Quebec

For the capital, see Quebec City. For other uses, see Quebec (disambiguation).

Quebec
Country	Canada
Confederation	July 1, 1867 (1st)
Government
• Lieutenant-Governor	Lise Thibault
• Premier	Jean Charest
Federal representation	Parliament of Canada
House seats	75 of 338 (22.2%)
Senate seats	24 of 105 (22.9%)
Population
• Total	8,501,833
Canadian postal abbr.	QC
Postal code prefix	G, H, J
Rankings include all provinces and territories

Quebec (pronounced [kwəˈbɛk] or [kəˈbɛk]) (French: Québec, pronounced [kebɛk]) is the largest province in Canada (in terms of area) and the second most populous, after Ontario, with a population of 7,598,100 (Statistics Canada, July 2005). This represents about 24% of the Canadian population. Quebec's official language is French and is the only Canadian province where English is not an official language. The capital is Quebec City (Québec or la ville de Québec in French) and the largest city is Montreal.

A resident of Quebec is called a Quebecer (also spelled Quebecker), and in French, un(e) Québécois(e), the latter also sometimes used in English.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Quebec

The province occupies a vast territory (nearly three times the size of France), most of which is very sparsely populated. More than 90 percent of Quebec's area lies within the Canadian Shield and includes the greater part of the Labrador peninsula. The addition of parts of the vast and scarcely populated District of Ungava of the Northwest Territories between 1898 and 1912 created the modern Province of Quebec. Quebec is bordered by the province of Ontario, James Bay and Hudson Bay to the west, the provinces of New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador to the east, the United States (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York) to the south and Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay to the north.

The most populated region is the St. Lawrence River valley in the south, where the capital, Quebec City, and the largest city, Montreal, are situated. North of Montreal 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.

The northern region of Nunavik is subarctic or arctic and is mostly inhabited by Inuit. A major hydro-electric project is found on the La Grande and Eastmain rivers in the James Bay region (the La Grande Complex) and on the Manicouagan River, north of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

10 largest municipalities by population

Municipality	2001	1996
Montreal	1 812 723	1 774 846
Quebec City	532 329	504 605
Longueuil (Part of Greater Montreal)	348 091	373 009
Laval (Part of Greater Montreal)	343 005	330 393
Gatineau (Part of Ottawa-Gatineau)	226 696	217 591
Saguenay	148 050	153 476
Sherbrooke	146 689	135 501
Trois-Rivières	122 395	124 417
Lévis (Part of Greater Quebec City)	121 999	118 344
Terrebonne (Part of Greater Montreal)	80 531	75 110

History

Main article: History of Quebec

First Nations: Before 1500

Algonkian, Iroquoian, and Inuit groups were the first peoples to populate what is now Quebec. Their lifestyles and cultures reflected the land on which they lived. Seven Algonkian groups lived nomadic lives based on hunting, gathering, and fishing on the rugged terrain of the Canadian Shield (James Bay Cree, Innu, Algonquins) and Appalachian Mountains ( Mi'kmaq, Abenaki). Iroquoians lived more settled lives (Huron, Mohawk), planting squash and maize in the fertile soils of St. Lawrence Valley. The Inuit continue to fish, whale, and seal in the harsh Arctic climate along the coasts of Hudson and Ungava Bay. These peoples traded furs and foodstuff, and sometimes warred with each other.

The name "Quebec", which comes from an Algonquin word meaning "strait" or "narrowing", originally meant the narrowing of the St. Lawrence River off what is currently Quebec City. There have been variations in spelling of the province:

• Quebecq — Levasseur, 1601
• Kébec — Lescarbot, 1609
• Québec — Champlain, 1613

Early European exploration: 1000–1600

Viking longboats from Scandinavia carried the first Europeans to the Arctic shores of the Ungava Peninsula around 1000 CE. Basque whalers and fishermen traded furs with Sagueney natives throughout the 1500s [1].

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

New France

Quebec City was founded by Samuel de Champlain who established the Habitation de Quebec in 1608 as a permanent fur trading outpost, where he quickly forged a trading and military alliance with Algonkian and Huron nations against the Iroquois and the British. Natives traded their furs for many French goods such as metal objects, guns, alcohol, and clothing.

