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'''Quebec''' ([[English language|English]] version) or  '''Québec''' (in [[French language|French]]) is a province of [[Canada]] with more than 8 million people.<ref>See [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-PR.cfm Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2001 and 1996 Censuses]</ref> Its capital is [[Quebec City]] and its largest city is [[Montreal, Quebec]]. The official name has been "Quebec" since Confederation in 1867. From 1534 to 1763 it was part of [[New France]]. It has also been called "Province of Quebec" (1763-91), "Lower Canada" (1791-1841), and "Canada East" in the Province of Canada (1841-67).


'''Quebec''' is a [[Canada|Canadian]] province. In 2007 its population is more than 7 million people.<ref>See [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-PR.cfm Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2001 and 1996 Censuses]</ref>
== History ==
See [[History of Quebec]]


==Language and identity==
==Status==
Unlike the rest of Canada, which is anglophone, the majority of Quebec's population speaks [[French]] - although due to immigration  there are important communities speaking English, Italian, and Spanish. The issue of language has been a central political concern for over a century, and has heightened in intensity in recent decades as the provincial government has systemeaticlly restricted the use of other languages in schools and signage.
The provincial government currently considers Québec to be a "distinct society" within Canada, a status that the federal government recognized in a statement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in November 2006.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/parliament39/quebecnation-history.html Quebec Nationalism article, CBC News backgrounder]</ref> That  status is reflected in many provincial policies, such as the stringent language laws that vigorously protect the use of French as the sole official language of the province. [[Québecois]] culture has also manifested itself in unique cultural, religious and legal institutions. The Quiet Revolution of the 1960s cast off Catholic traditionalism and modernized and secularized Quebec, and also set off a demand for equality within, or even independence from, Canada; in referenda, voters twice narrowly rejected seeking independence.


Quebec has distanced itself from a Canadian identity, and businesses have followed suit. For example, in 2007 Bombardier's  new national TV ad campaign extols the plane-and-train maker's Canadian identity, but omits any such reference in the French-language version. "Planes. Trains. Canadian Spirit" becomes "Planes. Trains. A Source of Pride" in the French TV spots ("Des avions. Des trains. Une fierté").  Advertisers have long realized that many of Quebec's francophone speakers are hostile to ads containing pro-Canada sentiments. Wal-Mart Canada's Quebec communications chief explains, "In many cases, if you have a prominent reference to Canada, half the population won't listen or will be irritated." Labatt's popular Blue brand of beer sports a Maple Leaf on its label, but in Quebec it is replaced with a red wheat sheaf. Molson Coors beer company did not run the famous "I Am Canadian" TV ads in Quebec; it sells its Molson Dry brand in Quebec while the Canadian brand is its flagship brew in the rest of Canada.<ref> Bertrand Marotte, "'I Am Canadian' - but not necessarily in Quebec marketing," in ''Globe and Mail'' December 7, 2007 at [http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071207.r-quebec08/BNStory/robMarketing/home]</ref>
== Politics ==
In 1998 Canada's Supreme Court ruled that Quebec could not unilaterally secede and form a new country, as had been attempted in 1995 However, a clear majority in a referendum would force negotiations with the central government.


== History ==
Lucien Bouchard served as Quebec's premier from 1996 until his resignation in 2001.  He had joined the Parti Québécois in 1971 and chaired the "oui" (pro-independentist) side in the failed 1980 referendum.<ref> See [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000899 article in ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2000) </ref>  He attempted to address high unemployment and cut the provincial deficit, particularly in the context of globalization and Quebec's developing national identity. In the areas of trade and investment, there was some success, especially as a result of the [[NAFTA|North American Free Trade Agreement]]. Secession remained at the forefront of the political agenda. The April 2003 provincial elections, which were a three-way race between the Parti Libéral du Québec (PLQ), the incumbent Parti Québécois (PQ), and the Action Démocratique du Québec (ADQ). Jean Charest,<ref> He resigned as national Conservative leader in April 1998 and became Québec Liberal (PLQ) leader in May 1998. See [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0011432 article in ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2000) </ref> a former federal Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, led the PLQ to win the majority of seats in the National Assembly of Quebec, with 76 seats to 45 for PQ and 4 for ADQ. The issue of municipal reform and merger/consolidation proved unpopular in many areas, hurting the PQ. The PLQ's unprecedented majority symbolizes a new phase in Quebec politics and not the death of separatism. Charest and the PLQ have been aggressive in reforming the provision of government services by privatizing in some areas.<ref> James P. Allan and Richard Vengroff, "The Changing Party System in Quebec: the 2003 Elections and Beyond." ''Québec Studies'' 2004 (37): 3-22. Issn: 0737-3759 </ref>


