Facts about Quebec
In 1982, the new constitution was approved by the British Parliament, with Quebec's signature missing (a situation that persists to this day).
Lйvesque and his party had run in the 1970 and 1973 Quebec elections under a platform of separating Quebec from the rest of Canada.
The government of Quebec founded a network of universities in several Quebec cities, called the Universitй du Quйbec.
All major religions are represented, to some degree, especially in Montreal and Quebec City, where the Anglican Church of Canada has cathedrals.
The Quebec education system is governed by the Ministиre de l'Йducation, du Loisir et du Sport (Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sports).
Quebec is home to a people that are connected to the strong cultural currents of the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.
Often known as Bill 101, it defined French as the only official language of Quebec.
Until 1968, the Quebec legislature was bicameral, consisting of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly.
In 1997, a unanimous vote by the National Assembly of Quebec allowed for Quebec to request that the government of Canada exempt the province from Article 93 of the Constitution Act.
By the Quebec Act, the Quebec people obtained their first charter of rights.
The most populated region is the Saint Lawrence River valley in the south, where the capital, Quebec City, and the largest city, Montreal, are situated.
The northern regions of Quebec have an arctic climate, with very cold winters and short, much cooler summers.
More than 90 percent of Quebec's area lies within the Canadian Shield and includes the greater part of the Labrador Peninsula.
Known as la belle province ("the beautiful province"), Quebec is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario, James Bay, and Hudson Bay.
Quebec has the highest proportion of children going to private schools in North America.
The question of sovereignty-association was placed before the voters in the 1980 Quebec referendum.
Quebec has also produced world-class classical music over the years, such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1934.
Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger.
The Quebec Education Act of 1988 provided a change to linguistic school boards, a change that has not yet complete been fully implemented.
At 1.65 in 2007, Quebec's fertility rate is slightly above the Canada-wide rate of 1.59 but well below the replacement fertility rate of 2.1.
Quebec's highest mountain is Mont D'Iberville, which is located on the border with Newfoundland and Labrador in the northeastern part of the province.
The official language of Quebec is French; it is the sole Canadian province whose population is mainly French Canadian, and where English is not an official language at the provincial level.
In 1759, General James Wolfe defeated General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec City.
The former Province of Canada was divided into its two previous parts as the provinces of Ontario (Upper Canada) and Quebec (Lower Canada).
After his loss, Lйvesque began negotiating a new constitution and insisted that Quebec be able to veto any future constitutional amendments.
Given the province's heritage and the preponderance of French, there is an ongoing debate in Canada regarding the status of Quebec.
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia joined Ontario and Quebec in the new Dominion of Canada.
Quebec subsidizes post-secondary education and controls tuition fees, resulting in low student costs.
The conservative government of Maurice Duplessis and his Union Nationale dominated Quebec politics from 1944 to 1960 with the support of the Roman Catholic church.
Students from outside Quebec have this term supplemented by a freshman year at the beginning of their university career.
Sixty percent of the Quebec electorate voted against the proposition.
On October 30, 2003, the National Assembly voted unanimously to affirm "that the Quebecers form a nation".
Of the 497 persons arrested throughout Canada, 62 were charged; 32 were crimes of such seriousness that a Quebec Superior Court judge refused them bail.
Among the ten provinces of Canada, Quebec is the only one whose majority (84.5 percent speak French as a dominant language) is francophone.
Article 93 of the act made it unconstitutional for Quebec to change this system.
Nationalism plays a large role in the politics of Quebec, and all three major provincial political parties have sought greater autonomy for Quebec and recognition of its unique status.
Consequently, a constitutional amendment was required to operate the separation of the State and the Church in Quebec.
Noted for its religious heritage, Quebec has 122 religious buildings listed as historical monuments.
The name "Quebec," which comes from a Mнkmaq word meaning "strait, narrows," originally referred to the narrowing of the Saint Lawrence River off what is currently Quebec City.
The most populated region is the Saint Lawrence River valley in the south, where the capital, Quebec City, and the largest city, Montreal, are situated.
In 1898, the first Quebec Boundary Extension Act expanded the provincial boundaries northward to include the lands of the indigenous Cree.
Southern and western Quebec, including most of the major population centers, have a humid continental climate with warm, humid summers and long, cold winters.
Quebec is unique among the provinces in its overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population.
In 1608, he returned as head of an exploration party and founded Quebec City with the intention of making the area part of the French empire.
The St. Lawrence River Valley is a fertile agricultural region, producing dairy products, fruits, vegetables, foie gras, maple syrup (Quebec is the world's largest producer), and livestock.
The first took place in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, followed by one in Quebec City that led to a delegation going to London, England, with a proposal for national union.
Tourism is another important industry in Quebec, drawing an estimated 27.5 million people annually who spend approximately C$6.7 billion.
Of the high school population of Quebec, 17 percent currently attends a private high school.
Quebec became a province of the Canadian Confederation upon its founding in 1867.
English-speaking Quebecers reside mostly in the Greater Montreal Area, where they have built a well-established network of educational, social, economic, and cultural institutions.
At the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a 1775 invasion by the Continental Army met with early success but was later repelled at Quebec City.
The first French explorer to reach Quebec was Jacques Cartier, who planted a cross either in Gaspй in 1534 or at Old Fort Bay on the Lower North Shore.
Quebec's francophones account for at least 90 percent of all of Canada's French-speaking population.
1774 Quebec Act, passed by the British Parliament to institute a permanent administration in Canada replacing the temporary government created at the time of the Proclamation of 1763. It gave the French Canadians complete religious freedom and restored the French form of civil law.
The main purpose of the Quebec Act of 1774 was to meet the needs of the government of the Province of Quebec more effectively. Governor Carleton also viewed it as a means of satisfying the aspirations of French Canadians.
Quebec Act (An Act for making more effective Provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec in North America) was a British statute which received royal assent 22 June 1774 and became effective 1 May 1775.Aug 12, 2013