As the only French speaking area in North America, the Province
of Quebec is most certainly unique. Home to the separate native
tribes of the Abenakis, Algonquian, Attikameks, Cree,
Huron-Wendats, Innuu, Inuit, Malecites, Micmacs, Mohawks and
Naskapis the first western settlers arrived in 1534. Jacques
Cartier was the first westerner to set foot on the Quebec
peninsula and claimed the area for France. Samuel de Champlain
founded the city of Quebec in 1608 with King Louis XIV of France
granting the status of Royal Province in 1663.
By the early 1700's the British were a powerful force in the
"Upper Canada" region and eventually General Wolfe defeated the
French forces defending Quebec after the famous battle of
Abraham Plains. The French finally ceded the rights to New
France to the British in 1763 and the Province of Quebec joined
the Federation in 1867. That wasn't to be the end of the drama
in Quebec as first the "Quiet Revolution" and then the rise of
the separatist movement have all led to interesting times. Still
a major part of Canada with abundant natural resources, Quebec
is a truly diverse Province.
The Province of Québec is bordered to the north by the Arctic
Ocean, to the south by the United States and New Brunswick, to
the east by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and
to the west by Ontario, the James and Hudson Bay's. Covering an
enormous area of well in excess of 1.667 Million square
Kilometers, Quebec is the largest Province in Canada and its
land mass is one sixth of Canada's total! With one eighth of the
territory being freshwater, the Province has exceptional natural
resources and is famous for its Hydro electric power generation
capacity that feeds the eastern seaboard of North America. Over
60% of the area is covered in dense forest. There are four
distinct seasons: spring is mild, a normally hot summer, a
beautiful fall ( that compares well to New England) and a winter
that is white and cold. Seasonal temperatures and vegetation
vary depending on the latitude - Quebec is such a huge landmass
that the extreme north is in the Arctic Circle! Quebec has an
astounding 27 national parks with the majority operated by Parcs
Quebec, though some are administered by Parks Canada. The
province of Quebec is divided into 17 separate administrative
regions Each administrative region of Québec is responsible for
providing all services essential to promoting and maintaining
excellent quality of life for its citizens. Education, social
and health care services, sports and leisure activities as well
as transportation fall under the jurisdiction of the different
levels of government in the region.
Political institutions refer to the National Assembly and the
Executive Council, and to municipal institutions, the
administrative organization of local municipalities, regional
county municipalities (MRC), the Kativik Regional
Administration, as well as to the Municipal Commission of
Québec. These institutions represent the seat of decision and
power in Québec. Québec's parliamentary system is based on the
British model. The National Assembly is composed of 125 members,
each elected in a riding under the single-member constituency
plurality system.
Established in 1791, the Québec Parliament is one of the oldest
in the world, aside from the British Parliament. It was
established just after the US Congress but at the same time as
the French National Assembly.
The last general election was held on April 14, 2003. The Québec
Liberal Party, and its leader Jean Charest, obtained 76 seats
and forms the Government." Federally, the Province is well
represented by the Bloc Quebecois, led by Gilles Duceppe and
most recently held around 51 seats in the parliament who as
recently as 1995 held a referendum to declare Quebec's
sovereignty (which was defeated). Now they are not so separatist
but there are still such rumblings around the Province.
Quebec has recently begun to offer some tax cuts though does add
QST at 7.5% that is added AFTER the GST 0f 7% which totals an
additional 15% on top of the price of goods you see in the shops.
With over 75% of its 7.5 million population French speaking,
this is the primary language of the Province. English is a
distant second placed though many people are bi lingual. French
was passed as the official language of Quebec in 1974.
Quebec is an extremely historic city and with some magnificent
architecture is almost 400 years old. The scene of the early
struggles of the Canadians and then the francophone population,
Quebec City certainly offers a unique experience. With world
class cuisine and, the world famous Château Frontenac, perched
atop towering Cape Diamond the city promises memories you will
never forget. An exceptional place to live, the fortified city
on the banks of the St Lawrence waterway is a UNESCO world
heritage site that welcomes over 6 million visitors each year.
Montréal is the major city of the Province with over 3.3 million
inhabitants spread throughout its 19 boroughs with 2 major
airports (Trudeau and Mirabel) and definitely the powerhouse of
the Quebec economy. The major aerospace manufacturing plants of
Rolls Royce, Bombardier, Dowty and the technical base for Air
Canada serve as major employers. With professional sports teams
the Canadiens (ice hockey) and the allouettes (CFL) the city is
well represented, with arts a major interest the international
jazz festival offers jazz lovers a 2 week experience that is the
envy of many cities.
Outaouais, - this is a large region that is on the Quebec side
of the Ottawa river just across from Ottawa. Many federal civil
servants live here and cross the river for each work day, living
in the largest residential area of the region, the City of
Gatineau.
The minimum wage is split into 3 distinct categories, the
general wage is $7.60 per hour, the limit for people earning
tips is $6.85 and those in the clothing industry is $8.10 -
these are the 2005 rates. There are comprehensive laws that
regulate the employment in Quebec and provide protection and
rights for any employee's without a standard contract or decree.
If you are new to the province I would recommend you thoroughly
understand these rights and obligations.
The main Quebec economy has a GDP of C$250 million which is
built upon several different areas of excellence:
Aerospace, IT, Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals provide a
strong area of technical expertise. The manufacturing industry
(Montreal area is especially renowned for its transportation
manufacturing - Bombardier for instance) are a major factor in
the huge export of goods (82%) into the USA with around1/3rd of
the GDP coming from external trade.
The natural resources are huge with 60% of the North American
newsprint manufactured from the lumber in Quebec, mining of
gold, iron, titanium, asbestos, copper, zinc and silver and the
extensive hydro electric power plants. With over 50,000 new jobs
being produced each year and estimated growth of over 2.5%,
Quebec is definitely moving forwards, though the unemployment
rate of 9.1% is still fairly high compared to other Canadian
provinces.
For more, detailed information and great links please go to
http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com/province_of_quebec.html
About the author:
The author immigrated to Canada in 2003 and has constructed a
free information website
http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com about Canadian
Immigration and life in Canada based on his family's experiences.