=== The first explorers ===
==Language and identity==
Unlike the rest of Canada, which is anglophone, the majority of Quebec's population speaks French - although due to immigration  there are important communities speaking English, Italian, and Spanish.  The issue of language has been a central political concern for over a century, and has heightened in intensity in recent decades as the provincial government has restricted the use of other languages in schools, business and signage.


The first European explorer to reach the province of Quebec was Jacques Cartier from [[France]]. Sailing into the St. Lawrence river, he planted a cross in [[Gaspé]], on the south shore. The Cross officially gave France control over what would become "Nouvelle France", its North American colony. Moving down the river, Jacques Cartier established a settlement at Stadacona, near present-day [[Quebec City]]. The settlement was however abandoned in the following years, partly due to the cold winters. Another French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, would found  the next settlement in 1608. From that day forward, the French presence in Quebec has continued until the present.
Quebec has distanced itself from a Canadian identity, and businesses have followed suit. For example, in 2007 Bombardier's  new national TV ad campaign extols the plane-and-train maker's Canadian identity, but omits any such reference in the French-language version. "Planes. Trains. Canadian Spirit" becomes "Planes. Trains. A Source of Pride" in the French TV spots ("Des avions. Des trains. Une fierté").  Advertisers have long realized that many of Quebec's francophone speakers are hostile to ads containing pro-Canada sentiments. Wal-Mart Canada's Quebec communications chief explains, "In many cases, if you have a prominent reference to Canada, half the population won't listen or will be irritated." Labatt's popular Blue brand of beer sports a Maple Leaf on its label, but in Quebec it is replaced with a red wheat sheaf. Molson Coors beer company did not run the famous "I Am Canadian" TV ads in Quebec; it sells its Molson Dry brand in Quebec while the Canadian brand is its flagship brew in the rest of Canada.<ref> Bertrand Marotte, "'I Am Canadian' - but not necessarily in Quebec marketing," in ''Globe and Mail'' December 7, 2007 at [http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071207.r-quebec08/BNStory/robMarketing/home]</ref>


