Welcome to Quebec!
For the city bearing the same name see Quebec City. Quebec (French: Québec) is a province in Canada, the largest in size and second only to Ontario in population. French is the first language of a majority of Quebecois and the sole official language of the province, making it the only Canadian province that is officially monolingual in French. The provincial capital of Quebec is Quebec City, while the province's largest city is Montreal, the second largest city in Canada.
While mostly surrounded by English-speaking lands, Quebec is one of the few parts of North America with a preserved French heritage and language.
While nearly all of the 8 million inhabitants live in southern Quebec, on the plains along the St Lawrence River, the majority of the province consists of sub-arctic forests, where most of the inhabitants belong to the First Nations or Inuit.
Québec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the largest province by area and the second-largest by population. Much of the population lives in urban areas along the St. Lawrence River, between the most populous city, Montreal, and the provincial capital, Quebec City. Quebec is the home of the Québécois nation. Located in Central Canada, the province shares land borders with Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast, and a coastal border with Nunavut; in the south it borders Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York in the United States.
Between 1534 and 1763, Quebec was called Canada and was the most developed colony in New France. Following the Seven Years' War, Quebec became a British colony: first as the Province of Quebec (1763–1791), then Lower Canada (1791–1841), and lastly Canada East (1841–1867), as a result of the Lower Canada Rebellion. It was confederated with Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick in 1867, beginning the Canadian Confederation. Until the early 1960s, the Catholic Church played a large role in the social and cultural institutions in Quebec. However, the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s to 1980s increased the role of the Government of Quebec in l'État québécois (state of Quebec).
The Constitution Act, 1867 incorporated the present-day Government of Quebec, which functions within the context of a Westminster system and is both a liberal democracy and a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Premier of Quebec, presently François Legault, acts as head of government. Québécois political culture mostly differs on a nationalist-vs-federalist continuum, rather than a left-vs-right continuum. Quebec independence debates have played a large role in politics. Quebec society's cohesion and specificity is based on three of its unique statutory documents: the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Charter of the French Language, and the Civil Code of Quebec. Furthermore, unlike elsewhere in Canada, law in Quebec is mixed: private law is exercised under a civil-law system, while public law is exercised under a common-law system.
Quebec's official language is French; Québécois French is the local variety. The economy of Quebec is diversified and post-industrial. Quebec's substantial natural resources, notably exploited in hydroelectricity, forestry, and mining, have also long been a mainstay. Quebec is well known for producing maple syrup, for its comedy, and for making hockey one of the most popular sports in Canada. It is also renowned for its culture; the province produces literature, music, films, TV shows, festivals, folklore, and more.