QUÉBEC
- ORIGIN OF PROVINCE NAME: From an Algonquin Indian word meaning "narrow passage" or "strait," referring to the narrowing of the St. Lawrence River at what is currently Québec City.
- NICKNAME: La Belle Province (The Beautiful Province).
- CAPITAL: Québec City.
- ENTERED CONFEDERATION: 1 July 1867.
- MOTTO: Je me souviens (I remember).
- COAT OF ARMS: Consists of a shield with a royal crown above and a golden scroll with blue borders bearing the provincial motto below. The upper third of the shield has three white upright fleur-de-lis on a blue background, the middle third has a gold leopard on a red background, and the lower third a sugar maple sprig on a gold background.
- FLAG: The flag of Québec, also known as the "fleurdelisé" flag, consists of a white cross on a sky-blue field, with an upright fleur-de-lis centered in each of the four quarters.
- FLORAL EMBLEM: White garden (madonna) lily.
- PROVINCIAL BIRD: Snowy owl.
- TREE: Yellow birch.
- TIME: 8 AM AST = noon GMT; 7 AM EST = noon GMT.
Source Database: Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of Canadian Provinces
Table of Contents
AGRICULTURE | ARTS | CLIMATE
| COMMERCE | COMMUNICATIONS | DOMESTICATED ANIMALS | ECONOMY | EDUCATION | ENERGY AND POWER | ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION | ETHNIC
GROUPS | FAMOUS QUÉBÉCOIS/ QUEBECKERS | FISHING | FORESTRY | FURTHER READINGS | HEALTH | HISTORY | HOUSING | INCOME
| INDUSTRY | JUDICIAL SYSTEM | LABOR | LANGUAGES | LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS | LOCAL
GOVERNMENT | LOCATION AND SIZE | MIGRATION
| MINING | PLANTS AND ANIMALS | POLITICAL PARTIES | POPULATION | PRESS | PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT | PUBLIC FINANCE | RELIGIONS | SOURCE CITATION | SPORTS | TAXATION | TOPOGRAPHY | TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION | TRANSPORTATION | VIEW
MULTIMEDIA FILE(S)
Québec is almost entirely surrounded by water. It is bordered on the north by the Hudson Strait; on the east by Labrador (the mainland portion of the province of Newfoundland); on the southeast by the Gulf of St. Lawrence; on the south by New Brunswick and the US states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York; on the southwest and west by Ontario; and on the west and northwest by James Bay and Hudson Bay. Québec has an area of 594,857 square miles (1,545,680 square kilometers), three times that of France and seven times that of Great Britain. It is the largest of Canada's provinces.
From north to south, Québec takes in three main geographical regions: the Canadian Shield, the St. Lawrence lowlands, and the Appalachian Mountains. Extending from the shores of the Canadian Arctic to the Laurentians, the Canadian Shield covers about 60 percent of the land mass, and is the world's oldest mountain range. The highest point in Québec is located in this region; it is Mount D'Iberville--elevation 5,420 feet (1,652 meters) above sea level--located in the Torngat Mountains in extreme northeastern Québec.
The St. Lawrence River, the province's dominant geographical feature, links the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes. The St. Lawrence lowlands are dotted with more than a million lakes and rivers. To the south, the foothills of the Appalachians separate Québec from the United States. Québec's tens of thousands of lakes and rivers account for 16 percent of the world's fresh water supply.
Of Québec's total land area, 51 percent is forested area, 27 percent is arctic and forest tundra, and 22 percent is taiga (a transitional area between forests and tundra, with scattered trees).
Southern Québec, along the St. Lawrence River, has a temperate continental climate, while the bay and Gulf of St. Lawrence have a temperate maritime climate. Permafrost reigns in the northern part of the Canadian Shield; only dwarf birches and lichen are able to grow there. Average temperatures for January are 16°F (-8.7°C) in Montréal, 10°F (-12.1°C) in Québec City, 8°F (-13.2°C) in Baie-Comeau, and -10°F (-23.3°C) in Kuujjuak. In July, average temperatures are 71°F (21.8°C) in Montréal, 66°F (19.1°C) in Québec City, 62°F (16.8°C) in Baie-Comeau, and 53°F (11.4°C) in Kuujjuak. The warmest recorded temperature in Québec was 104°F (40°C) on 6 July 1921 at Ville Marie and the coldest was -66°F (-54.4°C) on 5 February 1923 at Doucet.
The relatively temperate climate of the south is hospitable for a wide variety of native as well as imported European plants. A myriad of migratory ducks and geese annually fly across Québec, and large colonies of local bird species inhabit the numerous islands in the Bas-Saint-Laurant region of the St. Lawrence River. Several species of whale seasonally cruise through the St. Lawrence straits. Muskie and trout are common stream and lake fish species. Seals are common to Îles-de-la Madeleine and the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Woodland caribou, moose, muskrats, beavers, eagles, and wolves inhabit the northern reaches of the province. Polar bears live in the far north along Hudson Bay.
Québec has 576 landfills, 3 municipal incinerators, and 11 hazardous waste sites. Annual generation of solid wastes is about 5.4 million tons, or 0.8 tons per person; Québec produces about 22.2 percent of Canada's hazardous waste. Annual air pollution emissions include about 2.5 million tons of nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide (gases that cause smog), 933,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide compounds (gases that produce acid rain), and the equivalent of 17.4 million tons of carbon dioxide.
For decades, tons of sulfur dioxide and other chemicals were put into the air by factories in the American Midwest. Prevailing winds carry the toxins northward across Québec, Ontario, and the northeastern United States. As a result, poisonous rainclouds release acidic rain on the lands and lakes to the north. By 1980, hundreds of lakes in Québec and Ontario were severely damaged; forests and farms were affected as well.
