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Quebec (pronounced "keh-BECK"; French: le Québec)
is the largest province in Canada geographically, and the
second most populous, second to Ontario, with a population
of 7,509,928 (Statistics Canada, 2004). French is primarily
spoken in Quebec making up the bulk of the Francophone population
in North America. The capital is Quebec City and the largest
city is Montréal. A resident of Quebec is called a
Quebecer (also spelled Quebecker) or, in French, un(e) Québécois(e).
Contents [showhide]
1 Geography
2 History
3 Politics
4 Economy
5 Culture
6 Demographics
7 Symbols and emblems
8 See also
9 External links
[edit]
Geography
Main article: Geography of Quebec
The province, Canada's largest, occupies a vast territory
(nearly three times the size of France), most of which is
very sparsely populated. More than 90 per cent of Quebec's
area lies within the Canadian Shield, a large part of which
was historically referred to as the Ungava Region. The addition
of the vast and virtually uninhabited northern region (which
borders James Bay, Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait) in 1898 and
1912 by the Parliament of Canada created the massive Province
of Quebec of today. Quebec is located in eastern Canada, bordered
by Ontario and Hudson Bay to the west, Atlantic Canada to
the east, the United States (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont
and New York) to the south and the Arctic Ocean to the north.
The province's three largest hydro-electric projects are
built on La Grande Rivière. The extreme north of the
province, now called Nunavik, is subarctic or arctic and is
home to part of the Inuit nation.
The most populated region is the St. Lawrence River Valley
in the south, where the capital, Quebec City, and the largest
city, Montréal, are situated. North of Montréal
are the Laurentians, a range of ancient mountains, and to
the east are the Appalachian Mountains which extends into
the Eastern Townships and Gaspésie regions. The Gaspé
Peninsula juts into the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the east.
[edit]
History
Main article: History of Quebec
The name Quebec, which comes from the Mi'kmaq word Gepèèg
meaning "strait," originally meant the narrowing
of the St. Lawrence River off what is currently Quebec City.
The first European explorer of what is now Quebec was Jacques
Cartier, who planted a cross in the Gaspé in 1534 and
sailed into the St. Lawrence River in 1535.
Quebec City was founded near the site of Stadacona, a village
populated by Iroquoians when Jacques Cartier explored Canada.
However, the village was no longer there when Samuel de Champlain
established the Habitation de Quebec in 1608.
After 1627, King Louis XIII of France introduced the seigneurial
system and forbade settlement in New France by anyone other
than Roman Catholics, ensuring that welfare and education
was kept firmly in the hands of the church. New France became
a royal province in 1663 under Louis XIV and the intendant
Jean Talon.
Great Britain acquired Canada by the Treaty of Paris (1763)
when King Louis XV of France and his advisors chose to keep
the territory of Guadeloupe for its valuable sugar crops instead
of New France, which was viewed as a vast, frozen wasteland
of little importance to the French colonial empire. By the
British Royal Proclamation of 1763, Canada (part of New France)
was renamed the Province of Quebec.
In 1774, the British Parliament passed the Quebec Act that
helped ensure the survival of the French language and French
culture in the region. The Act allowed Quebec to maintain
the French Civil Code as its judicial system and sanctioned
the freedom of religious choice, allowing the Roman Catholic
Church to remain.
Quebec retained its seigneurial system and civil law code
after France's giving of the territory to England. Owing to
an influx of Loyalist refugees from the US Revolutionary War,
the Constitutional Act of 1791 saw the colony divided in two
at the Ottawa River; the western part became Upper Canada
and changed to the British legal system. The eastern part
was named Lower Canada.
After the Patriotes Rebellion of 1837, the British government
merged the Canadas into one Province of Canada in 1841. However,
the union proved contentious. In 1867 the Province of Canada,
joining with the other British colonies of New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia in the Canadian Confederation, was redivided into
its two parts, under the names Ontario and Quebec.
The conservative government of Maurice Duplessis and his
Union Nationale dominated Quebec politics from 1944 to 1960
with the support of the Catholic church. Pierre Trudeau and
other intellectuals and liberals formed an intellectual opposition
to Duplessis' repressive regime setting the groundwork for
the Quiet Revolution under Jean Lesage's Liberals. The Quiet
Revolution was a period of dramatic social and political change
that saw the decline of the Roman Catholic Church's influence,
the nationalization of Hydro Quebec and the emergence of a
separatist movement under former Lesage minister René
Lévesque.
During the 1960s a terrorist group known as the Front de
libération du Québec (FLQ) launched a decade
of bombings, robberies and attacks on government offices.
Their activities culminated in events referred to as the October
Crisis when James Cross, the British trade commissioner to
Canada, was kidnapped along with Pierre Laporte, a provincial
minister and Vice-Premier, who was murdered a few days later.
A Federal government inquiry later revealed that under Prime
Minister Pierre Trudeau's demand, some RCMP agents infiltrated
the group and pushed them towards terrorist actions in order
to gain evidence of the groups willingness to commit terrorist
acts.
In 1977 the newly elected Parti Québécois government
of René Lévesque introduced the Charter of the
French Language. Often known as "Bill 101", it defined
French as the only official language of Quebec and is to this
day still controversial and widely misunderstood inside and
outside Quebec.
Lévesque put sovereignty-association before the voters
in the 1980 Quebec referendum. Sixty per cent of the Quebec
electorate voted against it.
