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151-567: The Bas-Saint-Laurent ( French pronunciation: [ba sɛ̃ lɔʁɑ̃] , "Lower Saint-Lawrence") is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec . The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlantic Ocean and is often nicknamed "Bas-du-Fleuve" (Lower-River). The region is formed by eight regional county municipalities and 114 municipalities . In

302-645: A Patriote, George-Étienne Cartier entered politics in the Province of Canada, becoming one of the co-premiers and advocate for the union of the British North American provinces. He became a leading figure at the Quebec Conference, which produced the Quebec Resolutions , the foundation for Canadian Confederation. Recognized as a Father of Confederation , he successfully argued for the establishment of

453-486: A crowd of more than 100,000, making a speech ending with the exclamation: "Long live free Quebec". This declaration had a profound effect on Quebec by bolstering the burgeoning modern Quebec sovereignty movement and resulting in a political crisis between France and Canada. Following this, various civilian groups developed, sometimes confronting public authority, for example in the October Crisis of 1970. The meetings of

604-472: A destructive earthquake in history. An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 occurred in 1944 east of Godbout and another of the same magnitude occurred on the 16 March 1999, its epicentre was located at about 60 km (37 mi) south of Sept-Îles. The topography of Bas-Saint-Laurent has two main elements : the plateaus of the Appalachian Mountains , called Notre Dame Mountains , and the lowlands in

755-571: A diversity of plant (1000) and vertebrates (350) species, despite relatively cool temperatures. The ecozone mixed forest is characteristic of the Laurentians , the Appalachians and the eastern lowland forests. The third most northern forest area is characterized by deciduous forests . Because of its climate, this area has the greatest diversity of species, including more than 1600 vascular plants and 440 vertebrates. The total forest area of Quebec

906-668: A flora unique in Quebec . Finally, about 30% of the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park , the first marine park of Quebec, is located in the region. It holds the longest fjord in the east of Canada as well as a part of the largest estuary in the world, which makes it a location of considerable marine biodiversity. It is the only park administered in Canada by both the Government of Quebec and Government of Canada . Three other parks, ecological reserves, more restricted protected areas, are located in

1057-657: A head in 1849, when English Canadian rioters set fire to the Parliament Building in Montreal following the enactment of the Rebellion Losses Bill , a law that compensated French Canadians whose properties were destroyed during the rebellions of 1837–1838. This bill, resulting from the Baldwin - La Fontaine coalition and Lord Elgin's advice, was important as it established the notion of responsible government . In 1854,

1208-522: A preliminary report underlining Quebec's distinct character, and promoted open federalism, a political attitude guaranteeing Quebec a minimum amount of consideration. To favour Quebec during its Quiet Revolution, Lester B. Pearson adopted a policy of open federalism. In 1966, the Union Nationale was re-elected and continued on with major reforms. In 1967, President of France Charles de Gaulle visited Quebec, to attend Expo 67 . There, he addressed

1359-721: A royal mandate to manage New France in 1627, introduced the Custom of Paris and the seigneurial system , and forbade settlement by anyone other than Catholics. In 1629, Quebec City surrendered , without battle, to English privateers during the Anglo-French War ; in 1632, the English king agreed to return it with the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye . Trois-Rivières was founded at de Champlain's request in 1634. Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve founded Ville-Marie (now Montreal) in 1642. In 1663,

1510-548: A small influence on the climate of the region, making it more alike to the climate of meridional Quebec , than with "Nordic" towns like La Sarre in Abitibi or Roberval, Quebec in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean , located at the same latitude than the town of Matane . However, the climate of Bas-Saint-Laurent is of continental type, with a "great amplitude and no dry periods". The French geographer Raoul Blanchard described

1661-571: A sound in the Saint-Laurent valley, isolating the glacier covering Bas-Saint-Laurent from the one covering Côte-Nord . The isostatic rebound created an inland sea, the Sea of Goldthwait , which flooded the region under at most 200m of water in the area around Rimouski. The withdrawal of the Sea of Goldthwait was gradual, 2,000 years ago the isostatic rebound stabilised at around 1 mm (0.039 in) per year,

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1812-463: A two-seat majority, having campaigned with the slogan "It's time for things to change". This government made reforms in social policy, education, health and economic development. It created the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec , Labour Code, Ministry of Social Affairs , Ministry of Education , Office québécois de la langue française , Régie des rentes and Société générale de financement . In 1962,

1963-511: Is also renowned for its culture ; the province produces literature , music , films , TV shows , festivals , and more. The name Québec comes from an Algonquin word meaning 'narrow passage' or 'strait'. The name originally referred to the area around Quebec City where the Saint Lawrence River narrows to a cliff-lined gap. Early variations in the spelling included Québecq and Kébec . French explorer Samuel de Champlain chose