== Geography ==
== Geography ==
=== Cities ===
=== Cities ===
The ten largest cities by [[population]] in Quebec<ref>See [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=302&PR=24&S=1&O=A&RPP=25 Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses].</ref> are:
The ten largest cities by population in Quebec<ref>See [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=302&PR=24&S=1&O=A&RPP=25 Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses].</ref> are:
# [[Montreal]]
# [[Montreal, Quebec]]
# [[Quebec City]]  
# [[Quebec City]]  
# [[Laval]]
# [[Laval]]
Line 28: Line 31:
# [[Trois-Rivieres]]
# [[Trois-Rivieres]]
# [[Terrebonne]]
# [[Terrebonne]]
==Bibliography==
* ''Frommer's Montreal & Quebec City 2008'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Montreal-Quebec-City-Complete/dp/0470170433/ref=pd_bbs_sr_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199373095&sr=8-11 excerpt and text search]
* Kokker, Steve. ''Lonely Planet Quebec'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Quebec-Steve-Kokker/dp/1740590244/ref=pd_bbs_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199373095&sr=8-12 excerpt and text search]
===History===
* [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ ''The Dictionary of Canadian Biography''](1966-2006), thousands of scholarly biographies of those who died by 1930
* Armstrong, Elizabeth H. ''The Crisis of Quebec, 1914-1918'' (1937)
* Brecher, Frank W. ''Losing a Continent: France's North American Policy, 1753-1763'' (1998)
* Cohen, Andrew, J. L. Granatstein, eds. ''Trudeau's shadow: the life and legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau''. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 1999.
* Couture, Claude,  and Vivien Bosley. ''Paddling with the Current: Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Etienne Parent, Liberalism, and Nationalism in Canada'' (1998)
* Dechêne, Louise. ''Habitants and Merchants in Seventeenth-Century Montreal'' (2003)
* Dickinson, John Alexander, and Brian Young. (Paperback - Jan 2003) ''A Short History of Quebec'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Quebec-Alexander-Dickinson/dp/0773524509/ref=pd_bbs_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199373095&sr=8-7 excerpt and text search]
* Eccles, W. J.  ''The Canadian Frontier, 1534-1760'' (1983) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=10657323 online edition]
* Greer, Allan ''The people of New France'' (1997)
* Greer, Allan. ''The patriots and the people: the rebellion of 1837 in rural Lower Canada'' (1993)
* Innis, Harold A. ''The Fur Trade in Canada'' (1930)
* Jaenen, Cornelius. ''Friend and Foe'' (1976) brief survey of French-Indian relations in the 16th & 17th centuries.
* Lanctot, Gustave. ''A History of Canada'' 3 vol Toronto. 1963. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=3115015 Volume One: From its Origins to the Royal Régime, 1663; online],
[http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98311761 Volume Two: From the Royal Régime to the Treaty of Utrecht, 1663-1713, online]
* Linteau, Paul-André, René Durocher, Jean-Claude Robert, and Robert Chodos. ''Quebec: A History 1867-1929'' (1983) ''Quebec Since 1930'' (1991), standard 2 vol textbook.
*  Manning, Helen Taft; ''The Revolt of French Canada, 1800-1835: A Chapter of the History of the British Commonwealth'' (1962) [http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-revolt-of-french-canada-1800-1835-a-chapter-of-the-history-of-the-british-commonwealth-by-helen-taft-manning.jsp online edition]
* McRoberts, Kenneth. ''Quebec: Social Change and Political Crisis.'' McClelland and Stewart, 1988.
*  Moogk, Peter.; ''La Nouvelle France: The Making of French Canada a Cultural History'' (2000) to 1763 [http://www.questia.com/library/book/la-nouvelle-france-the-making-of-french-canada-a-cultural-history-by-peter-moogk.jsp online edition]
* Neatby, H. Blair. ''Laurier and a Liberal Quebec: A Study in Political Management'' (1973) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=8104462 online edition]
*  Saywell, John. ; ''The Rise of the Parti Québécois 1967-76'' (1977) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=1347933 online edition]
* Sweeny, Alastair. ''George-Etienne Cartier: A Biography'' (Toronto, 1976).
* Trofimenkoff, Susan Mann. ''Dream of Nation: A Social and Intellectual History of Quebec'' (1982)
* Trudel, Marcel. ''The Beginnings of New France 1524-1663'' (1973)
*  Wade, Mason. ''The French Canadians, 1760-1945'' (1955), standard history, 1136pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=8474052 onlineedition]
* Young, Brian, ''George-Etienne Cartier: Montreal bourgeois'' (1981)


====notes====
==Notes==
<References/>
<References/>

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Quebec (English version) or Québec (in French) is a province of Canada with more than 8 million people.[1] Its capital is Quebec City and its largest city is Montreal, Quebec. The official name has been "Quebec" since Confederation in 1867. From 1534 to 1763 it was part of New France. It has also been called "Province of Quebec" (1763-91), "Lower Canada" (1791-1841), and "Canada East" in the Province of Canada (1841-67).