On October 30, 1995, in a second referendum the vote for
Quebec independence was rejected by a slim majority (50.6%
NO to 49.4% YES). The federal Liberal Party under Prime Minister
Jean Chrétien came under sharp criticism for mishandling
the "No" side of the referendum campaign.
Quebec map from the Atlas of Canada[edit]
Politics
Main article: Politics of Quebec
The Lieutenant Governor represents Queen Elizabeth II as
head of state. The head of government is the Premier (called
premier ministre in French) who leads the largest party in
the unicameral National Assembly or Assemblée Nationale,
from which the Council of Ministers is appointed.
Until 1968 the Quebec legislature was bicameral, consisting
of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly. In
that year the Legislative Council was abolished, and the Legislative
Assembly was renamed the National Assembly. Quebec was the
last province to abolish its Legislative Council.
The Government of Quebec awards an order of merit called
the National Order of Quebec. It is inspired in part by the
French Legion of Honor. It is conferred upon men and women,
either Quebec citizens or foreigners, for outstanding achievements.
[edit]
Economy
Main article: Economy of Quebec
The St. Lawrence River Valley is a fertile agricultural region,
producing dairy products, fruit, vegetables, maple sugar (Quebec
is the world's largest producer), and livestock.
North of the St. Lawrence River Valley, the territory of
Quebec is extremely rich in resources in its coniferous forests,
lakes, and rivers—pulp and paper, lumber, and hydroelectricity
are still some of the province's most important industries.
[edit]
Culture
Main article: Culture of Quebec
The Québécois people, a people also found in
small minorities of Canada and of the United States, consider
Quebec their homeland. The Québécois are the
largest population of French speakers in the Americas. Most
French Canadians live in Quebec, though there are other concentrations
of francophones throughout Canada with varying degrees of
ties to Quebec. (The Acadians of the Canadian Maritimes consider
themselves an entirely separate group.)
Quebec is at once a North American society and the main French-speaking
society on the continent. Montréal, the vibrant cosmopolitan
metropolis of Quebec, is the second largest francophone city
after Paris. History made Quebec a place where cultures meet,
where people from all over the world experience America, but
from a little distance and through a different eye. Often
described as a crossroads between Europe and America, Quebec
is home to a people that has the privilege of being connected
to the strong cultural currents of the United States, France,
and the British Isles all at the same time.
Quebec is also home to 11 aboriginal cultures and that of
a large Anglophone minority of approximately 600,000 people.
[edit]
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Quebec
Quebec's fertility rate is now among the lowest in Canada.
At 1.48, it is well below the replacement fertility rate of
2.1. This contrasts with the fertility rate before 1960 which
was among the highest of the industrialized countries.
Although Quebec represents only 24% of the population of
Canada, the number of international adoptions in Quebec is
the highest of all provinces of Canada. In 2001, 42% of international
adoptions in Canada were carried out in Quebec.
[edit]
Symbols and emblems
The motto of Quebec is Je me souviens (I remember), which
is carved into the Parliament Building façade in Quebec
City and is seen on the coat of arms and the licence plates.
The graphic emblem of Quebec is the fleur-de-lis, usually
white on a blue background, as on the flag of Quebec (above),
the Fleurdelisé;. As indicated on the government of
Quebec's Web site, the flag recalls the Royal banner said
to have accompanied the army of General Montcalm, Marquis
de Saint-Véran during the victorious battle of Carillon
in 1758.
The floral emblem of Quebec is the blue flag iris (Iris versicolor).
It was formerly the Madonna lily, to recall the fleur-de-lis,
but has been changed to the iris which is native to Quebec.
The avian emblem of Quebec is the snowy owl.
The patron saint of French Canada is John the Baptist. La
Saint-Jean-Baptiste, June 24, is Quebec's national day, and
is officially called the Fête nationale du Québec
since 1977. The song "Gens du Pays" by Gilles Vigneault
is often regarded as Quebec's unofficial anthem.
Quebec is sometimes referred to as "La Belle Province"
which means "The Beautiful Province". Until the
late 1970s, this phrase was displayed on Quebec licence plates.
It has since been replaced by the province's official motto:
"Je me souviens" which means "I remember".
[edit]
See also
List of Quebec-related topics
État québécois
List of Quebec premiers
List of Quebec general elections
List of Lieutenant Governors of Quebec
List of Premiers of Quebec
National Assembly of Quebec
Timeline of Quebec history
Quebec French
Quebecois
List of Quebecers
Musicians of Quebec
List of Quebec authors
Charter of the French Language
Office québécois de la langue française
Quebec education system
Civil Code of Quebec
Québec Highway Safety Code
List of communities in Quebec
List of Quebec counties (historic)
List of county seats in Quebec
List of Quebec county regional municipalities (current)
List of Quebec regions
Quebec's Autoroute system
List of Quebec universities
List of Quebec cathedrals
A few acres of snow
Canada
Politics of Canada
List of cities in Canada
List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols
[edit]
External links
Agora: French language online encyclopaedia from Quebec (http://www.agora.qc.ca/)
Government of Québec (http://www.gouv.qc.ca/)
Symbols and emblems of Quebec (http://www.premier.gouv.qc.ca/secteur/bienvenue_quebec/symboles_emblemes_en.htm)
Bonjour Québec (Quebec government official tourist
site) (http://www.bonjourquebec.com/)
Fête Internet 2004 (http://www.fete-internet.qc.ca/)
This article is licensed
under the GNU
Free Documentation License. It uses material from the
Wikipedia
article "Quebec".
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