The Montréal Protocol is an international treaty that seeks to reduce and eliminate the consumption of substances believed to deplete the ozone layer. The protocol came into force on 1 January 1989 and has been ratified by 46 other nations to reduce the global consumption of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons to 1986 levels. In June 1990, representatives of 55 nations met to augment some of the treaty's provisions and accelerate the rate of phasing out five of the CFCs specified in the treaty from 50 percent to 100 percent by 2000.
Québec was originally inhabited by members of the Algonquin and Iroquois Aboriginal Peoples. The northern part of the province was, and still is, inhabited by the Inuit (previously known as "Eskimos").
EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT
The European history of Québec began with the arrival of French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1534. In the following years, a thriving fur trade was established, the Europeans developed relatively friendly relations with the Aboriginal People, and French and English colonists developed an ongoing rivalry.
Founded in 1608, Québec City became the capital of New France. During the French regime, the fortified city was an important center of trade and development. Today it is regarded as the cradle of French civilization in America, and was named a World Heritage City by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1985. During the frequent skirmishes between New France and New England, the English captured Québec in 1629. In 1632, the territory was restored to France. Québec, together with the rest of New France, was placed under the absolute control of the Company of One Hundred Associates. The company's purpose was to develop the fur trade and establish settlements.
The city of Montréal, originally named Ville Marie, was founded in 1643 as an outpost for the growing trade in beaver furs. The Sulpicians, a Roman Catholic order of priests, were partly responsible for the founding of the city.
During the 1650s to 1690s, French independent fur traders began establishing contacts with native tribes farther west.
In 1663, New France was placed under the administration of the French monarch. France issued large land grants to seigneurs (estate owners who were granted land by royal decree). Under the seigneurial system, the seigneurs oversaw large estates, and then made other grants to settlers. Most of the seigneurial farms were on long and narrow rectangular tracts.
French-English rivalry in North America culminated with the Seven Years' War, which saw the fall of Québec City to British forces in 1759. The French army surrendered at Montréal in 1760, ending France's rule over its colonies in North America. With the Treaty of Paris in 1763, New France became a colony of Britain. In 1774, under the Québec Act, Britain granted official recognition to French civil laws, guaranteed religious freedom, and authorized the use of the French language. In November 1775, two Continental armies attacked Québec, seeking to drive out the British. American rebels captured Montréal without a struggle and held Québec City under siege. The following spring, the Americans retreated from Québec when British reinforcements arrived.
In 1791, the colony was divided in two to reflect the large influx of Loyalists who, wishing to remain British subjects, fled north after the American Revolution (1775-83), to settle in western Québec. This led to the creation of Upper Canada (now Ontario) and Lower Canada (Québec). After rebellions in both regions in 1837, the two were reunited by the Act of Union in 1840 and became the Province of Canada.
Exiled rebels of the 1837 rebellion were allowed to return home and French was made an official language of Québec. This angered the English-speaking traders and business owners of Montréal. In April 1849, riots broke out in Montréal and a mob torched the parliament house. That year, women's right to vote was prohibited in Québec. Before the law, there were a few women property owners who were eligible to vote. The law was passed under the premise that it protected women from political violence. Women in Québec were not permitted to vote again until 1918 for federal elections and 1940 for provincial elections.
In 1867, Québec became a founding member of the new Dominion of Canada. In 1874, the Montréal Stock Exchange opened. Its charter created the institution for raising the capital needed for the expansion of industry in Québec.
Urbanization in Canadian cities between the 1850s and 1870s led to several major fires. Houses in poor urban areas were typically built close to each other and were made of wood. There was often no public lighting, water, or sewers. Fire in the Saint-Roch suburb of Québec City destroyed thousands of homes in 1845 and again in 1866. Montréal's Saint-Laurent and Sainte-Marie suburbs burned down in 1852.
By the 1880s, Québec's population was nearly 1.4 million, four times higher than it was in 1815. Montréal and several other cities grew prominent, while rural Québec lost political power. By the 1880s, about 28 percent of Québec's population lived in cities. Despite immigration by English-speakers, the province still primarily was inhabited by French-speakers.
In the 1890s, Canada began large-scale development of its hydroelectric potential, with generators and transmission lines constructed at Niagara Falls, Ontario. In 1898, a second large hydroelectric plant was built on the Saint-Maurice River at Shawinigan, Québec.
EARLY 20TH CENTURY
In 1912, Québec (along with Ontario and Manitoba) was enlarged. All territory west of Hudson Bay, south of 60°N, and east of Ungava Bay was split up among the three provinces.
During World War I (1914-18), Canada lost more than 68,000 soldiers. Veterans returning to Québec faced a bleak future of scarce low-paying jobs, while tariffs on imports kept prices for consumer goods high. Local farmers, as in other provinces, had prospered from high wheat prices during World War I. With the war's end, however, global grain markets collapsed and wheat prices fell 50 percent by 1920.
By the end of World War I, every province but Québec had banned the drinking of alcoholic beverages. However, by the early 1920s there was massive evasion of the law, with widespread forgery of medical prescriptions, bootlegging, and home-brewing. Furthermore, Canada served as an excellent base for liquor smugglers to the lucrative market of the United States, which also had prohibition. As enforcement of prohibition in Canada became impossible, provincial governments replaced prohibition with government liquor control boards that had a monopoly on the sale of wine and spirits.
For a long time, Québec's rural roots and domination by the Roman Catholic Church made it a traditional agrarian (of agricultural groups) society. With the advent of Canada's period of rapid growth in industry between 1920 and 1940, urbanization and higher living standards came to the province. The recovery of grain prices during the 1920s helped the province's fortunes, as well. At the same time, transportation improvements--railways and roads--enabled businesses to flourish. Automobiles, telephones, electrical appliances, and other consumer goods became widely available.