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

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

New France became a Royal Province in 1663 under King Louis XIV of France with a Sovereign Council that included intendant Jean Talon. This ushered in a golden era of settlement and colonization in New France, including the arrival of les "Filles du Roi". The population would grow from about 3000 to 50 000 people between 1666 and 1760. They would build farms on the banks of St. Lawrence River and call themselves "Canadiens" or "Habitants".

Fall of New France

By the mid 1700s, the population of New France's rival British colonies to the south had grown to a population 1 million. The stage was set for the Conquest of New France.

In 1754, George Washington launched an attack on the French Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh) in the Ohio Valley in an attempt to claim the territory for the British colony of Virginia. This frontier battle launched the French and Indian War in North America. By 1756, France and Britain were battling the Seven Years' War worldwide. In 1758, the British mounted an attack on New France by sea and took the French fort at Louisbourg. On 13 September 1759, General James Wolfe defeated General Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec City. France ceded its North American possessions to Great Britain through the Treaty of Paris (1763). By the British Royal Proclamation of 1763, Canada (part of New France) was renamed the Province of Quebec.

The American Revolution

In 1774, fearful that the French-speaking population of Quebec would side with the rebels of the 13 colonies to the south, the British Parliament passed the Quebec Act that paved the way to official recognition of the French language and French culture. The Act allowed Canadiens to maintain French civil law and sanctioned the freedom of religious choice, allowing the Roman Catholic Church to remain. It also restored the Ohio Valley to Quebec, reserving the territory for the fur trade.

This was among the Intolerable Acts that infuriated American colonists, who launched the American Revolution. An Invasion of Canada (1775) by the American Continental Army met with early success, but later repelled at the Battle of Quebec (1775). The revolution succeeded, however. With the Treaty of Paris (1783), Quebec would cede its territory south of the Great Lakes to the United States of America.

Loyalist, or Tory, refugees from the American Revolutionary War settled what is now Ontario and the Eastern Townships area of Quebec. This marks the beginning of an English Canadian presence in Quebec. The Constitutional Act of 1791 saw the colony divided in two at the Ottawa River to accommodate the new arrivals; the western part became Upper Canada (now Ontario) and changed to the British legal system. The eastern part became Lower Canada. Both colonies were granted elected Legislative Assemblies.

The Patriotes Rebellion in Lower Canada

Main article: Lower Canada Rebellion

Like their counterparts in Upper Canada, in 1837, English and French speaking residents of Lower Canada, led by Louis-Joseph Papineau and Robert Nelson, formed an armed resistance group to seek an end to British colonial rule. Their actions resulted in the Lower Canada Rebellion. An unprepared British Army had to raise a local militia force and the rebel forces were soon defeated after having scored a victory in Saint-Denis, Quebec, east of Montreal.

Act of Union

After the rebellions, Lord Durham was asked to undertake a study and prepare a report on the matter and to offer a solution for the British Parliament to assess. Following Durham's Report, the British government merged the two colonial provinces into one Province of Canada in 1841. However, the union proved contentious.

Canadian Confederation

In the 1860s, the delegates from the colonies of British North America (Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland) met in a series of conferences in Charlottetown, Quebec City and London to discuss a broader union. As a result of those deliberations, in 1867 the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the British North America Act, providing for the Confederation of most of these provinces. The former Province of Canada was divided into its two previous parts as the provinces of Ontario (Upper Canada) and Quebec (Lower Canada). New Brunswick and Nova Scotia joined Ontario and Quebec in the new Dominion of Canada. (Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland entered Confederation later, in 1873 and 1949, respectively.)

The "Quiet Revolution"

Main article: Quiet Revolution

The conservative government of Maurice Duplessis and his Union Nationale dominated Quebec politics from 1944 to 1960 with the support of the Catholic church. Pierre Trudeau and other liberals formed an intellectual opposition to Duplessis's 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-electric companies under Hydro-Québec and the emergence of a separatist movement under former Liberal minister René Lévesque.

File:Qcuds.jpg

The slogan on the current Quebec licence plate, first introduced in 1978, is "Je me souviens", French for "I remember".