2114-553: Is another high mountain in the Chic-Chocs. Its summit, an alpine area above the tree line , is a nearly flat plateau about 13 km (8 mi) across composed of serpentine bedrock and supporting quite unusual flora. The ascent of Mount Albert from near sea level is challenging, but popular with hikers, offering a view of the St. Lawrence and the Côte-Nord , the river's north shore, part of

2265-529: Is called a medium estuary, while east of the municipality it is called a maritime estuary or lower estuary. The region is relatively poor in fresh water, since lakes and rivers only count as 1.5% of the land area. It possesses two hydrographic regions, the first holds all the streams that pour into the estuary of the Saint-Lawrence river and the region of Chaleur Bay and Percé , whose streams flow south into New-Brunswick and Maine . These regions influenced

2416-449: Is composed of riverside land of altitudes ranging from 0 to 250 m (0 to 820 ft) above sea level. This area has a depth of 5 km (3.1 mi) before reaching the mountains in the west of the region, but reaches 25 km (16 mi) in the vicinity of Rimouski, only to shrink again in the eastern limits of the region. This riverside land disappears entirely between the municipalities of Sainte-Félicité and Grosses-Roches . In

2567-407: Is due to structural issues like the rationalization of agriculture and the depletion of the forests, but also to rural flight and a sinking natality since the 1960s. Bas-Saint-Laurent was home to 200,500 inhabitants on the first of July 2011, which represents 2.5% of the total population of Quebec. This number indicates that this share has dropped by 4% since 1996. More than 40% of the population of

2718-633: Is estimated at 750,300 km (289,700 sq mi). From the Abitibi-Témiscamingue to the North Shore , the forest is composed primarily of conifers such as the Abies balsamea , the jack pine , the white spruce , the black spruce and the tamarack . The deciduous forest of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands is mostly composed of deciduous species such as the sugar maple , the red maple ,

2869-581: Is located east of the Lake Témiscouata and protects a representative part of the Notre Dame Mountains and several ancient forests. The Bic National Park , near Rimouski , protects the litoral of the south of the estuary of Saint Lawrence . The Gaspésie National Park , of which only a small part is within the limits of the region, is characterized by several summits taller than 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Its diverse climate and its landscape host

3020-399: Is mainly supported by its large service sector and varied industrial sector. For exports, it leans on the key industries of aeronautics , where it is the 6th largest worldwide seller, hydroelectricity , mining, pharmaceuticals , aluminum, wood, and paper. Quebec is well known for producing maple syrup , for its comedy , and for making hockey one of the most popular sports in Canada . It

3171-526: Is not surprising that the share of the population of Quebec living in Bas-Saint-Laurent has decreased from 5.2% in 1951 to 2.8% in 2001. The population of Bas-Saint-Laurent is significantly older than the population of Quebec as a whole. In 2011, the average age of the population of Bas-Saint-Laurent was 47.3 years, making it the second oldest province of Quebec by that criterion, behind neighboring Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine (49.0 years) and just before

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3322-769: Is now called the Conscription Crisis of 1917 , which led to the Quebec riot  [ fr ] . In 1919, the prohibition of spirits was enacted following a provincial referendum . But, prohibition was abolished in 1921 due to the Alcoholic Beverages Act which created the Commission des liqueurs du Québec . In 1927, the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council drew a clear border between northeast Quebec and south Labrador . However,

3473-470: Is part of the natural province of the Appalachian Mountains in the ecological reference area of Quebec. The forests of Bas-Saint-Laurent are 8,000 years old. Beyond inhabited areas, they cover the majority of the territory. They are boreal with a coniferous influence. The forests most important in order of superficy are those of golden birch , paper birch and white spruce . The dominant forest of

3624-523: Is slightly larger than Belgium, at 31,075 square kilometres (11,998 sq mi). The population is 140,599 as of the 2011 census . It is also noted as the only region outside the Channel Islands to contain native speakers of Jersey Norman . Sea cliffs dominate the peninsula's northern shore along the St. Lawrence River. Cap Gaspé , jutting into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is the easternmost point of

3775-433: Is split into two different territories, being more accurate for the distinctive cultural traditions of these regions. The evolution of the toponymy of the region takes root in the different steps of its development, with at first the initial settlement by First Nations , followed by a progressive settlement by French-speaking colonists starting in the 18th century, but mostly in the 19th, a small Scottish presence starting in

3926-539: Is the tundra, whose flora is limited to lichen with less than 50 growing days per year. Further south, the climate is conducive to the growth of the Canadian boreal forest , bounded on the north by the taiga. Not as arid as the tundra, the taiga is associated with the subarctic regions of the Canadian Shield and is characterized by a greater number of both plant (600) and animal (206) species. The taiga covers about 20% of

