Quebec (French: Québec) is one of the ten provinces of Canada, located in the Eastern part of the country and extends north from the United States border to Hudson Strait and east from the shores of Hudson Bay to the region of Labrador.
Because of the splendor and diversity of its landscape and architecture, Québec is known as La Belle Province ("The Beautiful Province").
Québec is Canada’s largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division, next only to the territory of Nunavut.
It is the second most populated province next to Ontario, and most of its inhabitants live along or close to the banks of the Saint Lawrence River. The central and North portion of the province is sparsely populated and inhabited by the aboriginal peoples of Canada.
Québec is unique among the Canadian provinces in that the vast majority of its population is of French descent and speaks French as a first language English is not an official language at the provincial level. To many French Canadians, Québec is far more than a province; it is a cultural homeland.
The province’s enormous size and geographical variety have resulted in a wide range of climates and economic activities, and a wide distribution of population. Québec’s landscape is divided into three major regions: the Canadian Shield, the St. Lawrence Lowlands, and the Appalachian Region.
The Canadian Shield, which lies in the northern part of the province, makes up the overwhelming majority of Québec’s territory. This region is sparsely inhabited as cold temperatures and permafrost (permanently frozen ground) make it unsuitable for agriculture.
However, the Canadian Shield and the southeastern Appalachian Region are rich in natural resources. As a result, mining, forestry, and hydroelectric power production predominate in those areas.
The St. Lawrence Lowlands, sandwiched between the other two regions, form the agricultural, industrial, and commercial center of Québec. The province’s population is largely concentrated in this region, which is where most of Québec’s largest cities are located.
Québec is the oldest province in Canada, settled by the French in the 1600s. Then called the Province of Canada, Québec formed part of the colonial empire of New France until the Seven Years’ War, when it was conquered by Great Britain. The 1763 Treaty of Paris formally transferred the colony to British possession.
Québec was one of the four original provinces that united in 1867 to form the Dominion of Canada. Its capital, Québec City, is the oldest city in Canada, and its largest city, Montréal, is the second largest metropolitan area in the country after Toronto, Ontario.
While the province’s substantial natural resources have long been the mainstay of its economy, Québec has renewed itself to function effectively in the knowledge economy: information and communication technologies, aerospace, biotechnology, and health industries.
Following are the province’s principal urban areas, in order of population (Statistics Canada, 2006 estimates).
- Québec’s largest city is Montréal.
- The provincial capital is Québec City.
- Montréal’s metropolitan area includes Laval, which occupies an island, Île Jésus (Jesus Island), northwest of Montréal.
The province’s other large cities include
- Longueuil, a residential and industrial suburb of Montréal;
- Gatineau, an industrial city on the Ottawa River; and
- Sherbrooke, a trading and manufacturing center located east of Montréal.