Quebec

Quebec (pronounced "kweh-BECK" or "keh-BECK"; French: le Québec) is a Canadian province with a population of 7,455,208 (Statistics Canada, 2002), primarily speakers of the French language making up the bulk of the Francophone population in North America. The capital is Quebec City and the largest city is Montreal. A resident of Quebec is called a Quebecer (also spelled Quebecker) or, in French, un(e) Québécois(e).

Geography of Quebec

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 percent of Quebec's area lies within the Canadian Shield, a large part of which was historically referred to as the Ungava Region. This vast and virtually uninhabited northern region created the massive Province of Quebec as seen today. This huge new addition to Quebec bordered James Bay and is where Quebec is located in eastern Canada, bordered by Ontario and Hudson Bay to the west, Atlantic Canada to the east, the U.S. (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York States) to the south, and the Arctic Ocean to the north.

The province's three largest hydro-electric projects would eventually be built on the La Grande River.

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. The extreme north of the province, now called Nunavik, is subarctic or arctic and is home to the Inuit nation.

The most populated region is the Saint Lawrence River Valley in the south, where the capital, Quebec City, and the largest city, Montreal, are situated. 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 Saint Lawrence to the East. The Saint Lawrence River Valley is a fertile agricultural region, producing dairy products, fruit, vegetables, maple sugar (Quebec is the world's largest producer), and livestock.

History of Quebec

Main article: History of Quebec

The name Quebec, which comes from the Micmac 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.

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 ("quelques arpents de neige" - Voltaire) of little importance to the French colonial empire. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 saw Canada (part of New France) renamed the Province of Quebec.

In 1867 Quebec joined with Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia to form the Confederation of Canada.

During the 1960s, a terrorist group known as the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) launched a decade of bombings, murders, robberies and attacks on government offices. Their activities culminated in events referred to as the October Crisis when 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 1977, the recently formed Parti Quebecois government of Rene Levesque introduced the Charter of the French Language. Known as "Bill 101", it defined French as the official language of Quebec and strictly regulated the use of other languages.

In 1980, Premier Lévesque put sovereignty-association before the Quebec voters in a referendum. 60% of the Quebec electorate voted against it.

On October 30, 1995, in a second referendum the vote for Quebec independence was rejected by an extremely slim margin, less than one percent. The federal Liberal Party under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien came under sharp criticism for mishandling the "no" side of the referendum campaign.

Politics of Quebec

Main article: Politics of Quebec

The Lieutenant Governor represents Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. The elected 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 parliament 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.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Quebec

Culture

Main article: Culture of Quebec

Provincial symbols

The motto of Quebec is Je me souviens (I remember), which was carved into the National Assembly building façade in Quebec City and is seen on the coat of arms.

The graphic emblem of Quebec is the fleur-de-lis, usually white on a blue background, as in the provincial flag (above), called the Fleurdelisé. As indicated on the government of Quebec's Web site, the flag recalls the banner said to have accompanied the army of Montcalm during the victorious battle of Carillon in 1758. The Fleurdelisé replaced the Union Jack at the Legislature Building by an Order-in-Council in 1948. Since the 1960s, most Quebecers have seen this flag as their national flag.

The floral emblem of Quebec is the iris. 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 Quebec is John the Baptist. La Saint-Jean-Baptiste, June 24, is Quebec's national day, and has been called the Fête nationale du Québec since the 1970s.

External links

Quebec is also the letter Q in the NATO phonetic alphabet.

An album by Ween. See Quebec (album)