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Quebec (French: Québec) is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, it is the country's only Francophone-majority province. It is home to speakers of Québécois French. It shares borders with Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border with the territory of Nunavut. To the south, it borders the United States. Quebec has a population of around eight million, making it Canada's second-most populous province, behind Ontario.
Between 1534 and 1763, what became Quebec was the French colony of Canada and was the most developed colony in New France. Following the Seven Years' War, Canada became a British colony, first as the Province of Quebec (1763–1791), then Lower Canada (1791–1841), and lastly part of the Province of Canada (1841–1867) as a result of the Lower Canada Rebellion. It was confederated with Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick in 1867. The Catholic Church played a large role in Quebec's social and cultural institutions until the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s to 1980s increased the role of the Government of Quebec in l'État québécois (the public authority of Quebec).
The Government of Quebec functions within the context of Canada's Westminster system and is both a liberal democracy and a constitutional monarchy. The Premier of Quebec is head of government. Independence debates have played a large role in Quebec politics. Quebec society's cohesion and specificity is based on three of its unique statutory documents: the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Charter of the French Language, and the Civil Code of Quebec. Furthermore, unlike the other provinces which use a common-law system, law in Quebec is mixed: private law is exercised under a civil law system, while public law is exercised under a common-law system.
The economy is mainly supported by its large service sector and varied industrial sector. Its exports are mainly aeronautics, hydroelectricity, mining, pharmaceuticals, aluminum, wood, and paper. Quebec is well known for producing maple syrup, for its comedy, and for making ice hockey one of Canada's most popular sports. The province's cultural products include literature, music, films, TV shows, and festivals.
The name Québec comes from an Algonquin word meaning 'narrow passage' or 'strait'. The name originally referred to the area around Quebec City where the Saint Lawrence River narrows. 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 chose as the administrative seat for New France.
Quebec was first settled by Paleo-Indians after the Laurentide Ice Sheet melted, roughly 11,000 years ago. They lived as nomads, surviving by hunting, fishing, and gathering. By the 1500s eleven First Nations peoples had formed: Inuit, Abenaki, Algonquin, Atikamekw, Cree, Huron-Wendat, Wolastoqiyik, Mi'kmaq, Iroquois, Innu and Naskapi.
The first European explorers reached the area in the early 16th century. Giovanni da Verrazzano's 1522–23 voyage for France applied the name New France to northeastern North America. Jacques Cartier landed at Gaspé on July 24, 1534, and on his 1535 voyage named the Stadacona district Canada. From about 1580 the fur trade revived French interest. Coureurs des bois and Catholic missionaries followed, forming alliances with some Indigenous nations against others (the later Iroquois Wars).
Samuel de Champlain founded the Habitation de Québec (now Quebec City) on July 3, 1608, and it became the capital of New France. After a brief English occupation (1629–1632) it was returned by the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Maisonneuve founded Ville-Marie (now Montreal) in 1642. New France became a royal province in 1663. Relations with the Iroquois and with Britain stayed turbulent through the Iroquois Wars and the Intercolonial Wars. British forces took Quebec City in 1759 and Montreal in 1760; France ceded the colony in the 1763 Treaty of Paris.
In 1791 Britain divided the Province of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada, giving Loyalist settlers English common law in the west while Lower Canada kept French civil law and the seigneurial system. Conflict continued into the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–38 and into disputes over representation. In 1867 the colony entered Confederation as the province of Quebec; the first premier was Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau. Montreal was Canada's largest city for the next century. The Catholic Church remained a central institution for French speakers; "O Canada" was written for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste celebrations.
In the early 20th century Quebec reached its present northern limits (Ungava, 1912), and the first statute requiring French in public life was adopted. In the First World War voluntary enlistment among French Quebecers was low; conscription in 1917 produced the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and riots in Quebec City. A second conscription crisis followed in 1944.
In the 1960s the Quiet Revolution under a Liberal government expanded the welfare state, reduced the Church's role in schools and social services, and nationalized electricity (Hydro-Québec). Québécois identity and Quebec nationalism became central politics. The Parti Québécois later took office and pressed for greater autonomy. Sovereignty referendums in 1980 and 1995 both failed to win a majority.
Located in the eastern part of Canada, Quebec occupies a territory nearly three times the size of France or Texas. It is much closer to the size of Alaska, covering 1.5 million square kilometres (0.58 million square miles), with borders more than 12,000 km (7,500 mi) long. It is the largest province in Canada and, by total area, the tenth-largest country subdivision in the world.
Most of Quebec is sparsely populated. Its most populous region is the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands.
The combination of rich soils and the lowlands' relatively warm climate makes this valley its most prolific agricultural area. The rural landscape is divided into narrow rectangular tracts of land that extend from the river and date to the seigneurial system.
Quebec's topography is different from one region to another due to the varying composition of the ground, the climate, and the proximity to water. The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Appalachians are the two main topographic regions in southern Quebec, while the Canadian Shield occupies most of central and northern Quebec. 95% of the total, including the Labrador Peninsula, lies within the Canadian Shield. It is generally flat and exposed mountainous terrain interspersed with higher points such as the Laurentian Mountains in southern Quebec, the Otish Mountains in central Quebec and the Torngat Mountains near Ungava Bay. While low and medium altitude peaks extend from western Quebec to the far north, high altitude mountains appear in the Capitale-Nationale region to the east. Quebec's highest point at 1,652 metres (5,420 ft) is Mont d'Iberville, known in English as Mount Caubvick, in the northeastern part of the province in the Torngat Mountains. In the Labrador Peninsula portion of the Shield, the far northern region of Nunavik includes the Ungava Peninsula and consists of flat Arctic tundra inhabited mostly by Inuit.
Further south is the Eastern Canadian Shield taiga ecoregion and the Central Canadian Shield forests. 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, through the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Arctic Ocean, by James, Hudson, and Ungava bays. The largest inland body of water is the Caniapiscau Reservoir; Lake Mistassini is the largest natural lake. The Saint Lawrence River has some of the world's largest sustaining inland Atlantic ports. Since 1959, the Saint Lawrence Seaway has provided a navigable link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes.
The public lands of Quebec cover approximately 92% of its territory, including almost all of the water bodies. Protected areas 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 (ZEC), etc.). More than 2,500 sites in Quebec today are protected areas. As of 2013, protected areas comprise 9.14% of Quebec's territory.
The ecological classification of Quebec territory established by the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks 2021, is presented in nine levels, it includes the diversity of terrestrial ecosystems throughout Quebec while taking into account both the characteristics of the vegetation (physiognomy, structure and composition) and the physical environment (relief, geology, geomorphology, hydrography).
The territory of Quebec is rich in resources in its coniferous forests, lakes, and rivers—pulp and paper, lumber, and hydroelectricity are some of the province's most important industries. The far north of the province, Nunavik, is subarctic or Arctic and is mostly inhabited by Inuit.
The Government of Quebec (French: gouvernement du Québec, pronounced [ɡuvɛʁnəmɑ̃ dy kebɛk]) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Quebec. The term usually refers to the executive of the day (the premier and the other ministers of the Crown) and the non-partisan public service they direct. In French, the province’s official language, the name is Gouvernement du Québec.
Quebec is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy in the Westminster tradition. The premier is head of government The Conseil du trésor supports the ministers of the Executive Council. The sovereign, Charles III, King of Canada, is head of state and is represented in the province by the lieutenant governor. These institutions date from Quebec’s entry into Confederation in 1867.
Quebec's constitution enshrines social and cultural traditions reflected in judicial judgments and legislative documents, including the Loi sur l'Assemblée Nationale ("Law on the National Assembly"), the Loi sur l'éxecutif ("Law on the Executive"), and the Loi électorale du Québec ("Electoral Law of Quebec"). Other notable examples include the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Charter of the French language, and the Civil Code of Quebec.
Legislative power is held by the Parliament of Quebec, consisting of the Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly.
Various ministries are responsible for matter such as education, welfare services, agriculture, and the environment.
The province has a variety of subdivisions, including administrative regions, territories, and municipalities.
Quebec law separates private law (including civil) matters, which it handles in accord with French-heritage civil law. Public law (including criminal law) operates according to Canadian common law. Quebec is the only province to do so. Quebec law derives from four classic sources of law (legislation, case law, doctrine and customary law).
Quebec law is enacted and enforced by the federal and provincial governments. The Constitution of Canada makes the federal government responsible for criminal law, foreign affairs and commerce, interprovincial transport, and telecommunications. The provincial government is accordingly responsible for private law (including property, family law and contract law), the administration of justice, and social domains such as social assistance, healthcare, education, and natural resources. Jurisdiction is shared in areas such as immigration and agriculture.
Legislation is the primary source, but because private law is mostly exercised under the civil law tradition, case law is also a strong contributor. Law reflects the Constitution of Canada, laws enacted by the Quebec Legislature and rules related to legislating.
Quebec participates in Canada's multi-level appeals system and operates several levels of courts and administrative jurisprudence.
The Sûreté du Québec is the main police force, supplemented by municipal police forces in urban areas, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and First Nations police.
Legal assistance is divided into advocates who appear in court and notaries that handle real estate, inheritance and other less contentious matters.
In the 2021 census, Quebec's population was determined to be 8,501,833, a 4.1% increase from its 2016 population of 8,164,361. With a land area of 1,356,625.27 km2 (523,795.95 sq mi), it had a population density of 6.0/km2 (15.6/sq mi) in 2016. Quebec accounted for a little under 23% of the Canadian population. The largest cities in Quebec are Montreal (1,762,976), Quebec City (538,738), Laval (431,208), and Gatineau (281,501).
In 2016, Quebec's median age was 41.2 years. As of 2020, 20.8% of the population was younger than 20, 59.5% was aged between 20 and 64, and 19.7% was 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 total fertility rate of about 1.6 children born per woman. As of 2020, the average life expectancy was 82.3 years. Quebec in 2019 registered its highest rate of population growth since 1972, with an increase of 110,000 people, mostly because of the arrival of a high number of immigrants. As of 2019, most international immigrants were from China, India and France. In 2016, 30% of the population 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 the 2021 Canadian census, 29.3% of Quebec's population stated their ancestry was of Canadian origin and 21.1% stated their ancestry was of French origin. As of 2021, 18% of Quebec's population belonged to a visible minority group.
According to the 2021 census, the most commonly cited religions in Quebec were:
Text from the Wikipedia article “Quebec”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.