History

See History of Quebec

Status

The provincial government currently considers Québec to be a "distinct society" within Canada, a status that the federal government recognized in a statement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in November 2006.[2] That status is reflected in many provincial policies, such as the stringent language laws that vigorously protect the use of French as the sole official language of the province. Québecois culture has also manifested itself in unique cultural, religious and legal institutions. The Quiet Revolution of the 1960s cast off Catholic traditionalism and modernized and secularized Quebec, and also set off a demand for equality within, or even independence from, Canada; in referenda, voters twice narrowly rejected seeking independence.

Politics

In 1998 Canada's Supreme Court ruled that Quebec could not unilaterally secede and form a new country, as had been attempted in 1995 However, a clear majority in a referendum would force negotiations with the central government.

Lucien Bouchard served as Quebec's premier from 1996 until his resignation in 2001. He had joined the Parti Québécois in 1971 and chaired the "oui" (pro-independentist) side in the failed 1980 referendum.[3] He attempted to address high unemployment and cut the provincial deficit, particularly in the context of globalization and Quebec's developing national identity. In the areas of trade and investment, there was some success, especially as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Secession remained at the forefront of the political agenda. The April 2003 provincial elections, which were a three-way race between the Parti Libéral du Québec (PLQ), the incumbent Parti Québécois (PQ), and the Action Démocratique du Québec (ADQ). Jean Charest,[4] a former federal Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, led the PLQ to win the majority of seats in the National Assembly of Quebec, with 76 seats to 45 for PQ and 4 for ADQ. The issue of municipal reform and merger/consolidation proved unpopular in many areas, hurting the PQ. The PLQ's unprecedented majority symbolizes a new phase in Quebec politics and not the death of separatism. Charest and the PLQ have been aggressive in reforming the provision of government services by privatizing in some areas.[5]

Language and identity

Unlike the rest of Canada, which is anglophone, the majority of Quebec's population speaks French - although due to immigration there are important communities speaking English, Italian, and Spanish. The issue of language has been a central political concern for over a century, and has heightened in intensity in recent decades as the provincial government has restricted the use of other languages in schools, business and signage.

Quebec has distanced itself from a Canadian identity, and businesses have followed suit. For example, in 2007 Bombardier's new national TV ad campaign extols the plane-and-train maker's Canadian identity, but omits any such reference in the French-language version. "Planes. Trains. Canadian Spirit" becomes "Planes. Trains. A Source of Pride" in the French TV spots ("Des avions. Des trains. Une fierté"). Advertisers have long realized that many of Quebec's francophone speakers are hostile to ads containing pro-Canada sentiments. Wal-Mart Canada's Quebec communications chief explains, "In many cases, if you have a prominent reference to Canada, half the population won't listen or will be irritated." Labatt's popular Blue brand of beer sports a Maple Leaf on its label, but in Quebec it is replaced with a red wheat sheaf. Molson Coors beer company did not run the famous "I Am Canadian" TV ads in Quebec; it sells its Molson Dry brand in Quebec while the Canadian brand is its flagship brew in the rest of Canada.[6]

Geography

Cities

The ten largest cities by population in Quebec[7] are:

  1. Montreal, Quebec
  2. Quebec City
  3. Laval
  4. Gatineau
  5. Longueuil
  6. Sherbrooke
  7. Saguenay
  8. Levis
  9. Trois-Rivieres
  10. Terrebonne

Notes

  1. See Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2001 and 1996 Censuses
  2. Quebec Nationalism article, CBC News backgrounder
  3. See [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000899 article in Canadian Encyclopedia (2000)
  4. He resigned as national Conservative leader in April 1998 and became Québec Liberal (PLQ) leader in May 1998. See [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0011432 article in Canadian Encyclopedia (2000)
  5. James P. Allan and Richard Vengroff, "The Changing Party System in Quebec: the 2003 Elections and Beyond." Québec Studies 2004 (37): 3-22. Issn: 0737-3759
  6. Bertrand Marotte, "'I Am Canadian' - but not necessarily in Quebec marketing," in Globe and Mail December 7, 2007 at [1]
  7. See Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses.