Bordered by Ontario at the west, New Brunswick and Labrador on the east and by the United States to the south; Quebec is the largest of Canada's provinces by land mass and second in population. The province is almost entirely surrounded by water: by Hudson Strait to the north, the St. Lawrence River and Gulf to the south, and James Bay and Hudsons Bay to the west. Quebec takes in three main geographical regions: the Canadian Shield, the St. Lawrence lowlands and the Appalachian Mountains. Extending from the shores of the Canadian Arctic to the Laurentians, the Canadian Shield covers about 60 percent of the land mass, and is the world's oldest mountain range. Permafrost reigns in the northern part of the Shield; only dwarf birches and lichen are able to grow there. The St. Lawrence River, the province's dominant geographical feature, links the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes. The St. Lawrence lowlands are dotted with more than a million lakes and rivers. Quebec's forests are equal in area to those of Sweden and Norway combined. To the south, the foothills of the Appalachians separate Quebec from the United States. Quebec has one the world's largest reserves of fresh water, with 3% of total reserves.

Quebec was originally inhabited by members of the Algonquin and Iroquois aboriginal people. The northern part of the province is inhabited by the Inuit. The Indian People are divided into ten nations: Mohawks, Montagnais, Crees, Algonquins, Attikameks, Micmacs, Hurons-Wendat, Abenakis, Naskapis and Malecites. They live in villages or “reserves” that they own and whose status is recognized under the Federal Indian Act. With the exception of the Abenakis, Hurons-Wendat and Malecites, each nation continues to use its own language in addition to French or English. Northern development, notably for the construction of hydro-electric projects in the early 1960s, prompted Québec to review its relations with aboriginal communities. Two agreements were concluded, the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement (1975) and the Northeastern Québec Agreement (1978), under which the Crees, Inuit and Naskapis living in these regions have exclusive use of certain lands and a high degree of political autonomy. Another consequence of these agreements was the institution of a completely new system of relations based on the recognition of the right of aboriginal people to own and control the lands allotted to them and to govern themselves thereon within the framework of Québec laws. The Quebec government is currently negotiating a third agreement with the Montagnais and the Attikameks. A comprehensive proposal was tabled in December 1994 and is being reviewed. The Metis make up a segment of the population of Quebec both rural and urban, but without a land base.

Jacques Cartier landed in Gaspé Bay in 1534 and took possession of the territory in the name of King Francis I of France. The succeeding era was characterized by the establishment of a thriving fur trade, relatively friendly relations with the aboriginal people and a continuous rivalry between French and English colonists. Quebec towns became the terminus for shipment of furs and goods acquired by the Courier du bois, the Hudson Bay and NorthWest Fur Companies to Europe. Towns like Lachine, Trois Rivierers and Montreal became hubs of commerce. On July 13, 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City and was appointed lieutenant of the colony of New France. Quebec City became the capital of New France. During the French regime, the fortified city was an important centre of trade and development. Today it is regarded as the cradle of French civilization in North America, and was named a World Heritage City by UNESCO in 1985. In 1615 the first missionaries arrived in New France and began a period of conversion of Aboriginal people, creating strong ties with the local tribes and alliegencies. The Jesuits arrived in 1625. French-English rivalry in North America culminated with the Seven Years' War, which saw the fall of Quebec City to British forces in 1759. With the Treaty of Paris in 1763, New France became a colony of Britain. During the war between the colonial powers in 1759, the English armies under General Wolfe laid siege to Québec and defeated the French troops under Montcalm on September 13 in the battle of the Plains of Abraham. On October 7, 1763 George III creates the "Province of Quebec" by royal proclamation. In 1774, under the Quebec Act, Britain granted official recognition to French civil laws, guaranteed religious freedom and authorized the use of the French language. This colony would later be called "Lower Canada" and would join together with "Upper Canada" (Ontario)in 1840 to become the Province of Canada. In 1857 Ottawa became the capital of the united Province of Canada. Subesquently, in 1867 the Province of Canada joined with Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick to form the Dominion of Canada maintaining Ottawa as the capital city. For a long time, Quebec's rural roots and domination by the Roman Catholic Church made it a traditional, agrarian society. With the advent of the second industrial revolution between 1920 and 1940, urbanization and higher living standards came to the province.