Beginning in 1963, a terrorist group that became known as the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) launched a decade of bombings, robberies and attacks on government offices, resulting in at least five deaths. Their activities culminated in events referred to as the October Crisis [2] when James Cross, the British trade commissioner to Canada, was kidnapped along with Pierre Laporte, a provincial minister and Vice-Premier, who was murdered a few days later. In their published Manifesto, the terrorists stated: "In the coming year Bourassa (Quebec Premier) will have to face reality; 100,000 revolutionary workers, armed and organized."

At the request of Premier Robert Bourassa, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act. Once the War Measures Act was in place, arrangements were made for all detainees to see legal counsel. In addition, the Quebec Ombudsman [3], Louis Marceau, was instructed to hear complaints of detainees and the Quebec government agreed to pay damages to any person unjustly arrested. On February 3, 1971, John Turner, the Minister of Justice of Canada, reported that 497 persons had been arrested under the War Measures Act, of whom 435 had been released. The other 62 were charged, of which 32 were crimes of such seriousness that a Quebec Superior Court judge refused them bail. A federal government inquiry later revealed that some Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) agents infiltrated the group to gain evidence of the group's 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.

Quebec independence and the Canadian constitution

Lévesque and his party had run in the 1970 and 1973 Quebec elections under a platform of separating Quebec from the rest of Canada. His party was defeated both times, with 23% and 30% of the vote respectively, and Lévesque himself was defeated in his own riding (electoral district). In the 1976 election, he softened his message by promising a referendum (plebiscite) on sovereignty-association rather than outright separation, by which Quebec would have independence in most government functions but share some other ones, such as a common currency, with Canada. Though many Quebecers, especially English-speaking Quebecers, viewed sovereignty-association as thinly-veiled separation, Lévesque and the Parti Québécois were swept into power with 41% of the popular vote on November 15, 1976. The question of sovereignty-association was placed before the voters in the 1980 Quebec referendum. During the campaign, Pierre Trudeau promised that a vote for the NO side was a vote for reforming Canada. Trudeau advocated the patriation of Canada's Constitution from the United Kingdom, as the existing constitutional document, the British North America Act, could only be amended by the United Kingdom Parliament.

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

Then on the night on November 4 to November 5 1981 (called by separatists the 'Night of the Long Knives' or 'La nuit des longs couteaux' after a bloody Hitler putsch in the 1930's) Jean Chrétien met all the provincial premiers except René Lévesque to sign the document that would eventually become the new Canadian constitution. The next morning, they put Lévesque in front of the "fait accompli." Lévesque refused to sign the document, and returned to Quebec. In 1982, Trudeau had the new constitution approved by the British Parliament, with Quebec's signature still missing (a situation that persists to this day). The Supreme Court of Canada confirmed Trudeau's assertion that every province's approval is not required to amend the constitution.

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

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

The referendum was tainted by several controversies. Lucien Bouchard declared in a speech that Quebec is the "white society" with the lowest birthrate in the world. Federalists complained that an unusually high number of ballots had been rejected in pro-federalist ridings, notably in the largely Jewish and Greek riding of Chomedey (11.7 % or 5,500 of ballots were spoiled vs. 750 or 1.7% in the general election of 1994) although Quebec's chief electoral officer found no evidence of outright fraud as ballots that were slightly different were not accepted this time even though they were in the past. The Government of Canada was accused of not respecting provincial laws with regard to spending during referendums (which was achieved through corruption and became public in 2005, leading to the Canadian Liberal government's demise), and to having accelerated the naturalization of immigrant people living in the province of Québec (43,850 immigrants were naturalized during 1995, whereas the average number between 1988 and 1998 was 21,733).

The same night of the referendum, an angry Jacques Parizeau, then premier and leader of the "Yes" side, declared that the loss was due to "money and the ethnic vote". Parizeau resigned over public outrage and as per his commitment to do so in case of a loss. Lucien Bouchard became Quebec's new premier in 1996.

