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Location, Geography and Climate
Quebec [Québec] is a province in Canada, North America , bordered on the Southeast by the United States and New Brunswick, on it's Southwest by Ontario, on it's West and North by Hudson Bay, and on it's Northeast by Newfoundland. It has an area of 1 700 000 sq.km, and is three times as large as France. Population density is low, at 4.7 inhabitants per square kilometer. Northern Québec is sparsely populated with approximately 35 000 inhabitants. Approximately three fourths of Québecers live near the shores of the Saint Lawrence River.
In the south, the climate is mild. The extreme northern portion of the territory has an Arctic climate. Québec's four distinct seasons start with a mild spring followed by a hot summer which is ended by a colorful but chilly autumn. Winter brings on the freezing cold and snow.
Québec has more than 1 million lakes and waterways. The Saint Lawrence River, one of the most beautiful stretches of water in North America, crosses Québec from west to east, for 1000 km [600 miles]. It then flows into the Atlantic. Thus making both Montreal [Montréal] and Quebec City, which border the St. Lawrence, world trade ports.
Click here for more on the geography, and here for a Map Of Quebec Province Canada [Province Québec map]. For Montreal Canada Maps,
click here.
Art
and Culture
Education
Food and drink
History
Québec's first inhabitants were the
Inuit Indians [Amerindian], the stone age people who migrated from Asia thousands of years ago, before the continents drifted apart. Québec's massiveness was a great source for fishing, hunting and trapping. The Vikings visited the area around 1000 AD. They were followed by the Basque whalers and cod fishermen who where some of the early visitors to the shores of Québec's St. Lawrence Gulf.
The French explorer, Jacques Cartier, landed his ship, the Gaspé, in 1534. He had been commissioned by François I, the King of France, to lay claim to this vast territory. Cartier claimed possession of this immense territory for France, thus the European influence took a strong hold in New France [Nouvelle France].
Another noted historical event involved the French explorer Samuel de Champlain. He docked on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, in 1608, at a place the indians called Kébec. Champlain founded a trading post on the Place Royale, soon to become what is known as Quebec City [Québec City]. The great
Lake Champlain was discovered by Samuel Champlain in 1609. With all of it's beauty, and long before Champlain discovered it, Lake Champlain was in the midst of many Indian battles and bloody confrontations. However, it wasn't until the late 1600s that French colonists began settling the area.
Then came the English, pushing the French out of the eastern Atlantic provinces and forcing the French refugees into the place called Québec, thus increasing that area's French influence enormously. The French lost the
Battle of the Plains of Abraham outside the fortress of Quebec, hastening the British conquest of Canada. However, it did not take away from the French culture influence in Québec. The area grew rapidly, with an abundance of natural resources and because of it's geographical location, Québec and the St. Lawrence Seaway and it's shipping lanes, became a center for commerce and for the expansion westward into Canada.
The Québecois, this past century and half, were trying to become an independent entity. Because they wanted
separatism from the other Provinces, many debates, controversies and disputes followed. In 1990 however, the Meech Lake Accord collapsed. The Accord would of given the Provinces more and separate powers from the national government. Then in 1995, Québec's referendum of secession from Canada was defeated. The issue hasn't totally been put to rest, but is sitting on a back burner for now.
For more information on Québec and Montreal History from the Québec government,
Click here.
Official Flag of the Province of Quebec
The Québec flag changes came about slowly, however after WWII the Fleurdelisé flag was made Québec's national emblem on January 21, 1948. Québec's official flower is the Blue Iris.
People, Religion, Ethnic background, Language
The ethnic make-up of Canada is that of the Amerindian [so called by the French] which is made up of several different tribal nations. These tribes are: the
Atikamekw, several bands of the
Cree Nation, the
Huron-Wendat, the
Malecite, the
Mi'kmaq,
the
Acadian, the
Mohawk and the
Montagnais [now called Innu}and
their culture, and the
Naskapi Band and
their language and
Kawawachikamach. The last two tribes share a common territory and Council to manage their economic and social affairs. For more information links click here:
Montagnais and Naskapi
The French-speaking Canadians, who live in the province of Québec, are referred to as the Québecois [French for the Quebec people]. The Québecois constitute 82% of all French-Canadians. The other French-Canadians, those who generally speak English rather than French and who live outside of Québec Province, make up 18% of the French-Canadian population.
Historically speaking, Québec was dominated by the Catholic church, which became a negative aspect this last five decades, and was considered to be inhibiting cultural development. Québecois culture today is considered secular, not cultural.
Government Official Provincial Sites of Canada
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