by First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
, the British, Americans, other French-speaking North Americans like the Acadians and Franco-Ontarians, English-speaking Canadians and some immigrants.
The Quartier Latin, Montreal, Quartier Latin (English: Latin Quarter) of Montreal, and Vieux-Québec (English: Old Quebec) in Quebec City are two hubs of cultural activity. Life in the cafés and "terrasses" (outdoor restaurant terraces) reveals a Latin influence in Quebec's culture, with the théâtre Saint-Denis in Montreal and the Capitole de Québec theatre in Quebec City being among the principal attractions.
A number of governmental and non-government organizations support cultural activity in Quebec. The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) is an initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Communications (Quebec). It supports creation, innovation, production, and international exhibits for all cultural fields of Quebec. The Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) works to promote and fund individuals working in the cultural industry. The Prix du Québec is an award given by the government to confer the highest distinction and honour to individuals demonstrating exceptional achievement in their respective cultural field. Other Québécois awards include the Athanase David Awards (Literature), Félix Awards (Music), Gémeaux Awards (Television and film), Jutra Awards (Cinema), Masques Awards (Theatre), Olivier Guimond Awards (Humour) and the Opus Awards (Concert music).
Performing arts
Traditional music is imbued with many dances, such as the jig, the quadrille, the Reel (dance), reel and line dancing. Traditional instruments include harmonica, fiddle, Spoon (musical instrument), spoons, jaw harp and accordion. The First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
and the Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
of Quebec also have their own traditional music. Quebec's most popular artists of the last century include the singers Félix Leclerc, Gilles Vigneault, Kate and Anna McGarrigle and Céline Dion. The ADISQ, Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo (ADISQ) was created in 1978 to promote the music industry in Quebec. The Orchestre symphonique de Québec and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal are respectively associated with the Opéra de Québec and the Opéra de Montreal whose performances are presented at the Grand Théâtre de Québec and at Place des Arts. The ''Ballets Jazz de Montreal'', the ''Grands Ballets'' and La La La Human Steps are three important professional troupes of contemporary dance.
Among the theatre troupes are the Compagnie Jean-Duceppe, the ''Théâtre La Rubrique'', and the Théâtre Le Grenier. In addition to the network of cultural centres in Quebec, the venues include the Monument-National and the ''Rideau Vert'' (green curtain) Theatre in Montreal, and the ''Trident'' Theatre in Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
. The National Theatre School of Canada and the Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec form the future players.
Several circus troupes were created in recent decades, the most important being the Cirque du Soleil. Among these troops are contemporary, travelling and on-horseback circuses, such as Les 7 Doigts de la Main, Cirque Éloize, Cavalia, ''Kosmogonia'', ''Saka'' and Cirque ''Akya''. The École nationale de cirque, National Circus School and the ''École de cirque de Québec'' were created to train future Contemporary circus artists. ''Tohu, la Cité des Arts du Cirque'' was founded in 2004 to disseminate the circus arts.
Comedy is a vast Comedy in Quebec, cultural sector. Quebec has created and is home to several different comedy festivals, including the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, as well as the Grand Rire festivals of Quebec, Gatineau and Sherbrooke. The ''Association des professionnels de l'industrie de l'humour'' (APIH) is the main organization for the promotion and development of the cultural sector of humour in Quebec and the , created in 1988, trains future humorists in Quebec.
Media
The Cinémathèque québécoise has a mandate to promote the film and television heritage of Quebec. The National Film Board of Canada (NFB), a federal Crown corporation, provides for the same mission in Canada. The Association of Film and Television in Quebec (APFTQ) promotes independent production in film and television. While the Association of Producers and Directors of Quebec (APDQ) represents the business of filmmaking and television, the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters of Quebec (ARCQ) (French acronym) represents the independent radio stations. Several movie theatres across Quebec ensure the dissemination of Quebec cinema. With its cinematic installations, such as the ''Cité du cinéma'' and ''Mel's'' studios, the city of Montreal is home to the filming of various productions. The state corporation Télé-Québec, the federal Crown corporation Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC, general and specialized private channels, networks, independent and community radio stations broadcast the various Téléroman, Quebec téléromans, the national and regional news, and other programming. Les Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois is a festival surrounding the ceremony of the Jutra Awards Night that rewards work and personalities of Quebec cinema. The Artis and the Gemini Awards gala recognize the personalities of television and radio industry in Quebec and French Canada. The ''Film Festival of the 3 Americas'', the ''Festival of International Short Film'', the Montreal World Film Festival, World Film Festival and the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, Festival of New Cinema are other annual events surrounding the film industry in Quebec.
Many popular Québécois comedy shows exist, such as ''Cré Basile, Le zoo du Capitaine Bonhomme, Lundi des Ha! Ha !, Démons du midi, La petite vie, Les Bougon'', and ''Le sketch show''. There are also many comedy and cartoon shows for children, such as ''La boîte à surprise, Bobino, Le pirate Maboule, Fanfreluche, La Ribouldingue, Les 100 Tours de Centour, Patofville, Passe-Partout, Robin et Stella, Iniminimagimo, Vazimolo, Télé-Pirate, Bibi et Geneviève, Watatatow, Caillou, Cornemuse, Macaroni tout garni, Toc toc toc, Ramdam'', and ''Tactik''.
In the realm of literature and international publishing, the ''Québec Édition'' group is a committee created by the National Association of Book Editors dedicated to the international influence of French-language publishings from Quebec and Canada.
Literature and folklore
Quebec's French-speaking populace has the second largest body of folktales in Canada (the first being First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
). When the early settlers arrived from France in the 17th century, they brought with them popular tales from their homeland, which were adapted to the local context. Many were passed on through generations by what French speaking Québécois refer to as ''raconteurs'', or storytellers. Almost all of the stories native to Quebec were influenced by Christianity, Christian dogma and superstitions. The Devil, for instance, appears often as either a person, an animal or monster, or indirectly through Demonic acts. Various tales and stories are told through oral tradition, such as, among many more, the legends of the ''Bogeyman'', the ''Chasse-galerie'', the ''Black Horse of Trois-Pistoles'', the ''Complainte de Cadieux'', the ''Marie-Josephte Corriveau, Corriveau'', the ''dancing devil of Saint-Ambroise'', the ''Édouard Beaupré, Giant Beaupré'', the ''monsters of the lakes Lake Pohenegamook, Pohénégamook'' and ''Lake Memphremagog, Memphremagog'', of ''Quebec Bridge'' (called the Devil's Bridge), the ''Rocher Percé'' and of ''Rose Latulipe'', for example.
From New France, Quebec literature was first developed in the travel accounts of explorers. The ''Moulin à paroles'' traces the great texts that have shaped the history of Quebec. The first to write the history of Quebec, since its discovery, was the historian François-Xavier Garneau. Many List of Quebec writers, Quebec poets and prominent authors marked their era and today remain anchored in the collective imagination, like, among others, Philippe Aubert de Gaspé, Octave Crémazie, Honoré Beaugrand, Émile Nelligan, Lionel Groulx, Gabrielle Roy, Hubert Aquin, Michel Tremblay, Marie Laberge, Fred Pellerin and Gaston Miron. The American Literary Regionalism, regional novel from Quebec is called ''Terroir'' novel and is a literary tradition specific to the province.
Popular French-language contemporary writers include Louis Caron, Suzanne Jacob, Yves Beauchemin, and Gilles Archambault. Well-known English-language writers from Quebec include Leonard Cohen, Mordecai Richler, and Neil Bissoondath.
Art and architecture
The art of Quebec has developed around the specific characteristics of its landscapes and cultural, historical, social and political representations. The development of Quebec masterpieces in painting, printmaking and sculpture is marked by the contribution of artists such as Louis-Philippe Hébert, Cornelius Krieghoff, Alfred Laliberté, Marc-Aurèle Fortin, Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté, Jean Paul Lemieux, Clarence Gagnon, Adrien Dufresne, Alfred Pellan, Jean-Philippe Dallaire, Charles Daudelin, Arthur Villeneuve, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Paul-Émile Borduas and Marcelle Ferron.
The fine arts of Quebec are displayed at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Quebec National Museum of Fine Arts, the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Quebec ''Salon des métiers d'art'' and in many art galleries. The École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, Montreal School of Fine Arts forms the List of Canadian artists, painters, printmakers and sculptors of Quebec.
