Quebec

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Quebec , Fr. Québec , province (2001 pop. 7,237,479), 594,860 sq mi (1,553,637 sq km), E Canada.

Geography

Quebec is bounded on the N by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay, on the E by the Labrador area of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on the S by New Brunswick and the United States, and on the W by Ontario, James Bay, and Hudson Bay. Quebec is Canada's largest province; it is three times the size of France and seven times the size of Great Britain. The Canadian (or Laurentian) Shield underlies the northern nine tenths of the province, which is relatively unexplored and uninhabited; the region has been planed by glacial action into a pattern of rounded hills (including the Laurentian Mts.), swiftly flowing rivers, and numerous lakes and bogs. Dense forests cover much of the land, and the region is rich in minerals.

South of the Canadian Shield lies the great St. Lawrence River. On both sides of the river south of Quebec city are lowlands that are the centers of agriculture, commerce, and industry. Quebec city and Trois Rivières are on the north bank of the river, and Montreal , the leading industrial center of Canada, occupies an island where the Ottawa River joins the St. Lawrence. Another industrial center is the region of Jonquière and Chicoutimi, on the Saguenay River north of Quebec city. In the southeast are the Appalachian Highlands, which run parallel to the St. Lawrence. The Gaspé Peninsula , on the south of the St. Lawrence, extends into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Quebec's climate is generally temperate, with variations among the regions. Tourism is important throughout the province during the summer season, and in the winter the Laurentian Mts. attract skiers. The Eastern Townships (Estrie) region, near the New York and Vermont borders, has many fashionable lake and country resorts. Quebec has vast waterpower resources—Hydro-Quebec is the largest producer of electricity in Canada. The massive James Bay Project , whose first phases exploited the flow of La Grande and nearby rivers, was dealt a severe blow in 1992, when the New York State Power Authority refused to sign a purchase contract; the proposed development of the Great Whale River was held up by opposition from the Cree who live in and claim the area. Further work on the entire project was suspended in 1994, but a 2002 agreement with the Cree allowed completion of the La Grande complex.

The city of Quebec is the capital. Montreal is the largest city; other important centers are Verdun , Laval , Trois Rivières, Gatineau , Sherbrooke , and Hull .

Economy and Higher Education

The forests of the north yield wood for pulp, paper, and lumber industries, and throughout the north copper, iron, zinc, silver, and gold are mined. Iron ore deposits in the Ungava Bay region have been exploited in recent decades. Asbestos is found in the far north, but more importantly in the Thetford Mines region of the Appalachian Highlands. Jonquière has one of the world's largest aluminum plants.

The small farms of the lowlands yield dairy products, sugar beets, and tobacco. Quebec is second to Ontario among the Canadian provinces in industrial production. Its main manufactures include refined petroleum, food products, beverages, motor vehicles, aircraft, clothing, furniture, iron and steel, chemicals, and metal and paper products. The fur and fishing trades are still important in Quebec. The service sector has grown significantly since 1970. Although many anglophone businesses have abandoned the Montreal area since the 1960s in response to separatist agitation and provincial laws requiring the nearly exclusive use of French, Quebec continues to be a center of international commerce. Montreal and Quebec city are both tourist magnets.

Quebec has many universities, including Bishop's Univ., at Lennoxville; Concordia Univ., McGill Univ., and the Univ. of Montreal, at Montreal; Laval Univ., at Quebec city; the Univ. of Sherbrooke, at Sherbrooke; and the Univ. of Quebec, with an administrative center at Sainte-Foy and campuses at Chicoutimi, Hull, Montreal, Rimouski, Rouyn, and Trois Rivières.

History and Politics

Early History

Since many continental explorations began in the region, Quebec has been called the cradle of Canada. In 1534, Jacques Cartier planted a cross on the Gaspé and the following year he sailed up the St. Lawrence. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain built a trading post on the site of the present-day Quebec city, and from this and subsequent settlements Catholic missionaries, explorers, and fur traders penetrated the North American continent. The activities of private fur-trading companies ended, for a time, in 1663 when Louis XIV made the region, then known as New France, a royal colony and chose Jean Baptiste Talon to be intendant, or administrator.

The long struggle to protect the colony and the fur trade from the Iroquois (other tribes were allies of the French) and the British was effectively lost in 1759, when the British defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham (see Abraham, Plains of ). By the Treaty of Paris of 1763, Great Britain acquired New France. In an attempt to conciliate the French inhabitants, the British passed the Quebec Act of 1774, under which the colony was allowed to continue its semifeudal system of land tenure and to retain its language, religion, legal system, and customs.

