Quebec

Quebec
Motto(s): 
Je me souviens (French)
("I remember")
Coordinates: 52°N 72°W / 52°N 72°W / 52; -72[1]
CountryCanada
Before confederationCanada East
ConfederationJuly 1, 1867 (1st, with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario)
CapitalQuebec City
Largest cityMontreal
Largest metroGreater Montreal
Government
 • TypeParliamentary constitutional monarchy
 • Lieutenant GovernorManon Jeannotte
 • PremierFrançois Legault
LegislatureNational Assembly of Quebec
Federal representationParliament of Canada
House seats78 of 338 (23.1%)
Senate seats24 of 105 (22.9%)
Area
 • Total1,542,056 km2 (595,391 sq mi)
 • Land1,365,128 km2 (527,079 sq mi)
 • Water176,928 km2 (68,312 sq mi)  11.5%
 • Rank2nd
 15.4% of Canada
Population
 (2021)
 • Total8,501,833[2]
 • Estimate 
(Q1 2024)
8,984,918[3]
 • Rank2nd
 • Density6.23/km2 (16.1/sq mi)
Demonym(s)in English: Quebecer, Quebecker, Québécois
in French: Québécois (m),[4] Québécoise (f)[4]
Official languagesFrench[5]
GDP
 • Rank2nd
 • Total (2022)C$552.737 billion[6]
 • Per capitaC$63,651 (9th)
HDI
 • HDI (2019)0.916[7]Very high (9th)
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (Eastern Time Zone for most of the province[8])
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00
Rankings include all provinces and territories

Quebec (English: Quebec;[a] French: Québec [kebɛk] )[11] is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the largest province by area[b] and the second-largest by population. Much of the population lives in urban areas along the St. Lawrence River,[12] between its most populous city, Montreal, and the provincial capital, Quebec City. Located in Central Canada, the province shares land borders with Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast, and a coastal border with Nunavut; in the south it borders the United States.[c]

Between 1534 and 1763, what is now 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. Until the early 1960s, the Catholic Church played a large role in the social and cultural institutions in Quebec. However, 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 a Westminster system and is both a liberal democracy and a constitutional monarchy. The Premier of Quebec acts as 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 elsewhere in Canada, law in Quebec is mixed: private law is exercised under a civil-law system, while public law is exercised under a common-law system.

Quebec's official language is French; Québécois French is the regional variety. Quebec is the only Francophone-majority province. The economy of Quebec is mainly supported by its large service sector and varied industrial sector. For exports, it leans on the key industries of aeronautics, where it is the 6th largest worldwide seller,[13] hydroelectricity, mining, pharmaceuticals, aluminum, wood, and paper. Quebec is well known for producing maple syrup, for its comedy, and for making hockey one of the most popular sports in Canada. It is also renowned for its culture; the province produces literature, music, films, TV shows, festivals, and more.

  1. ^ "Quebec". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  2. ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  3. ^ "Population estimates, quarterly". Statistics Canada. September 27, 2023. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Fee, Margery; McAlpine, Janice (2001). Oxford Guide to Canadian English Usage. Oxford University Press. p. 335. ISBN 0-19-541619-8.
  5. ^ "Status of the French language". Government of Quebec. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  6. ^ "Quarterly indicators, Québec and Canada". Institut de la Statistique du Québec. September 20, 2023.
  7. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Subnational HDI - Global Data Lab".
  8. ^ See Time in Canada
  9. ^ Barber, Katherine, ed. (2004). "Quebec". The Canadian Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195418163.
  10. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). "Quebec". Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
  11. ^ According to the Canadian government, Québec (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and Quebec (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English "Geographical Names of pan-Canadian significance". Natural Resources Canada. Archived from the original on September 18, 2015.
  12. ^ "Population Density, Québec, 2006". statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  13. ^ Canada, Global Affairs (October 20, 2015). "Sector Snapshots - Canadian Trade Commissioner Service - Quebec". GAC. Retrieved January 21, 2024.


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