4077-668: Is very different from one region to another due to the varying composition of the ground, the climate, and the proximity to water. More than 95% of Quebec's territory, including the Labrador Peninsula , lies within the Canadian Shield . It is generally a quite flat and exposed mountainous terrain interspersed with higher points such as the Laurentian Mountains in southern Quebec, the Otish Mountains in central Quebec and

4228-479: Is very sparsely populated. The most populous physiographic region is the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands . The combination of rich soils and the lowlands' relatively warm climate makes this valley the most prolific agricultural area of Quebec. The rural part of the landscape is divided into narrow rectangular tracts of land that extend from the river and date back to the seigneurial system. Quebec's topography

4379-606: The Acadian orogeny and the Taconic orogeny , have shaped the land. During the first orogeny, the subduction of the oceanic plate created a volcanic chain in the Iapetus Ocean , off the coast of Laurentia during the Cambrian period. The magma surfacing mixed with the sediments originating from the continental erosion and the volcanic arc of islands got gradually closer to the continent to

4530-636: The Battle of Saint-Denis . However, they were unorganized and badly equipped, leading to their loss against the British army in the Battle of Saint-Charles , and defeat in the Battle of Saint-Eustache . In response to the rebellions, Lord Durham was asked to undertake a study and prepare a report offering a solution to the British Parliament. Durham recommended that Canadiens be culturally assimilated , with English as their only official language. To do this,

4681-652: The Bloc Populaire emerged to fight conscription. The stark differences between the values of French and English Canada popularized the expression the " Two Solitudes ". In the wake of the conscription crisis, Maurice Duplessis of the Union Nationale ascended to power and implemented conservative policies known as the Grande Noirceur . He focused on defending provincial autonomy , Quebec's Catholic and francophone heritage, and laissez-faire liberalism instead of

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4832-769: The Cascapédia River of 1,701 km (657 sq mi), half of this basin is located within the limits of the administrative region. Among the notable rivers pouring into the Saint-Lawrence, we can count the Mitis River (1,812 km [700 sq mi]), Matane River (1,692 km [653 sq mi]), Rimouski River (1,621 km [626 sq mi]), Rivière du Loup (1,046 km [404 sq mi]) and Trois Pistoles River (966 km [373 sq mi]). Bas-Saint-Laurent counts 2,417 lakes, of which 90% do not exceed an area of 20 ha (49 acres). About 30% of them are situated in

4983-559: The Compagnie de transport du Bas St-Laurent and the Compagnie de Pouvoir du Bas-Saint-Laurent or the newspaper l'Écho du Bas St-Laurent adopt it. After being eclipsed for two decades when the State tried to erase regional differences by putting in place shared administrative structures east of the Quebec, the start of the 1980s sees this policy change, as the great region Bas-Saint-Laurent- Gaspésie

5134-519: The Estates General of French Canada in 1967 marked a tipping point where relations between francophones of America , and especially francophones of Canada, ruptured. This breakdown affected Quebec society's evolution. In 1968, class conflicts and changes in mentalities intensified. Option Quebec sparked a constitutional debate on the political future of the province by pitting federalist and sovereignist doctrines against each other. In 1969,

5285-666: The Gaspé Peninsula and to the west by Côte-du-Sud. It extends over an area of 28,319 km (10,934 sq mi), with 22,141 km (8,549 sq mi) of land area, which represents a bit less than 2% of the total area of Quebec , however, this area also represents 10% of the inhabited area of Quebec, or about half the land area of Switzerland . The region is divided into eight Regional county municipalities (RCM), which contain 130 municipalities. Bas Saint-Laurent contained 200,462 inhabitants in 2011, of which 55,400 were in its most populous RCM, Rimouski-Neigette . Otherwise,

5436-749: The Great Peace of Montreal , which not only confirmed the alliance between the Algonquian and New France, but definitively ended the Iroquois Wars. From 1688 onwards, the fierce competition between the French and British to control North America's interior and monopolize fur trade pitted New France and its Indigenous allies against the Iroquois and English in four successive wars called the French and Indian Wars by Americans, and

5587-650: The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada , which created representation problems. In the beginning, Canada East was underrepresented because of its superior population size. Over time, however, massive immigration from the British Isles to Canada West occurred. Since the two regions continued to have equal representation, this meant it was now Canada West that was under-represented. The representation issues were called into question by debates on "Representation by Population" . The British population began to use

5738-539: The Lower Canada Rebellion began in 1837. In 1837, Louis-Joseph Papineau and Robert Nelson led residents of Lower Canada to form an armed group called the Patriotes . They made a Declaration of Independence in 1838, guaranteeing rights and equality for all citizens without discrimination. Their actions resulted in rebellions in both Lower and Upper Canada . The Patriotes were victorious in their first battle,

5889-696: The North-West Rebellion , the Manitoba Schools Question and Ontario's Regulation 17 turned the promotion and defence of the rights of French Canadians into an important concern. Under the aegis of the Catholic Church and the political action of Henri Bourassa , symbols of national pride were developed, like the Flag of Carillon , and " O Canada " – a patriotic song composed for Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day . Many organizations went on to consecrate

6040-640: The Ohio Valley , as authorities in New France became more aggressive in efforts to expel British traders and colonists. In 1754, George Washington launched a surprise attack on a group of sleeping Canadien soldiers, known as the Battle of Jumonville Glen , the first battle of the war. In 1755, Governor Charles Lawrence and Officer Robert Monckton ordered the forceful explusion of the Acadians . In 1758, on Île-Royale, British General James Wolfe besieged and captured

6191-621: The Parti Québécois was brought to power in the 1976 Quebec general election . The Charter of the French Language came into force the following year, which increased the use of French. Between 1966-69, the Estates General of French Canada confirmed the state of Quebec to be the nation's fundamental political milieu and for it to have the right to self-determination . In the 1980 referendum on sovereignty, 60% were against. After

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6342-554: The Pleistocene drove away the animals of the ice-covered area and these came back gradually as the ice sheet melted over the last 18,000 years. The melting of the ice sheet and the flood of the sea of Goldthwait around the current estuary brought molluscs like true mussels , soft-shell clams and scallops . belugas and other whales visit it. According to the remains of marine mammals found in altitude further inland, narvals , walruses and earless seals were also present in

6493-700: The Province of Canada (1841–1867) as a result of the Lower Canada Rebellion . It was confederated with Ontario, Nova Scotia , and New Brunswick in 1867. 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 (the public authority of Quebec). The Government of Quebec functions within

6644-792: The Saint Lawrence Seaway has provided a navigable link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. The public lands of Quebec cover approximately 92% of its territory, including almost all of the bodies of water. Protected areas can be classified into about twenty different legal designations (ex. exceptional forest ecosystem, protected marine environment, national park , biodiversity reserve , wildlife reserve, zone d'exploitation contrôlée (ZEC), etc.). More than 2,500 sites in Quebec today are protected areas. As of 2013, protected areas comprise 9.14% of Quebec's territory. In general,

6795-421: The Torngat Mountains near Ungava Bay . While low and medium altitude peaks extend from western Quebec to the far north, high altitudes mountains emerge in the Capitale-Nationale region to the extreme east. Quebec's highest point at 1,652 metres (5,420 ft) is Mont d'Iberville, known in English as Mount Caubvick . In the Labrador Peninsula portion of the Shield, the far northern region of Nunavik includes

6946-478: The common eider and long-tailed duck . Bas-Saint-Laurent has only one wetland area according to the Ramsar Convention , the Baie de l'Isle-Verte , part of it is protected by the national wildlife reserve of baie de L'Isle-Verte . This swamp is primarily occupied by cordgrasses and is an important nesting area for the American black duck , as well as a stop for migratory birds in spring. The region has four national parks . The Lac-Témiscouata National Park

7097-405: The federal elections of 1911 . In 1912, the Canadian Parliament enacted the Quebec Boundaries Extension Act, 1912 , which gave Quebec another part of Rupert's Land: the District of Ungava . This extended the borders of Quebec northward to the Hudson Strait . When World War I broke out, Canada was automatically involved and many English Canadians volunteered. However, because they did not feel

7248-401: The fur trade reignited French interest; New France became a colonial trading post . In 1603, Samuel de Champlain travelled to the Saint Lawrence River and, on Pointe Saint-Mathieu, established a defence pact with the Innu, Maliseet and Micmacs, that would be "a decisive factor in the maintenance of a French colonial enterprise in America despite an enormous numerical disadvantage vis-à-vis

7399-435: The muskellunge , the Atlantic cod , the Arctic char , the brook trout , the Microgadus tomcod (tomcod), the Atlantic salmon , and the rainbow trout . Among the birds commonly seen in the southern part of Quebec are the American robin , the house sparrow , the red-winged blackbird , the mallard , the common grackle , the blue jay , the American crow , the black-capped chickadee , some warblers and swallows ,

7550-401: The provincial general elections . Between 2020-21, Quebec took measures against the COVID-19 pandemic . In 2022, Coalition Avenir Québec, led by Quebec's premier François Legault , increased its parliamentary majority in the provincial general elections. Located in the eastern part of Canada, Quebec occupies a territory nearly three times the size of France or Texas . Most of Quebec

7701-461: The starling and the rock pigeon . Avian fauna includes birds of prey like the golden eagle , the peregrine falcon , the snowy owl and the bald eagle . Sea and semi-aquatic birds seen in Quebec are mostly the Canada goose , the double-crested cormorant , the northern gannet , the European herring gull , the great blue heron , the sandhill crane , the Atlantic puffin and the common loon . Gasp%C3%A9 Peninsula The Gaspé Peninsula

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7852-399: The white ash , the American beech , the butternut (white walnut) , the American elm , the basswood , the bitternut hickory and the northern red oak as well as some conifers such as the eastern white pine and the northern whitecedar . The distribution areas of the paper birch , the trembling aspen and the mountain ash cover more than half of Quebec's territory. Biodiversity of

8003-407: The 1800s, with activities centred on agriculture and the exploitation of its waters and forests. The last phase of this evolution took place when some inland communities started to decline and its centres of activity were reinforced. The Bas-Saint-Laurent is a region in the East of Quebec, delimited to the north by the Saint Lawrence River , to the south by New-Brunswick and Maine , to the east by

8154-404: The 19th century. The first mention of the name is attributed to a report from the Rimouskois deputy and writer Joseph-Charles Taché , which used the term to describe "the two shores of the Bas-Saint-Laurent except the Gaspé district". The authors, however, write that Taché preferred most of the time to use more precise and well-known references, like the counties of Montmorency and Rimouski. Even if

8305-435: The Americans in the Saratoga campaign of 1777. When the British recognized the independence of the rebel colonies at the signing of the Treaty of Paris of 1783, it conceded Illinois and the Ohio Valley to the newly formed United States and denoted the 45th parallel as its border, drastically reducing Quebec's size. Some United Empire Loyalists from the US migrated to Quebec and populated various regions. Dissatisfied with

8456-444: The Anglo-American conglomerates that dominated the economy and natural resources, announced a collective will for freedom of the French-Canadian people. As a result of confrontations between the lower clergy and the laity , state institutions began to deliver services without the assistance of the church, and many parts of civil society began to be more secular. In 1965, the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism wrote

8607-416: The Bloc Québécois in favour of the previously minor New Democratic Party (NDP). As the NDP's logo is orange, this was called the "orange wave". After three subsequent Liberal governments, the Parti Québécois regained power in 2012 and its leader, Pauline Marois , became the first female premier of Quebec. The Liberal Party of Quebec then returned to power in 2014. In 2018, the Coalition Avenir Québec won

8758-420: The British acquired Canada in 1763, the British government established a constitution for the newly acquired territory, under the Royal Proclamation . The Canadiens were subordinated to the government of the British Empire and circumscribed to a region of the St. Lawrence Valley and Anticosti Island called the Province of Quebec . With unrest growing in their southern colonies, the British were worried that

8909-470: The British passed the Act of Union 1840 , which merged Upper Canada and Lower Canada into a single colony: the Province of Canada . Lower Canada became the francophone and densely populated Canada East , and Upper Canada became the anglophone and sparsely populated Canada West . This union, unsurprisingly, was the main source of political instability until 1867. Despite their population gap, Canada East and Canada West obtained an identical number of seats in

9060-423: The British". Thus also began French military support to the Algonquian and Huron peoples against Iroquois attacks; these became known as the Iroquois Wars and lasted from the early 1600s to the early 1700s. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain returned to the region as head of an exploration party. On July 3, 1608, with the support of King Henry IV , he founded the Habitation de Québec (now Quebec City) and made it

9211-427: The Canadian Parliament enacted the Quebec Boundary Extension Act, 1898 , which gave Quebec part of Rupert's Land, which Canada had bought from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1870. This act expanded the boundaries of Quebec northward. In 1909, the government passed a law obligating wood and pulp to be transformed in Quebec, which helped slow the Grande Hémorragie by allowing Quebec to export its finished products to

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9362-426: The Canadian constitution and made modifications to it. The 1982 amendments apply to Quebec despite Quebec never having consented to it. Between 1982-92, the Quebec government's attitude changed to prioritize reforming the federation. Attempts at constitutional amendments by the Mulroney and Bourassa governments ended in failure with the Meech Lake Accord of 1987 and the Charlottetown Accord of 1992, resulting in

9513-459: The Canadiens might support what would become the American Revolution . To secure allegiance to the British crown, Governor James Murray and later Governor Guy Carleton promoted the need for accommodations, resulting in the enactment of the Quebec Act of 1774. This act allowed Canadiens to regain their civil customs , return to the seigneural system, regain certain rights including use of French, and reappropriate their old territories: Labrador,

9664-429: The Company of New France ceded Canada to King Louis XIV , who made New France into a royal province of France. New France was now a true colony administered by the Sovereign Council of New France from Quebec City. A governor-general , governed Canada and its administrative dependencies: Acadia, Louisiana and Plaisance. The French settlers were mostly farmers and known as " Canadiens " or " Habitants ". Though there

9815-444: The European explorations of the 1500s, there were eleven Indigenous peoples : the Inuit and ten First Nations  – the Abenakis , Algonquins (or Anichinabés), Atikamekw , Cree , Huron-Wyandot , Maliseet , Miꞌkmaqs , Iroquois , Innu and Naskapis . Algonquians organized into seven political entities and lived nomadic lives based on hunting, gathering, and fishing. Inuit fished and hunted whales and seals along

9966-442: The Fortress of Louisbourg. This allowed him to control access to the Gulf of St. Lawrence through the Cabot Strait . In 1759, he besieged Quebec for three months from Île d'Orléans . Then, Wolfe stormed Quebec and fought against Montcalm for control of the city in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham . After a British victory, the king's lieutenant and Lord of Ramezay concluded the Articles of Capitulation of Quebec . During

10117-402: 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 regional variety . Quebec is the only Francophone -majority province. The economy of Quebec

10268-411: The Gaspé belt is the remnant of a second mountain formation during Siluro - Devonian times. Around 430 million years ago, the Taconic mountains eroded and created sediments that deposited at a shallow depth. As Laurentia and the micro-continent Avalonia deformed and raised the sedimentary deposits and volcanic rocks and created a second chain of mountains, the Acadian Chain, which superposes itself on

10419-409: The Great Lakes, the Ohio Valley, Illinois Country and the Indian Territory . As early as 1774, the Continental Congress of the separatist Thirteen Colonies attempted to rally the Canadiens to its cause. However, its military troops failed to defeat the British counteroffensive during its Invasion of Quebec in 1775. Most Canadiens remained neutral, though some regiments allied themselves with

10570-451: The Intercolonial Wars in Quebec. The first three were King William's War (1688–1697), Queen Anne's War (1702–1713), and King George's War (1744–1748). In 1713, following the Peace of Utrecht , the Duke of Orléans ceded Acadia and Plaisance Bay to Great Britain, but retained Île Saint-Jean , and Île-Royale where the Fortress of Louisbourg was subsequently erected. These losses were significant since Plaisance Bay

10721-454: The National Assembly voted unanimously to affirm "that the people of Québec form a nation". On November 27, 2006, the House of Commons passed a symbolic motion declaring "that this House recognize that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada." In 2007, the Parti Québécois was pushed back to official opposition in the National Assembly, with the Liberal party leading. During the 2011 Canadian federal elections , Quebec voters rejected

10872-573: The Precambrian bedrock under the Logan line and the Appalachian Mountains , at a variable depth between 30 km (19 mi) deep and the surface Another seismic area located in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence , in a triangle between the towns of Matane , Baie-Comeau and Sept-Îles . However, this seismic area is less active than the one uphill, as only an average of sixty earthquakes occur each year and has not had

11023-421: The Province of Canada, and used the old borders of Lower Canada for Quebec, and Upper Canada for Ontario. On July 15, 1867, Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau became Quebec's first premier . From Confederation until World War I, the Catholic Church was at its peak. The objective of clerico-nationalists was promoting the values of traditional society: family, French, the Catholic Church and rural life. Events such as

11174-763: The Quebec government did not recognize the ruling of the Judicial Committee, resulting in a boundary dispute which remains ongoing . The Statute of Westminster 1931 was enacted, and confirmed the autonomy of the Dominions – including Canada and its provinces – from the UK, as well as their free association in the Commonwealth . In the 1930s, Quebec's economy was affected by the Great Depression because it greatly reduced US demand for Quebec exports. Between 1929-32

11325-468: The RCM of Rimouski-Neigette . The two largest lakes of the region are Lake Témiscouata (66.82 km (25.80 sq mi)) and Lake Matapedia (38.07 km [14.70 sq mi]), significant human settlement on their shore has taken place, as well as along the roads going through their valleys. These lakes also distinguish themselves by their north west and south west orientation, compared to most of

11476-694: The Saint Lawrence River to the northwest, the Notre Dame Mountains section of the Appalachians, as well as the Matapédia and Témiscouata valleys, which forms the natural communication corridors with the Gaspé Peninsula , the state of Maine in the United States, and the Maritimes . The region takes its name from the Saint Lawrence River, a waterway that has a central role in the history of Quebec and forms

11627-665: The Taconic Chain. The estuary of the Saint Lawrence river in front of the Charlevoix region is one of the most active seismic regions in the east of Canada. Five earthquakes of a magnitude superior to 6 have occurred in history, in February 1663, December 1791, October 1860, October 1870 and February 1925. The distribution of these earthquakes indicates a concentration in the estuary, near La Malbaie and Rivière-du-Loup . Surveys and

11778-514: The US instead of its labour force. In 1910, Armand Lavergne passed the Lavergne Law , the first language legislation in Quebec. It required use of French alongside English on tickets, documents, bills and contracts issued by transportation and public utility companies. At this time, companies rarely recognized the majority language of Quebec. Clerico-nationalists eventually started to fall out of favour in

11929-659: The Ungava Peninsula and consists of flat Arctic tundra inhabited mostly by the Inuit. Further south is the Eastern Canadian Shield taiga ecoregion and the Central Canadian Shield forests . The Appalachian region has a narrow strip of ancient mountains along the southeastern border of Quebec. Quebec has one of the world's largest reserves of fresh water , occupying 12% of its surface and representing 3% of

12080-637: The affirmation of the French-Canadian people, including the caisses populaires Desjardins in 1900, the Club de hockey Canadien in 1909, Le Devoir in 1910, the Congress on the French language in Canada in 1912, and L'Action nationale in 1917. In 1885, liberal and conservative MPs formed the Parti national out of anger with the previous government for not having interceded in the execution of Louis Riel . In 1898,

12231-481: The ancient bedrock of the Canadian Shield . The interior portions of the peninsula are dominated by the Chic-Choc Mountains , part of the Notre Dame Mountains , an extension of the Appalachian Mountains . The town of Murdochville , at about 660 metres (2,170 ft) above sea level, has had a varied history, and is now home to several wind turbines . It is reached by Route 198 , which extends inland from

12382-469: The capital of New France and its regions. The settlement was built as a permanent fur trading outpost, where First Nations traded furs for French goods, such as metal objects, guns, alcohol, and clothing. Missionary groups arrived in New France after the founding of Quebec City. Coureurs des bois and Catholic missionaries used river canoes to explore the interior and establish fur trading forts. The Compagnie des Cent-Associés , which had been granted

12533-511: The centre of the region, the reserves of Fernald , Charles-B.-Banville and Irène-Fournier . At the same level of protection, there are six floristic parks, most of them within the Gaspésie National Park. The largest protected areas of the region are those protected by the confinement areas of the white-tailed deer . Just these protected areas cover nearly 80% of the protected area of the region. Bas-Saint-Laurent contains about 27% of

12684-418: The climate of Quebec is cold and humid, with variations determined by latitude, maritime and elevation influences. Because of the influence of both storm systems from the core of North America and the Atlantic Ocean, precipitation is abundant throughout the year, with most areas receiving more than 1,000 mm (39 in) of precipitation, including over 300 cm (120 in) of snow in many areas. During

12835-510: The coasts of Hudson and Ungava Bays. In the 15th century, the Byzantine Empire fell , prompting Western Europeans to search for new sea routes to the Far East . Around 1522–23, Giovanni da Verrazzano persuaded King Francis I of France to commission an expedition to find a western route to Cathay (China) via a Northwest Passage . Though this expedition was unsuccessful, it established

12986-453: The colony. In 1666, intendant Jean Talon organized the first census and counted 3,215 Habitants. Talon enacted policies to diversify agriculture and encourage births, which, in 1672, had increased the population to 6,700. New France's territory grew to extend from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico , and would encompass the Great Lakes . In the early 1700s, Governor Callières concluded

13137-502: The context of a Westminster system and is both a liberal democracy and a constitutional monarchy . The Premier of Quebec acts as head of government . Independence debates have played a large role in Quebec 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

13288-743: The creation of the Bloc Québécois . In 1995, Jacques Parizeau called a referendum on Quebec's independence from Canada. This consultation ended in failure for sovereignists, though the outcome was very close: 50.6% "no" and 49.4% "yes". In 1998, following the Supreme Court of Canada 's decision on the Reference Re Secession of Quebec , the Parliaments of Canada and Quebec defined the legal frameworks within which their respective governments would act in another referendum. On October 30, 2003,

13439-546: The east (Franco-Catholic). Lower Canada's lands consisted of the coasts of the Saint Lawrence River, Labrador and Anticosti Island, with the territory extending north to Rupert's Land , and south, east and west to the borders with the US, New Brunswick, and Upper Canada. The creation of Upper and Lower Canada allowed Loyalists to live under British laws and institutions, while Canadiens could maintain their French civil law and Catholic religion. Governor Haldimand drew Loyalists away from Quebec City and Montreal by offering free land on

13590-470: The emerging welfare state . However, as early as 1948, French Canadian society began to develop new ideologies and desires in response to societal changes such as the television, the baby boom , workers' conflicts , electrification of the countryside, emergence of a middle class , the rural exodus and urbanization , expansion of universities and bureaucracies, creation of motorways , renaissance of literature and poetry, and others. The Quiet Revolution

13741-511: The establishment of a seismometer network were conducted in the 1970s and allowed to circumscribe the seismically active area in an area of 30 km (19 mi) on 85 km (53 mi) along the Saint Lawrence River, this zone includes the towns of La Malbaie, Baie-Saint-Paul and La Pocatière . The seismic data indicates that an earthquake happens on average every 36 hours in the Charlevoix-Kamouraska zone. They are concentrated in