After the American Revolution, many British Loyalists came to settle in Quebec. By the Constitutional Act of 1791 the British separated the area west of the Ottawa River and created the colony of Upper Canada (now Ontario) there. Quebec became known as Lower Canada, and in 1791 the first elective assembly was introduced.

The resentment of leaders of the French community toward the British precipitated a revolt in 1837 led by Louis Papineau . Although the rebellion was crushed, the disturbances in Upper and Lower Canada caused the British to send the Earl of Durham (see Durham, John George Lambton, 1st earl of ) to study conditions in the British North American colonies. His report led ultimately to internal self-government and the creation of the Canadian confederation. Upper and Lower Canada were reunited in 1841, and Quebec became known as Canada East. Responsible (elected) government was granted in 1849.

Confederation and the French-English Question

With the formation of the confederation of Canada in 1867, Canada East became the province of Quebec. Provisions for the preservation of its special, traditional institutions were specifically written into the Canadian constitution. English and French were made the official languages of both Quebec and the Canadian parliament, and a dual school system was established within Quebec. However, in 1974 French was made the sole official language of the province, and all non-English-speaking children were required to attend French-language schools. But the coexistence of majority-French and minority-English cultures within the province and the reverse situation within Canada as a whole have remained sources of tension. Attempts in Manitoba and Ontario at the beginning of the 20th cent. to curtail or abolish separate Catholic schools increased the French Canadians' feeling of isolation. In 1917 they vehemently opposed conscription for World War I.

Twentieth-Century Economic and Political Developments

During the 20th cent. great economic growth in Quebec was coupled with increased determination to maintain and broaden provincial rights. The boundary between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador was only finalized in 1927, when Newfoundland was not yet part of Canada; although the boundary was accepted by Canada, Quebec has never officially recognized it. In the 1960s separatist groups, advocating an independent Quebec, gained attention. In 1970 separatist terrorists kidnapped a British diplomat, James R. Cross, and the Quebec Minister of Labour, Pierre Laporte. Cross was later released, but Laporte was found murdered.

In 1976 the Parti Québécois (PQ), a party of French-Canadian nationalists formed in 1970, won control of the provincial parliament under René Lévesque . The new government initiated a series of language and cultural reforms whereby the use of English was discouraged; this caused an out-migration of English-speakers and their companies, mainly to Ontario. During the 1980s, however, Montreal attracted many high-technology and financial services companies.

In 1980, Lévesque's plan for an independent Quebec, called sovereignty-association, was rejected in a provincial referendum by 60% of the voters. The PQ was returned to power in 1981, however, and in 1982 the provincial government refused to accept the new Canadian constitution. From 1985 to 1994, the Liberal party, led by Robert Bourassa and Daniel Johnson, controlled the assembly. In 1987 there appeared to be progress on the issue of Quebec separatism, when the Meech Lake Accord was signed, but the accord collapsed in 1990. A package of constitutional reforms was subsequently drafted by the Canadian government and presented to voters in a national referendum in Oct., 1992, but it was defeated.

In 1994 the PQ, now led by Jacques Parizeau, regained control of the provincial government. A referendum on independence was narrowly defeated in Oct., 1995. Parizeau announced his resignation and was replaced in 1996 by Lucien Bouchard , who had led the Bloc Québécois in Ottawa. Quebec was recognized by Parliament as a "distinct society" because of its language and culture and was granted a veto over constitutional amendments. Separatists said the changes were symbolic and vowed to continue their struggle. They suffered two blows in 1998, however, when Canada's Supreme Court ruled that Quebec could not legally secede on its own and the PQ's majority shrank in provincial elections.

In 1999 polls showed that support for secession had shrunk to about 40% of Quebec voters; in the Oct., 2000, national elections the Bloc Québécois received fewer votes than the Liberals for the first time since 1980. A federal law designed to make it harder for Quebec to secede was passed in July, 2000; it required that a clear majority support a clearly worded proposition and that borders, the seceding province's responsibility for a share of the national debt, and other issues be resolved by negotiations. In 2001, Bouchard resigned; he was succeeded as premier by the new PQ party leader, Bernard Landry. The Liberals, led by Jean Charest , decisively defeated the PQ in the Apr., 2003, elections, and Charest became premier. In the Mar., 2007, provincial elections, the Liberals lost seats but secured a plurality and formed a minority government. Charest called for new elections in Dec., 2008, and succeeded in securing a legislative majority.

Quebec sends 24 senators and 75 representatives to the national parliament.

Bibliography

See C. C. Nish, ed., Quebec in the Duplessis Era, 1935–1959 (1970); F. Grenier, ed., Quebec (1972); W. D. Coleman, The Independence Movement in Quebec, 1945–80 (1984); A. Greer, Peasant, Lord and Merchant: Rural Society in Three Quebec Parishes, 1740–1840 (1985); R. Handler, Nationalism and the Politics of Culture in Quebec (1988); H. Guidon, Quebec Society (1988).

Quebec Colonized by the French as New France, it came under British control in 1763, though in order to obtain the support of the French-speaking majority against the emerging USA, the British allowed its distinctive culture and education to continue. Ever since, its identity has been closely linked to the perceived threat to its culture from the USA to the south and from the English-speaking areas to the west. For almost a century after the creation of the Confederation of Canada in 1867, it chose to ally itself with the English-speaking areas, since the USA was clearly the greater threat to its existence. An agricultural territory largely without industries before 1900, 500,000 of its population had emigrated to the USA (1850–1900) in search of employment. Initially a bastion of the Conservative Party (Progressive Conservative Party), it became a Liberal stronghold from 1896/7, when Laurier became Canada's first Prime Minister from Quebec. The province's crucial support for the Liberal Party beyond Laurier's period in office ensured that the federal government, which had been hitherto preoccupied with the development of Ontario and the new western provinces, began to invest more heavily in Quebec's infrastructural and economic development. This facilitated its industrialization from around 1900, which was triggered by demand in the US market. The Great Depression caused further emigration to other parts of Canada and the USA, and focused increased attention on the province's relative backwardness compared with the rest of Canada. This led to the victory of the Union Nationale party in 1936, which continued to govern the province until 1960, with one brief interruption (1939–44).

Economic progress during the 1940s and 1950s did not bring social or cultural change, and this led to the election victory of the Liberals in 1960, heralding the Quiet Revolution. Industrial relations were regulated, education became a state matter, and industries came under provincial control. The power of the provincial government was substantially enhanced, both within Quebec society, and against the federal government in Ottawa. It was soon recognized that this development would lead to a fundamental shift of Quebec's role within Canada. A hitherto backward and insulated society which had sought to preserve its culture against its principal threat, US cultural and economic domination, had attained economic and social maturity without threatening its identity.

To a more self-confident and assertive Quebec, the principal threat to its cultural identity appeared to be no longer the USA, but an English-speaking Canadian majority seemingly refusing to recognize its distinctiveness. This became clear when the separatist Parti Québecois (PQ) won the provincial elections of 1976. Its referendum on the province's sovereignty failed, however, as most Québecois defined their distinctive identity within, rather than outside, a Canadian context. The move for further sovereignty gained ground during the 1980s, owing to the failure of the federal Constitution in 1982 (Canadian Constitution, patriation of) and of the Meech Lake Accord to take sufficient account of the province's grievances. In a renewed referendum of 1995, the Bloc Québecois narrowly lost, whereupon separatism's most popular advocate, Bouchard, became Premier in an attempt to boost the popularity of the PQ by addressing the province's economic problems. However, the Province's economic backwardness relative to the rest of Canada and the potential costs of separation became a liability for the PQ. The Liberal Party won the 2003 Provincial elections by gaining 76 out of 125 seats, and formed a government headed by Jean Charest.

Quebec Fr. Québec, city (1991 pop. 167,517), provincial capital, S Que., Canada, at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and St. Charles rivers. The population is largely French speaking, and the town is at the ideological core of French Canada. Quebec is an important port and is an industrial, cultural, service, and tourist center. Part of the city is built on the waterfront and is called Lower Town; that part called Upper Town is on Cape Diamond, a bluff rising c.300 ft (91 m) above the St. Lawrence. Winding, narrow streets link the two sections of the city. The chief industries are shipbuilding and tourism, and the manufacture of pulp, paper, newsprint, leather products, textiles, clothing, machinery, and foods and beverages. The site of Quebec was visited by Cartier in 1535, and in 1608 Champlain established a French colony in the present Lower Town; this was captured (1629) by the English, who held it until 1632. In 1663, Quebec was made the capital of New France and became the center of the fur trade. The city was unsuccessfully attacked by the English in 1690 and 1711. Finally in 1759 English forces under Wolfe defeated the French under Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham (see Abraham, Plains of ) and captured Quebec. During the American Revolution, Americans under Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold failed (1775–76) to capture the city, although Arnold briefly held the Lower Town. Quebec became the capital of Lower Canada in 1791. After the union (1841) of Upper and Lower Canada, it was twice the capital of the United Provinces of Canada (1851–55 and 1859–65). The Quebec Conference was held in the city in 1864. Historic old Quebec, much of which is preserved, was named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations. There are many notable old structures, including the Ursuline Convent (1639); the Basilica of Notre Dame (1647); Quebec Seminary (1663); and parts of the fortifications enclosing Old Quebec. The surrounding area also has many notable sights, such as Montmorency Falls, the Île d'Orléans, and the shrine of Ste Anne de Beaupré. Laval Univ. is a center for the city's largely francophone culture.