Québécois architecture is characterized by its unique Canadien-style buildings as well as the juxtaposition of a variety of styles reflective of Quebec's history. When walking in any city or town, one can come across buildings with styles congruent to Classical architecture, Classical, Neo-Gothic, Roman architecture, Roman, Neo-Renaissance, Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival, Neo-classical architecture, Neo-Classical, Québécois Neo-Classical, Victorian architecture, Victorian, Second Empire architecture, Second Empire, Modern architecture, Modern, Post-modern architecture, Post-modern or Skyscrapers.
Canadien-style houses and barns were developed by the first settlers of New France along the banks of the Saint Lawrence River. These buildings are rectangular one-storey structures with an extremely tall and steep roof, sometimes almost twice as tall as the house below. Canadien-style churches also developed and served as landmarks while traversing rural Quebec.
Heritage
Several sites, houses and historical works reflect the cultural heritage of Quebec, such as the Village Québécois d'Antan, the historical village of Val-Jalbert, the Fort Chambly, the national home of the Patriots, the Chicoutimi pulp mill (Pulperie de Chicoutimi), the Lachine Canal and the Victoria Bridge (Montreal), Victoria Bridge. As of December 2011, there are 190 List of National Historic Sites of Canada in Quebec, National Historic Sites of Canada in Quebec. These sites were designated as being of national historic significance.
Various museums tell the cultural history of Quebec, like the Musée de la civilisation, Museum of Civilization, the Musée de l'Amérique française, Museum of French America, the McCord Museum or the Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History in Pointe-à-Callière, displaying artifacts, paintings and other remains from the past of Quebec. Notable schools include the Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec, the National Theatre School of Canada, École nationale de théâtre du Canada and the École nationale de cirque. Notable public agencies to catalogue and further develop Québécois culture include the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and Télé-Québec. The ''Association Quebecoise des Loisirs Folkloriques'' is an organization committed to preserving and disseminating Quebec's folklore heritage.
Cuisine
The traditional Quebecois cuisine descends from 16th-century French cuisine, the fur trade and a history of hunting. Quebec's cuisine has also been influenced by learning from First Nations in Canada, First Nation, by English cuisine and by American cuisine. Quebec is most famous for its Tourtière, Pâté Chinois, Poutine, St. Catherine's taffy among others. "Le temps des sucres" is a period during springtime when many Quebecers go to the sugar shack (''cabane à sucre'') for a traditional meal.
Quebec is the world's biggest maple syrup producer. The province has a long history of producing maple syrup, and creating new List of foods made from maple, maple-derived products. Other major food products include beer, wine (including ice wine and ice cider), and cheese (notably Oka cheese).
Sports
Sports in Quebec constitutes an essential dimension of Quebec culture. Ice hockey remains the national sport. This sport was played for the first time on March 3, 1875, in Montreal and has been promoted over the years by numerous achievements, including the centenary of the Montreal Canadiens. Other major sports include Canadian football with the Montreal Alouettes, soccer with Club de Foot Montréal, the Canadian Grand Prix, Grand Prix du Canada Formula 1 racing with drivers such as Gilles Villeneuve and Jacques Villeneuve, and professional baseball with the former Montreal Expos. Quebec has hosted several major sporting events, including the 1976 Summer Olympics, the Fencing World Championships in 1967, track cycling in 1974, and the Transat Québec-Saint-Malo race created in 1984.
Quebec athletes have performed well at the Winter Olympic Games, Winter Olympics over recent years. They won 12 of Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Canada's 29 medals at the most recent 2018 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang (2018); they won 12 of the Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics, 27 Canadian medals in 2014 Winter Olympics, Sochi (2014); and 9 of the Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics, 26 Canadian medals in 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver (2010).
Holidays and symbols
St-Jean-Baptiste Day is one of Quebec's biggest holidays. In 1977, the Quebec Parliament declared June 24, the day of , to be Quebec's National Holiday. , or , honours French Canada's patron saint, John the Baptist. On this day, the song "Gens du pays", by Gilles Vigneault, is often heard. The song ''À la claire fontaine'' was the anthem of the New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
, Patriote movement, Patriots and French Canadian, then replaced by ''O Canada
"O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...
'', but "Gens du pays" is preferred by many Quebecers to be the national anthem of Quebec.
National Patriots' Day, a statutory holiday in Quebec, is also a unique public holiday, which honours the Patriote movement, patriotes with displays of the patriote flag, music, public speeches, and ceremonies. ''Le Vieux de '37'' ("The Old Man of '37"), an illustration by Henri Julien that depicts a patriot of this rebellion, is sometimes added at the centre of Patriote flags. Moving Day (Quebec), Moving Day is a tradition where leases terminate on July 1. This creates a social phenomenon where everyone seems to be moving out at the same time.
Quebecois can also have different ways of celebrating certain holidays. A good example is the Réveillon, a giant feast and party which takes place during Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and goes on until midnight. Traditional dishes like tourtière or Sea-pie, cipâte are offered, and rigaudon, Spoon (musical instrument), spoon and/or violin may be played. April Fools' Day is called ''Poisson d'Avril'' ("April's Fish") because while pulling pranks is still important, there is another major tradition: sticking fish-shaped paper cutouts to people's backs without them noticing.
In 1939, the government of Quebec unilaterally ratified its Coat of arms of Quebec, coat of arms to reflect History of Quebec, Quebec's political history: French rule (gold lily on blue background), followed by British rule (lion on red background), followed by Canadian rule (maple leaves). Je me souviens ("I remember") is an official part of the coat of arms and has been the official licence plate motto since 1978, replacing the previous motto: ''La belle province'' ("the beautiful province"), still used as a nickname for the province. The fleur-de-lis, one of Quebec's most common symbols, is an ancient symbol of the French monarchy. Finally, the Great Seal of Quebec is used to authenticate documents issued by the government of Quebec.
The first members of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society created the ''Carillon Sacré-Coeur'' flag, which consisted of a white cross on an azur background with white fleur-de-lis in each corner and a Sacred Heart#Sacred Heart imagery, Sacred Heart surrounded by Maple leaf, maple leaves in the centre; it was based on the French merchant flag flown by Champlain and the Flag of Carillon
The flag of Carillon was flown by the troops of General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm during the Battle of Carillon, which was fought by the French and Canadian forces against those of the British in July 1758 at Fort Carillon.
In 2009, it was displa ...
. The ''Carillon Sacré-Coeur'' and French merchant flag went on to be the major inspirations for creating Quebec's current flag in 1903, called the ''Fleurdelisé''. The ''Fleurdelisé'' replaced the Union Jack on Quebec's Parliament Building (Quebec), Parliament Building on January 21, 1948.
Three new official symbols were adopted in the late 1900s:
* ''Iris versicolor'', the floral emblem of Quebec since 1999. It was chosen because it blooms around the time of Quebec's Fête nationale.
* The snowy owl, the avian emblem of Quebec since 1987. It was selected by the Québécois government to symbolize Quebec's winters and northern climate.
* The yellow birch, the tree emblem of Quebec since 1993. It was picked to emphasize the importance Québécois give to the forests.
Quebec's diaspora
The earliest immigrants to the Canadian prairies were French Canadians from Quebec. Most Franco-Albertans, Fransaskois and Franco-Manitobans are descended from these emigrants from Quebec.
From the mid-1800s to the Great Depression, Quebec experienced the Grande Hémorragie
The Quebec diaspora consists of Quebec immigrants and their descendants dispersed over the North American continent and historically concentrated in the New England region of the United States, Ontario, and the Canadian Prairies. The mass emigrati ...
("Great Hemorrhaging"), a massive emigration of 900,000 people from Quebec to New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
. French Canadians often established themselves in Little Canadas in many industrial New England centers. Of the 900,000 Québécois who emigrated, about half returned. Most of the descendants of those who stayed are now Cultural assimilation, assimilated, though a few Franco-Americans remain, speaking New England French.
Some tried to slow the Grande Hémorragie by redirecting people north, which resulted in the founding of many regions in Quebec (ex. Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, Val-d'Or) but also in Northeastern Ontario. The northeastern Franco-Ontarians of today, which are primarily concentrated in Timmins, Hearst, Ontario, Hearst, Moosonee and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Sainte Marie, are the descendants of emigrants from Quebec who worked in the mines of the area. In recent times, Québécois Snowbird (person), snowbirds often migrate to southern Florida during the winter, resulting in the emergence of temporary "Québécois regions".
Notes
References
:''This article was partially translated from its French-language counterpart :fr:Québec, Québec; please see its history for full authorship attribution.''
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Further reading
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External links
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Quebec government official tourist site
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{{Authority control
Quebec,
1867 establishments in Canada
Eastern Canada
Provinces and territories of Canada
States and territories established in 1867
French-speaking countries and territories
Populated places established in 1534