Beginning in 1960, Quebec entered a period of transition: the "Quiet Revolution". It was marked by rapid economic expansion, cultural pride and a revamping of political institutions to meet the needs of contemporary society. The Quiet Revolution was also the beginning of a period of political tension and federal-provincial bickering as the province sought to assume greater control over its economy and society. Regrettably, acts of terrorism, including political kidnapping in 1970, brought in sharp relief the issue of Quebec's status in Canada. In 1976, the people of Quebec elected the Parti québécois, a party wanting independance for Quebec. The P.Q. made French the sole, official language of Quebec, and, in 1980, conducted a referendum on negotiating an arrangement for sovereignty-association with Canada. The referendum was defeated by a majority of Quebec citizens. Throughout Quebecés history, the survival of the "French fact" in Quebec and also in the rest of Canada has been central to the concerns of the people in Quebec. It is this very aspect that reflects Quebec's distinct place in the Canadian Confederation and gives Canada its bilingual character and cultural richness. Quebec judicial system consists of two levels: the courts of first instance and the appeal court: which is different from the rest of the Canadian Provinces. The judicial system in Quebec has the task to apply the Quebec Civil Code and the Criminal Code of Canada. The Civil Code derives from the Napoleonic Code. The revised version came into force on January 1, 1994. The Criminal Code is modeled on the common law system developed in England. Quebec applies its own Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, dating back to 1975.

Almost 80 percent of Quebeckers live in urban centres located along the St. Lawrence. Montreal and its suburbs have a population of three million; Quebec City is the Province's capital and third-largest city. Italians and Eastern Europeans were traditionally the largest immigrant groups to Quebec, but since 1960 the ranks of new Quebeckers have been swollen by Portuguese, Haitians, Lebanese, South Americans and Southeast Asians. Since the end of World War II, more than 650,000 immigrants from over 80 countries have moved to Quebec, particularly to the city of Montreal. French is the mother tongue of 82.2 percent of Quebeckers, while 9.7 percent cite English as their mother tongue. Quebec is the cradle of the French-speaking community in North America. However, contemporary Quebec is a pluralistic society. In addition to French and English, 35 other languages are spoken. The most frequent are Italian, Spanish, Arabic and Greek. Quebec has the largest proportion of bilingual people (French-English) in Canada. Successive provincial governments have constantly worked toward the objective of affirming Quebec's French identity and protecting the vitality of the French language in Québec. In 1977, the National Assembly passed the Charter of the French Language, whose basic objective is to make French the language of government and the law as well as the usual language of work, education, communications, trade and business, while respecting the rights of minorities.

Highly industrialized and quite diversified, Quebec's economy is strong. The province has abundant natural resources and energy, along with well-developed agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors. Quebec's dynamic business sector has seized on the economic potential of the province, and produces a wide variety of top quality products for export, such as air traffic control equipment, software, subway trains, helicopters, compact disks, air purifiers and toys. Montreal, the province's commercial capital, has developed competitive industries in space and aeronautics, telecommunications, energy and transportation. Quebec exports 40 percent of its total production, mainly from the forest industry (printing, lumber and paper), mining (aluminium and iron ore) and transportation equipment manufacturing. Quebec also exports electricity, engineering know-how, electronic products and telecommunications equipment. Quebec artists are involved in every field of artistic endeavour and are increasingly making their mark on the international scene in areas such as cinema, song, theatre, dance and music.

Quebec is a beautiful and vibrant place, with its own distinct cultural traditions, music, literature, and art. There is a certain ambience in the larger cities that is very reminiscent of Europe. Come for a visit!