Federalists also accused the separatist side of asking a vague and misleading question. The question read:

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

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

Government

File:Map of Quebec (English).png

Map of Quebec

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 Honour. It is conferred upon men and women born or living in Quebec (but non-Quebecers can be inducted as well) for outstanding achievements.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Quebec

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

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

High-tech industries are very important around Montreal. It includes the aerospace companies like jet manufacturer Bombardier, the jet engine company Pratt & Whitney, the flight simulator builder CAE and defence contractor Lockheed Martin, Canada. Those companies and other major subcontractors make Quebec the fourth biggest player worldwide in the aviation industry. Quebec's separatist debate has influenced many corporations to move their Canadian headquarters from Montreal to Toronto.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Quebec

Quebecers comprise the largest French-speaking society in the Americas. Most French Canadians live in Quebec, though there are other concentrations of French-speakers throughout Canada with varying degrees of ties to Quebec. Montreal is the vibrant cosmopolitan cultural heart of Quebec. 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 are 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 nations and to a large English-speaking minority of approximately 600,000 people.

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.

Ethnicity

The majority of the population are of French descent, approximately 80% of the population. There are also significant numbers of Irish, English, Italians, and Portuguese.

Ethnic origins

• Québécois (French-Canadian) — + 82%
• French-Irish or English-Irish — 4.1%
• Italian — 3.5%
• English — 3.1%
• Scottish — 2.2%
• North American Indian — 1.8%
• German — 1.2%
• Jewish — 1.1%
• Haitian — 1.0%

Source: [4] Note: Ethnic Origins with less than 1.0% are not listed here. Note: Multiple responses are allowed, so results will not necessarily add up to 100%.

Religious groups

• 83.3% Roman Catholic
• 4.7% Protestant
• 1.5% Muslim
• 1.4% Orthodox
• 1.2% Jewish
• 0.8% other Christian
• 7.1% other, non-professing

Language

Main article: Demolinguistics of Quebec

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

• French speakers: 80.2%
• English speakers: 8.0%
• French and English: 0.8%
• Others: 10.0% (Italian 5.2%, Spanish 2.3%, Arabic 1.9%, and others)

Note:The most common third language among Angolphone and Francophone populations is today Spanish.

Symbols and emblems

The motto of Quebec is Je me souviens (I, myself, remember), which is carved into the Parliament Building façade in Quebec City and is seen on the coat of arms and licence plates.

The Fleurdelisé leads a ship to harbour near Quebec City

The graphic emblem of Quebec is the fleur-de-lis, usually white on a blue background, as on the flag of Quebec, the Fleurdelisé. As indicated on the government of Quebec's Web site, the flag recalls the French Royal banner said to have accompanied the army of General Montcalm, Marquis de Saint-Véran during the victorious battle of Carillon in 1758. The fleur-de-lis as a symbol of the now deposed House of Bourbon is regarded as "counter revolutionary" in France, but is prominent in the coat of arms of Quebec.

The floral emblem of Quebec is the 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 saints of French Canada are Saint Anne and John the Baptist. La Saint-Jean, June 24, is Quebec's national day and has been 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.

See also

• New France
• A few acres of snow
• Alliance Quebec
• Anglo-Quebecer
• Quebec's Autoroute system
• Canada
• Charter of the French Language
• Civil Code of Quebec
• État québécois
• Education in Quebec
• Jews in Canada
• Irish Quebecer
• List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols
• List of Quebec cathedrals
• List of cities in Canada
• List of communities in Quebec
• List of county seats in Quebec
• List of Lieutenant Governors of Quebec
• List of Premiers of Quebec
• List of Quebec authors
• List of Quebec counties (historic)
• List of Quebec county regional municipalities (current)
• List of Quebec premiers
• List of Quebec regions
• List of Quebec universities
• List of Quebecers
• List of Quebec-related topics
• Musicians of Quebec
• National Assembly of Quebec
• National Order of Quebec
• Office québécois de la langue française
• Politics of Canada
• Quebec French
• Quebec general elections
• Scots-Quebecer
• Timeline of Quebec history

External links

• Template:En icon Government of Quebec
• Template:En icon Symbols and emblems of Quebec
• Template:En icon Bonjour Québec, Quebec government official tourist site
• Template:En icon Laws to protect the endangered French languages
• Template:Fr icon Agora, online encyclopaedia from Quebec
• Template:En icon Template:Wikitravel

History:

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

Canada