Just as in the United States, all of Canada suffered during the Great Depression. In addition to the problems with grain prices during the early 1920s, droughts and frequent crop failures devastated the national economy, which still relied heavily on agriculture. Montréal, where most residents were tenants, was especially hit hard by the depression--many laborers were unskilled and social services were insufficient. Many people in the cities were forced to live in the streets. During the Great Depression, the cost of paying for welfare assistance was split into thirds among the dominion government, the provincial governments, and municipal governments. Social welfare programs rapidly expanded during the 1930s, with much of the burden placed on the provincial and municipal governments. The Union Nationale, established by Maurice Duplessis, came to power in Québec in the 1930s but was unsuccessful at reversing the economic havoc of the Depression.
1940S-1960S
Following World War II (1939-45), consumer spending and immigration to Canada rapidly increased. Urbanization spread quickly by means of the National Housing Act, which made home ownership more easily available. Montréal emerged as the economic and cultural center of French-speaking Canada. Montréal became a decentralized cluster of smaller cities and towns rather than a single urbanized areas. During the 1950s, all of Canada experienced high rates of birth, but Québec had the highest number of births. Unemployment insurance and other social welfare programs were also created following the war. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, old age pensions were increased in 1951 and a national hospital insurance plan was introduced in 1957. The St. Lawrence Seaway, completed in 1959, was an important development for eastern Canada by permitting oceangoing ships access to the center of the nation.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the monitoring of northern Canadian airspace served a vital role in the defense of North America against a possible nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. But when ballistic missiles (which are launched in an arc toward their targets from great distances) replaced bombers as the means of delivering nuclear warheads, this strategy became obsolete.
Beginning in 1960, Québec entered a period of transition: the "Quiet revolution." It was an era marked by rapid economic expansion, increased cultural pride, and the changing of political institutions to meet the needs of contemporary society. In 1967, Canada's centennial (100th) anniversary, the world's fair was held in Montréal. The Quiet Revolution was also the beginning of a period of political tension and disputes between Québec and the federal government as the province sought to assume greater control over its economy and society. Regrettably, it was through acts of terrorism that the issue of Québec's status in Canada was brought into wide view. In October 1970 terrorists belonging to the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped James Cross, the British Trade Commissioner, and killed Québec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte. As a result, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act to declare a state of emergency and impose martial law.
1970S-1990S
In 1976, Quebeckers elected the Parti Québécois (PQ), a party wanting independence for Québec. The PQ made French the sole, official language of Québec, and, in 1980, conducted a referendum on negotiating an arrangement for sovereignty-association with Canada. The referendum was defeated by a majority of Québec citizens.
Throughout Québec's history, the survival of the French language, culture, and institutions in Québec and also in the rest of Canada has been central to the concerns of Québec's residents. This French heritage has traditionally been the motive for treating Québec's place in the Canadian confederation differently than that of the other provinces. Québec's French heritage also gives Canada its bilingual character and cultural richness.
Canada's unity as a confederation has often been widely questioned. Most recently, the popular defeats of both the Meech Lake Accord of 1987 and the Charlottetown Accord of 1992 failed to solve the issue of Québec's role in Canada. If Québec does eventually secede from Canada, Canada would lose 25 percent of its population and much of its economic strength; also it would likely no longer have the ability to be as assertive in world affairs. Moreover, the ability of the remainder of Canada to stay unified would be in serious doubt. On 30 October 1995, Québec held a provincial-wide referendum regarding the possibility of secession. The measure was defeated by a majority of less than 1 percent.
In January 1998, a blackout left 3 million people without power at the peak of a five-day storm. In response to the ice storm, the Canadian army undertook its biggest-ever peacetime deployment, sending more than 14,000 soldiers to the unfortunate areas of Québec and Ontario. The blackout occurred when transmission lines fell from the weight of ice.
On 1 December 1998, voters returned Quebec's separatist premier, Lucien Bouchard, to power but made clear there was no overwhelming support for secession. With only 43 percent of the vote, Parti Québécois still controlled the legislature, but lacked the mandate to push quickly for independence. Bouchard pledged to hold such a referendum only when confident the separatists could win.
Between 1608 and 1756, some 10,000 French settlers arrived in Canada. Since the end of World War II, more than 650,000 immigrants from over 80 countries have moved to Québec, particularly to the city of Montréal. Italians and Eastern Europeans were traditionally the largest immigrant groups to settle in Québec, but since 1960 the ranks of new Quebeckers have been swollen by Portuguese, Haitians, Lebanese, South Americans, and Southeast Asians. In 1968, the Québec government created its own department of immigration, the only such provincial office in Canada. In 1992, Québec admitted more than 48,000 immigrants (20 percent of the Canadian total), with 50 percent from Asia and 17 percent from Europe. Québec also admitted 11,000 refugees and 8,000 foreign professionals in 1992.
In 1996, 11.2 percent of the 664,500 immigrants living in Québec had come from Italy, 6.8 percent from Haiti, 6.7 percent from France, 4.3 percent from Lebanon, and 4.1 percent from the United States. About 88 percent of all immigrants lived in Montréal in 1996. Of the 150,915 recent immigrants who came to the province during 1991-96, 6.9 percent were from Haiti, 6.7 percent were from Lebanon, 6.6 percent were from France, 5.3 percent were from China, and 3.7 percent were from Romania.
In 1996, 2.1 percent of Québec's residents age 5 and older had lived abroad in 1991. Some 15.3 percent had lived elsewhere in Québec, while 1 percent had lived in another province five years earlier. Ontario is the leading province of origin for most incoming internal migration into Québec as well as the primary destination for most of Québec's residents who leave the province to live elsewhere in Canada.
The parliamentary system is based both on the French and British systems. Québec's National Assembly is the chief parliamentary body, with 125 elected representative members. The National Assembly's prime minister is the majority party leader (an elected member of parliament) who serves a term of five years, at the end of which time he or she must call an election. The prime minister selects and presides over the 30 members of the executive cabinet.
Québec is divided into 16 administrative regions, 95 regional county municipalities, and three urban communities (Montréal, Québec City, and Outaouais). Rural municipalities are classified as villages, parishes, townships, united townships, not designated, and Indian reserves. Cities and towns are both often referred to as "villes." Special municipal legislation calls for more governmental autonomy for Montréal, Québec City, and the Cree and Northern villages organized under the James Bay Agreement in 1975.
The Canadian Constitution grants provincial jurisdiction over the administration of justice, and allows each province to organize its own court system and police forces. The federal government has exclusive domain over cases involving trade and commerce, banking, bankruptcy, and criminal law. The Federal Court of Canada has both trial and appellate divisions for federal cases. The 9-judge Supreme Court of Canada is an appellate court that determines the constitutionality of both federal and provincial statutes. The Tax Court of Canada hears appeals of taxpayers against assessments by Revenue Canada.
The judiciary is independent of legislative or executive powers, and administers the Civil Code of Québec and the Canadian Penal Code. The Civil Code of Québec is based on the Napoleonic Code, which was developed in France.
In 1996, there were 153 homicides in Québec, for a rate of 2.1 per 100,000 persons. The crime rate that year was 655 per 100,000 people for violent crimes (the lowest rate in Canada), and 4,490 per 100,000 people for property crimes.
Québec has 165 public library systems, with 929 branches. The Université du Québec and McGill University maintain large academic libraries in Montréal. Other academic libraries include those of Université de Sherbrooke and Université Laval (Québec City).
The Musée du Québec in Québec City is one of Canada's most prominent museums, with a distinguished collection of 17th-19th century art as well as a collection of contemporary art. Montréal has some 20 museums and many art galleries, including the McCord Museum of Canadian History and the International Museum of Cartoon Art.
In theory, Québec has a multiparty system, but in reality there are two main parties (Liberal and Conservative), with one or two others receiving a small proportion of votes. Since the 1940s, various splinter groups such as the nationalist Bloc Populaire, the créditiste Union des Electeurs, the separatist Rassemblement pour l'Indépendence Nationale, Ralliement Nationale, and more recently Parti Québécois have occasionally challenged the traditional two-party rule. Since 1939, the Liberal Party has been especially popular among the urban electorate.
In 1976, the province's voters elected into majority power the Parti Québécois (PQ), a party wanting independence for Québec. The PQ made French the sole, official language of Québec, and, in 1980, conducted a referendum on negotiating an arrangement for sovereignty-association with Canada. In 1995, another referendum was held regarding the possibility of secession. Both referenda were defeated by a majority of Québec citizens, although the 1995 referendum lost by only one percent.
The most recent general election was held on 1 December 1998, in which the separatist Parti Québécois won 75 of the legislature's 125 seats, while the anti-separatist Quebec Liberal Party won 48. Democratic Action won one seat, and one seat remained unfilled because of a candidate's recent death.
Québec is famous for its expansive system of large urban parks; the province maintains 20 parks and wildlife reserves. The taiga and tundra of the north is a popular destination for adventurous travelers. Montréal's Botanical Garden, the second largest in the world, has ornate Chinese and Japanese gardens. Also in Montréal, the Biôdome exhibits four distinct ecosystems, and has become the city's most popular tourist destination since its opening in June 1992. The Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival is held near Ottawa. Casinos are located in Montréal and Charlevoix. Besides traditional hotel, motel, and inn accommodations, Québec's tourist accommodations include a wide variety of vacation centers, bed-and-breakfasts, and youth hostels. Tourists in Québec numbered more than 38 million in 1995, of which 73 percent were Québécois, 12 percent were Canadians visiting from other provinces, and 15 percent were foreigners. Travelers and tourists spent C$5.1 billion in the province in 1995.
In the early years of French settlement, men significantly outnumbered women. The imbalance between males and females prevented many men from finding a wife from within their own community. By the 1670s, French fur traders started marrying native women, and their descendants were absorbed into their mothers' cultures. The children of the Europeans and the natives became known as the Métis, who eventually developed into a distinct cultural group.
Québec has more than five million people of French origin, 350,000 of British origin, about 69,400 Aboriginals ( Native Peoples, including Mohawk, Cree, Montagnais, Algonquin, Attikamek, Micmac, Huron, Abenaki, and Naskapi), including 8,235 Inuit. Ten distinct Aboriginal nations in Québec have been recognized by the federal Indian Act; the largest native band in the province is at Kahnawake. Montréal is one of Canada's most ethnically-diverse metropolitan areas, with large Italian, Greek, Portuguese, and Chinese communities, as well as a notable South American, Arab, and Asian population.
Ethnic divisions between francophones (speakers of French) and anglophones (speakers of English) have recently been replaced by tensions between ethnic Europeans and Aboriginals. In 1990, a group of Mohawks protested the rezoning of a burial ground in Oka, resulting in armed confrontation and a three-month siege by federal troops.
Most of North America's francophones live in Québec. French is the mother tongue of 80.9 percent of Quebeckers, while 8.3 percent cite English as their mother tongue.
The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, established in 1963, documented the ways that the French language and culture were given a secondary position in Canadian society. After the commission issued its findings in 1969, there was a tide of legislation requiring the use of both English and French in public activities, which stirred up opposition outside Québec. In 1977, Québec's National Assembly adopted the Charter of the French Language, with the aim of making French the language of the government, judicial system, and all official signs, as well as the customary language of work, instruction, communica-tions, commerce, and business.
In addition to French and English, some 35 other languages are spoken by provincial residents, with Italian, Greek, and Spanish the most prevalent. Each Aboriginal nation uses its own language, with the exception of the Abenakis, Huron-Wendats, and Malecites.
With the overwhelming majority of its residents Roman Catholic, Québec is unique to Canada. After 1840, the Catholic church started to grow across Québec, and many religious orders from France established themselves. Catholics established their own lay, burial, and philanthropic societies.
Eight-four percent of the population is Roman Catholic, or about 5,930,500 people. Only 5.9 percent of the population, or about 406,900 people, is Protestant, including 96,500 Anglicans, 62,100 members of the United Church of Canada, 27,600 Baptists, 10,800 Pentecostals, 20,700 Presbyterians, and 13,800 Lutherans. Québec also has about 96,500 Jews, 89,600 people of Eastern Orthodox faith, 48,300 Moslems, 34,500 Buddhists, 13,800 Hindus and 6,900 Sikhs. Just under 4 percent of the population, or about 27,500 people, professes no religious affiliation, the lowest such rate in Canada.
The St. Lawrence River's 2,330 miles (3,750 kilometers) of navigable length has been the transportation focus in Québec for 400 years. The expansion of farming, logging, and mining at the end of the 1800s helped with the original construction of the major arteries of the road system. Road transport is controlled by the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ), while sea, air, and rail transport are mainly under federal control.
The 850-mile Grand Trunk Railroad first opened in 1856, connecting Québec City and Montréal to Toronto. Railroads in 1995 consisted of 2,615 miles (4,208 kilometers) of main track, mostly operated by Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP). The preferred method of transport by manufacturers is often via railway, since much of Québec's exports are bulky natural resources (such as pulp and paper, lumber, and ore). The National Transportation Act of 1987 mandated the abandonment of unprofitable rail lines. As a result, much freight traffic has been switched from rail to road in Québec. In 1995, commercial rail traffic handled 105.2 million tons of freight.
Most of the highway system was built in the 1960s, and today serves 80 percent of Québec's population, linking urban centers and connecting to the networks of Ontario and New England. In 1995, the road network totaled 74,492 miles (119,878 kilometers), with municipal roads accounting for 75 percent; provincial roads, 24 percent; and federal roads, 1 percent. In 1996, Québec had 4.3 million licensed drivers and 3.8 million registered highway vehicles. That year, commercial trucks carried 45.3 million tons of freight across the province. During the winter, massive snow clearing and de-icing operations are necessary to keep roads open.
In 1995, 4,123 mass transit vehicles in Québec carried 449.4 million passengers by bus, metro, and commuter train. Public transportation companies serve about 3.5 million people and have almost 95 percent of the urban bus fleet. The MTQ is legally required by the Education Act to subsidize school busing. Ferries to the Côte-Nord region operate weekly from April to January.
In 1809, Canada's first steamer began operating between Montréal and Québec City, becoming the first mechanized transportation in Québec. Today, ferries throughout Québec annually carry over 5 million passengers and 1.7 million vehicles.
Canada's first canals were built around Montréal during 1779-83. The Rideau Canal opened in 1832 (at a cost of £1 million), providing a new route between Montréal and Lake Ontario. In 1843, the Cornwall Canal opened, providing a more direct route to Lake Ontario.
Québec has 78 commercial ports. The main ports are at Montréal, which handled 19.2 million tons of cargo in 1996, and Québec City, which handled 17 million tons that year. In 1995, all of the province's ports combined handled 80.2 million tons of international cargo and 29.2 million tons of coastal cargo.
Québec has some 300 landing sites, public and private airports, seaplane bases, and heliports. Major international commercial air facilities are Dorval International and Mirabel International, both in the Montréal area. In 1996 Dorval handled 6.1 million passengers, while Mirabel handled 2.4 million passengers. Other important commercial airports are at Québec City, Sept-Îles, Val-d'Or, Bagotville-Saguenay, Rouyn-Noranda, Mont-Joli, and Baie-Comeau. In 1993, the MTQ completed the construction of 13 new airports for remote communities north of the 55th parallel, a region with virtually no roads. The MTQ also provides floatplane, skiplane, and helicopter service for remote areas in the Côte-Nord region.
Early explorers included Jacques Cartier (b.France, 1491-1557), who navigated up the St. Lawrence River. Geographer Samuel de Champlain (b.France, 1570-1635), the "Father of New France," also led expeditions and organized settlements. Étienne Brûlé (b.France, c.1592-c.1633) was the first European explorer to live among the Aboriginal people and translated the Huron language. Louis de Buade, Comte de Palluau et de Frontenac (b.France, 1622-98) was the greatest of the French royal governors and promoted French expansion into North America by establishing fur-trade posts and defending them against the Iroquois and the English. Louis Jolliet (1645-1700) was commissioned by Frontenac to explore the Mississippi River. Fur trader James McGill (b.Scotland, 1744-1813) was the founder of the university in Montréal that bears his name.
Sir John Abbott (1821-93), Canada's first native-born prime minister, was from St. Andrews, Lower Canada (Québec). Other prominent political leaders from Québec include Canadian prime ministers Sir Wilfred Laurier (1841-1919), Louis St. Laurant (1882-1973), Pierre Trudeau (b.1919), Brian Mulroney (b.1939), and Jean Chrétien (b.1934). René Lévesque (1922-87) led the separatist Parti Québécois to power in 1976 and served as Québec's premier until 1985. Lucien Bouchard (b.1938) is the leader of the Bloc Québécois, a political party that desires the independence of Québec from Canada.
Famous entertainers from Québec include actors Glenn Ford (b.1916), Joseph Wiseman (b.1918), Madeleine Sherwood (b.1926), William Shatner (b.1931), John Vernon (b.1932), Michael Sarrazin (b.1940), Geneviève Bujold (b.1942), and Robert Joy (b.1951); director and producer Paul Almond (b.1931); pianist Oscar Peterson (b.1925); operatic singer Maureen Forrester (b.1930) and baritone Louis Quilico (b.1931); and singers Leonard Cohen (b.1934), Burton Cummings (b.1947), and Corey Hart (b.1962).
Noted francophone Québecois authors include novelists Yves Thériault (1915-83), Roger Lemelin (b.1919), and Hubert Aquin (1929-77); and poets François-Xavier Garneau (1809-66), Octave Crémazie (1827-79), Émile Nelligan (1879-1941), Gratien Gélinas (b.1909), Anne Hébert (b.1916), and Roch Carrier (b.1937). Famous anglophone authors include critic Northrop Frye (1912-91), novelists Constance Beresford-Howe (b.1922), Mordecai Richler (b.1931); short story writer Mavis Gallant (b.1922); and poet F. R. Scott (1899-1985). Distinguished Québec authors known for their works in both French and English include novelist Marie-Claire Blais (b.1939), poet and novelist Nicole Brossard (b.1943), and playwright Michel Tremblay (b.1942). Sculptor Akeeaktashuk (1898-1954) was one of the first Inuit artists to receive individual acclaim.
Québec has been the home of many great hockey players, including Maurice "Rocket" Richard (b.1921), Jacques Plante (b.1929), Jean Beliveau (b.1931), Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion (b.1931), Rodrique "Rod" Gilbert (b.1941), Yvan Serge Cournoyer (b.1943), Bernard Marcel Parent (b.1945), Marcel Dionne (b.1951), Guy Damien Lafleur (b.1951), Richard Lionel "Rick" Martin (b.1951), Denis Charles Potvin (b.1953), Jean Ratelle (b.1953), Mike Bossy (b.1957), and Mario Lemieux (b.1965).
Schooling is available in both French and English. In 1995/96, Québec had 660,577 elementary and 492,629 secondary school students. There are 158 school boards. The Ministère de l'Éducation (ME) is responsible for determining which educational services are to be provided in the school system. Historically public schools were either Roman Catholic or Protestant. In the early 1990s, however, legislation was passed to eliminate the religious nature of the schools and to reorganize the system into French-language and English-language schools. Private schools number just 308; the ME subsidizes 187 of the private schools. In addition, some 4,000 pupils attend federal schools, and about 600 are enrolled in schools for the blind and the deaf. The Québec government spends about 25 percent of its annual provincial budget on education.
In 1996, 38 percent of the working population held a postsecondary diploma or university degree. The ME is responsible for managing higher education at Québec's colleges, which had 241,800 students in 1995/96. The 47 public colleges as well as 10 other institutions operated by the government (such as music conservatories, farm technology institutes, and the Institut de tourisme et d'hotellerie) charge no tuition. Québec also has 61 private colleges, of which 27 receive funding from the government.
The Université du Québec in Québec City, founded in 1968, is the second-largest university in Canada and the nation's largest French-language higher education institution; full-time enrollment in 1990/91 was 29,312. Other universities (with location and year founded) and their 1994/95 full-time enrollments include: Université Laval (Québec City, 1852), 34,296; McGill University (Montréal, 1821), 30,528; Université de Montréal (1920), 25,889; Concordia University (Montréal, 1974), 13,720; Université de Sherbrooke (1954), 13,364; and Bishop's University (Lennoxville, 1843), 2,480. Four of the province's seven universities offer courses taught in French (Université Laval, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, and Université du Québec); the other three offer instruction in English (McGill, Bishop's, and Concordia). Total university enrollment in 1997/98 was 131,074 full-time students and 101,021 part-time students.
In 1998 there were 77,020 live births in Québec, for a rate of about 10.5 per 1,000 residents. The death rate in 1998 was 7.3 per 1,000 residents, with 53,410 deaths occurring that year. Reported cases of selected diseases in 1996 included campylobacteriosis, 2,461; salmonellosis, 1,610; giardiasis, 934; hepatitis type B, 537; gonococcal infections, 478; and amebiasis, 250. There were 323 new AIDS cases reported in 1996. Between 1985 and 1998, 7,595 residents became infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Infant mortality in 1995 was 5.5 per 1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth in Québec is 81 years for females and 74 years for males. In 1995, Québec's health care personnel included the following (per 1,000 inhabitants): physicians, 1.98; dentists, 0.42; optometrists, 0.15; and pharmacists, 0.7.
Québec has over 700 health establishments, including 140 hospitals, 440 reception and long-term care centers, and 132 rehabilitation centers. Québec has about 2.7 hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants.
Québec had over 2.85 million occupied private dwellings in 1996, when the province had 2.82 million private households, with an average size of 2.5 persons. Montréal and Québec City had 773,395 and 262,290 households, respectively. There are 1.27 million households residing in single family detached housing, accounting for 45 percent of all households in Québec.
By 1931, some 63 percent of Québec's population lived in cities, up from 36 percent in 1901. During those thirty years, the population of Montréal doubled to over 818,000, accounting for over 28 percent of the province's growth.
Québec's estimated 1998 population of 7.33 million is equivalent to 24 percent of the national total. About 78 percent of Quebeckers live in urban centers located along the St. Lawrence. Montréal and its suburbs had an estimated population of 3.38 million in 1998, making it the second largest metropolitan area in the nation. Québec City, North America's oldest fortified city and Québec's capital, is a seaport with an estimated metropolitan population of 700,000 in 1998 (eighth in Canada). The Québec portion of the Ottawa-Hull metropolitan area had a population of 258,200 in 1996. Other metropolitan areas and their 1996 populations (and national rankings) include: Chicoutimi-Jonquière, 160,454 (21st); Sherbrooke, 147,384 (22d); and Trois-Rivières, 139,956 (23d). That year, Québec had 21 cities with 50,000 inhabitants or more.
Québec, with the Grands Ballet Canadiens, is well-known for its numerous dance companies, and a North American center for dance. Montréal annually hosts the Festival international de nouvelle danse, which attracts dance professionals from around the world. Montréal also has some 50 theaters and 20 permanent theater companies that stage traditional works as well as a repertory from Québec's avant-garde playwrights. Québec also offers several yearly music festivals, including a classical music competition, the Festival international de Lanaudière, and the International Jazz Festival, all in Montréal; the Festival d'été de Québec (a summer music festival) is held in Québec City. Cinema productions by the National Film Board of Canada in Québec have recently included Denys Arcand's The Decline of the American Empire and Jesus of Montréal, and Frédérick Back's The Man Who Planted Trees. In 1994, 59 percent of Québec's population attended the cinema, 48 percent attended a musical performance, and 18 percent went to an arts festival.
As of 1998, Québec had 44 AM and 89 FM radio stations, and 49 television stations. In 1996, 98.8 percent of households had a television; cable television served 66.7 percent of households that year. About 77 percent of all television programming is Canadian francophone programming. Montréal produces 65 percent of the world's French-language television programming and original productions. Montréal is also Canada's main routing center for international telecommunications connections--including one of the world's first digital telephone switching systems. Some 24 percent of all households had a personal computer in 1996.
Québec has 11 daily newspapers, with 9 published for French speakers and 2 for speakers of English. Montréal's dailies are Le Journal de Montréal, La Presse, Le Devoir, and The Gazette; Québec City has Le Journal de Québec and Le Soleil. More than 500 publications are printed in Québec, with over 400 in French and 75 in English. Québec has about 100 publishers and a dozen annual book fairs.
Professional sports teams include the Montréal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Montréal Expos of Major League Baseball, the first franchise the league awarded outside the United States. The Canadiens are the best-known team in hockey and have won the NHL championship (the Stanley Cup) a record 23 times--the earliest in 1924 and the most recent in 1993. The Montréal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League won the Grey Cup in 1970, 1974, and 1977. Major sporting events in Québec include an international tennis tournament, the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Grand Prix cycliste des Amériques, the Valleyfield International Regatta, the international swim across Lac Saint-Jean, and the Harricana snowmobile rally from southern Québec to James Bay. Montréal hosted the summer Olympics in 1976. Harness racing in Québec attracted an attendance of over 1.4 million in 1996.
Popular summer recreational activities include sailing, golf, cycling, swimming, and tennis. Downhill skiing on world-class slopes, cross-country skiing, and ice hockey and skating are popular winter activities.
In 1996, Québec had over 8.5 million acres (3.4 million hectares) in 35,991 farms, of which 4.3 million acres (1.7 million hectares) were in crops. Field crop production in 1996 included hay and fodder, 2.18 million tons; grain and corn for silage, 919,044 tons; barley, 309,438 tons; and oats, 210,934 tons. Carrots, green cabbage, onions, apples, strawberries, potatoes, wheat, and tobacco are also grown. Cash receipts for field crops in 1996 totaled C$419.7 million; fruits and vegetables, C$284.7 million; and floriculture and nurseries, C$137.7 million.
Dairy, beef, pork, and poultry production significantly contribute to provincial self-sufficiency in food. Québec has over 23,000 livestock farms, covering 1.28 million acres (519,804 hectares) in 1996. About 56 percent are dairy farms 28 percent cattle farms, 10 percent pig farms, 4 percent poultry farms, and 2 percent livestock combination farms. There are also about 140 farms that raise foxes and minks for their pelts. In 1996, cash receipts from hog products totaled C$923.7 million; cattle, C$343.2 million; and poultry, C$544.9 million. Québec's 471,900 dairy cows generated more than C$1.29 billion in cash receipts in milk products that year.
Québec is not a significant producer of petroleum, natural gas, or coal. In 1995, oil accounted for 42 percent of energy consumption; electricity, 41 percent; natural gas, 16 percent; and coal, 1 percent. The industrial sector accounts for 60 percent of natural gas consumption in Québec, and the federal government has recently encouraged industrial conversion from oil to natural gas.
Québec has enormous hydroelectric resources; electricity output increased 132 percent between 1971 and 1991. Hydroelectricity is controlled by Hydro-Québec, a state-owned company that distributes electricity throughout Québec, the maritime provinces, and to much of New England. In 1995, electricity generated in the province totaled 200.8 billion kilowatt hours (75 percent by Hydro-Québec) and consumption within the province amounted to 161 billion kilowatt hours.
In January 1998, a blackout left 3 million people without power at the peak of a five-day storm. About 400,000 Hydro-Quebec customers went three weeks without power. The blackout occurred when transmission lines fell from the weight of ice.
Commercial fishing in Québec benefits from some of the most productive fishing areas in the Atlantic as well as large consumer markets for fish and fish products. As of 1996, Québec had 1,741 registered commercial fishing vessels. That year, total landings amounted to 55,718 tons (50,561 metric tons) and were valued at nearly C$134 million, fifth among the provinces. About 75 percent of the annual provincial fisheries production is exported, especially crustaceans and shellfish. In 1997, production from aquaculture (fish farming) was valued at C$4.6 million, mostly trout and salmon.
In 1998, Québec had over 1 million residents licensed to fish within the province.
Québec's forests cover 207.3 million acres (83.9 million hectares). About 62 percent of Québec's lands are covered with forests, of which 58 percent is softwood. About 89 percent is provincial Crown land, while 11 percent is owned privately. Major softwood species include white, black, and red spruce as well as balsam fir and eastern white pine. Common hardwood species include sugar and red maple, trembling aspen, paper and yellow birch, and American beech. In 1996, the total timber harvest was 1.27 billion cubic feet (35.9 million cubic meters). Forestry product processing in Québec is diversified and includes furniture and lumber, wood chip mills, sawmills, and particle board and plywood plants. Forestry directly accounted for 104,000 jobs and indirectly for another 77,000 jobs in 1997. Québec's forestry exports had a value of C$10.3 billion in 1997, primarily newsprint (31 percent), paper and paperboard (27 percent), and softwood lumber (19 percent).
Québec is one of the world's 10 leading mineral producers. Metallic minerals predominate and include gold, copper, zinc, silver, iron, and asbestos. Production amounts for 1997 included the following (in metric tons): stone, 28.6 million (valued at C$182 million); cement, 2.9 million (C$219.8 million); zinc, 181,863 (C$335.4 million); copper, 126,002 (C$402.6 million); asbestos, 447 (C$224 million); silver, 204 (C$43.6 million). Gold production that year was 37,430 grams (1,203 troy ounces), valued at C$555.8 million. The total value of mineral production in 1997 was C$3.31 billion, to which metals contributed 66 percent; and industrial minerals, 34 percent.
In 1996, total trade amounted to more than C$181.5 billion, or C$24,568 per capita (per person). That year, 38 percent of trade was with other provinces and 62 percent was international. Québec's trade balance in 1996 had a deficit of C$38.4 million.
International trade totaled C$112.1 billion in 1996. Major export areas for Québec include the forest industry (printing, lumber and paper), mining (aluminum and iron ore) and transportation equipment manufacturing.
Québec's economy is highly industrialized and quite diversified. The province has abundant natural resources and energy, along with well-developed agriculture, manufacturing, and service sectors. The service sector is by far the largest sector of the economy, followed by manufacturing; finance, insurance, and real estate; public administration and defense; retail trade; wholesale trade; transportation; utilities; agriculture, forestry, fishing, and mining; communications; and warehousing. In 1997, the gross domestic product was C$186.37 billion, or 21.7 percent of the national total.
The fiscal year runs from 1 April to 31 March. For fiscal year 1997/98, total revenues were C$38.1 billion; expenditures totaled C$40.3 billion. The largest expenditure items were health and social services, education, finance, income security, health insurance, transport, and municipal affairs. In the 1997/98 fiscal year, provincial debt amounted to 55.9 percent of the gross domestic product, the highest rate in Canada.
Personal disposable income was C$15,773 per person in 1996. Average family income in the province was C$49,261 in 1995. As of 1997, average weekly earnings in the province amounted to C$564.98. The minimum wage was C$6.80 per hour in 1997.
Québec's manufacturing sector produces a wide variety of high quality products for export, such as air traffic control equipment, software, subway trains, helicopters, compact discs, air purifiers, and toys. More than 60 percent of the province's manufacturing firms are small or medium-sized companies. Montréal accounts for 70 percent of Québec's manufacturing production and is especially strong in space and aeronautics, telecommunications, energy, and transportation. In 1997, the value of manufacturers' shipments totaled C$101.4 billion, of which food and beverages accounted for about 12 percent; transportation equipment, 12 percent; paper, 12 percent; primary metal processing, 9 percent; electrical and electronic products, 9 percent; textiles and apparel, 8 percent; chemical products, 7 percent; metal products, 5 percent; and other industries, 26 percent.
The number of legal working age people in Québec totaled 5.67 million in 1996, with a participation rate of 62.3 percent. In 1996, Québec's labor force numbered around 3.54 million, with 3.12 million employed and about 417,100 unemployed, giving an unemployment rate of 11.8 percent. The overall unemployment rate for 1997 was 11.4 percent. In 1996, 38.2 percent of the nonagricultural jobs were in social, cultural, commercial, and personal services; 18.3 percent in manufacturing; 18.6 percent in trade; 7.7 percent in transportation, communications, and utilities; 6.6 percent in public administration; 5.8 percent in finance, insurance, and real estate; 3.7 percent in construction; and 1.1 percent in fishing, forestry, and mining. Agricultural employment was about 78,300 in 1996.
The overall unionization level for Québec in 1996 was 41.8 percent. At that time, 947,234 employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements, down from 978,392 in 1991. Memberships in Québec's largest unions in 1996 were: the Québec Federation of Labor, 354,423; the Confederation of National Trade Unions, 230,938; and the Québec Teachers' Union, 89,415.
Unlike other provinces, Québec administers and collects its own corporate and personal income taxes. The retail sales tax was 7.5 percent in 1998. Major consumption taxes are levied on gasoline and tobacco. In 1997, the average two-income family of four in Québec with a cash income of C$55,000 paid C$17,197 (31.3 percent) in provincial and federal taxes.
Corporate income tax rates in 1997 were as follows: small business rate, 5.75 percent; general business rate, 8.9 percent; and capital tax rate, 0.56-1.28 percent. Although personal taxes are among the highest in Canada, corporations in Québec have one of the lowest overall tax rates on profits in North America.
| Canada Tourism Commission. Canada. [Online] http://206.191.33.50/tourism/ |
| Official WWW site of the Government of Quebec. [Online] http://www.gouv.qc.ca/introa.htm |
| World Travel Guide. Canada. [Online] http://www.wtgonline.com/country/ca/index.html |
Source Citation: "QUÉBEC." Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Canadian Provinces, 2nd ed. U*X*L, 1999. Reproduced in Discovering Collection. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale Group. October, 2001. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/DC/