Bibliography: See M. de la Roche, Quebec, Historic Seaport (1944); W. P. Percival, The Lure of Quebec (rev. ed. 1965); M. Gaumond, Place Royale: Its Houses and Their Occupants (tr. 1971); D. T. Ruddel, Quebec City, Seventeen Sixty-Five to Eighteen Thirty-Two (1988).

Québec Province in e Canada; the second-largest province in area and in population; the capital is Québec and the largest city is Montréal. Most of the province, however, is on the Canadian Shield and is relatively uninhabited. In 1535, Jacques Cartier landed on the Gaspé Peninsula of e Canada, and in 1536 he sailed up the St Lawrence River. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain established the first settlement on the present-day site of Québec City. It served as headquarters for the fur-traders' exploration of the interior. Following the French and Indian Wars (1754–63), Britain gained French Canada in the Treaty of Paris (1763). Québec retained its distinctive French culture. The Constitution Act of 1791 separated off the area w of the Ottawa River as the colony of Upper Canada (now Ontario). Québec became the British colony of Lower Canada. The revolt (1837) led by Louis Papineau saw the appointment of the Earl of Durham. With the establishment of the Dominion of Canada in 1867, Québec became a province. In the late 20th century, the French-speaking inhabitants of the province intensified their demands for recognition of their cultural heritage, including complete independence. In a 1995 referendum, a small majority of the population voted against independence. The lowlands by the St Lawrence River are the centre of industry and agriculture; the province's small farms provide vegetables, tobacco and dairy produce. Québec produces much hydroelectric power and timber. Copper, iron, zinc, asbestos and gold are mined. Area: 1,540,687sq km (594,860sq mi). Pop. (2001) 7,237,479.

http://www.gouv.qc.ca

Québec (Québec) City and seaport at the confluence of the St Lawrence and St Charles rivers, s Québec province, Canada; capital of Québec province. Samuel de Champlain established a French trading post here in 1608. Captured by the British in 1629, France later regained the city and it became the capital of New France in 1663. Britain took control of Québec at the end of the French and Indian Wars (1754–63). It served as the capital of Lower Canada (1791–1841) and of the United Provinces of Canada (1851–55, 1859–65), before becoming capital of Québec province in 1867. In recent years, the city of Québec has become a focal point for Canada's French-speaking separatists. Industries: shipbuilding, paper, leather, textiles, machinery, canned food, tobacco, chemicals. Pop. (2001) 169,076; 682,757 (metropolitan).

Quebec, Canada Stadacona A province and a city‐port which was originally a Huron village called Stadacona. This was discovered by Samuel de Champlain^† who is credited with founding the city of Quebec in 1608. The city was captured by the British in 1759 and ceded to Great Britain in 1763. At the same time the colony of New France, claimed for France by Jacques Cartier^† in 1534, became the province of Quebec. In 1791 it was renamed Lower Canada and in 1841 Canada East. The present Province of Quebec came into existence in 1867 when the Confederation of Canada was created. The name is derived from the Algonquian quililbek ‘place where the waters narrow’, a reference to the lessening width of the St Lawrence River here.

University of Quebec administrative center at Sainte Foy, Que., Canada; provincially supported; French language; founded 1968. Its largest campus is at Montreal and there are also campuses at Trois Rivières, Chicoutimi, Rimouski, Hull, and Rouyn. The university maintains a school of advanced technology at Montreal, an oceanography center at Rimouski, and a gerontological institute at Hull. A popular distance-learning program, the Télé-Université (1972), is run from Sainte-Foy.

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