13892-504: The estuary and gulf of Saint Lawrence River includes aquatic mammal wildlife, such as the blue whale , the beluga , the minke whale and the harp seal (earless seal). The Nordic marine animals include the walrus and the narwhal . Inland waters are populated by small to large freshwater fish, such as the largemouth bass , the American pickerel , the walleye , the Acipenser oxyrinchus ,

14043-758: The federal Official Languages Act was passed to introduce a linguistic context conducive to Quebec's development. In 1973, the liberal government of Robert Bourassa initiated the James Bay Project on La Grande River . In 1974, it enacted the Official Language Act , which made French the official language of Quebec. In 1975, it established the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement . Quebec's first modern sovereignist government, led by René Lévesque , materialized when

14194-449: The federal government pledged not to conscript soldiers for overseas service. As the war went on, more and more English Canadians voiced support for conscription, despite firm opposition from French Canada. Following a 1942 poll that showed 73% of Quebec's residents were against conscription, while 80% or more were for conscription in every other province, the federal government passed Bill 80 for overseas service. Protests exploded and

14345-655: The fine stripe of land along the Saint Lawrence river . These are separated by an intermediate area of ridges and foothills which meld with the plateaus. The Notre Dame Mountains, are a group of small mountains with summits reaching between 600 and 700 m (2,000 and 2,300 ft) high. the landscape is sometimes interrupted by valleys, like the Témiscouata valley or Matapedia Valley . These two parallel valleys allow access to The Maritimes , Maine and Chaleur Bay . The littoral, spanning across 320 km (200 mi)

14496-546: The forested area of the region. It is mainly located in the centre of Bas-Saint-Laurent between Rivière-du-Loup and Rimouski . The main species of trees within it are the golden birch, balsam fir , white spruce, red spruce and the cedar , as well as rarer quaking aspens, paper birches, balsam poplars and mountain maple . However, a more profound analysis of the composition of the forests of Bas-Saint-Laurent allows to shed light on which trees grow at which elevations, type of soils and latitudes. Miroslav Grandtner categorized

14647-482: The forests of Bas-Saint-Laurent. Many species of birds live along the estuary of Saint Lawrence . The Canada goose , snow goose and brant do a halt in the tidal marshes located along the litoral between La Pocatière and Pointe-au-Père . Diverse types of duck are present, like the American black duck , Northern pintail , two types of surface duck. Diving ducks are represented by the common goldeneye and ring-necked duck , while sea ducks are represented by

14798-449: The government of Quebec dismantled the financial syndicates of Saint Jacques Street . Quebec began to nationalize its electricity . In order to buy out all the private electric companies and build new Hydro-Québec dams, Quebec was lent $ 300 million by the US in 1962, and $ 100 million by British Columbia in 1964. The Quiet Revolution was particularly characterized by the 1962 Liberal Party's slogan "Masters in our own house", which, to

14949-568: The higher elevations. The northern regions of Quebec have an arctic climate (Köppen ET ), with very cold winters and short, much cooler summers. The primary influences in this region are the Arctic Ocean currents (such as the Labrador Current ) and continental air masses from the High Arctic . The all-time record high temperature was 40.0 °C (104.0 °F) and the all-time record low

15100-558: The land devoted to agriculture covers 2,819 km (1,088 sq mi), while developed areas represent only 143 km (55 sq mi), which equals to 0.5% of the total land area of the region. Even if an isolated area of Cambrian and Precambrian rocks exist in an area of the Chic-Choc Mountains , the region belongs generally to the geologic province of the Appalachian Mountains , which covers an area of 3,000 km (1,200 sq mi), between Alabama and Newfoundland . The marks of two episodes of mountain-building ,

15251-454: The late 17th century; France made land concessions to settlers under the Seigneurial system of New France to encourage colonization. However, development of this region was slow until it started to exploit its mixed forests. Settlement gradually developed further inland, on the littoral, and since the late 20th century a leisure and recreation industry has developed. Its geography is marked by

15402-467: The layout of the administrative areas of Bas-Saint-Laurent, by setting limits to some regional county municipalities. The largest drainage basins of the region are located in the south of the territory. These are the drainage basins of the Matapedia River (3,328 km [1,285 sq mi]) and Madawaska River (2,861 km [1,105 sq mi]). Ranking third, the drainage basin of

15553-594: The least populous RCM of the region is Les Basques , with only 9,000 inhabitants in 2011, a number which decreased by 1,300 since 1996, making it also the RCM with the highest annual rate of population decrease of the region, with a rate of 9.6% between 2006 and 2011. Forested areas and waterways dominate the land use of Bas-Saint-Laurent. The region counts 100,071 km (38,638 sq mi) of mixed forests , 4,918 km (1,899 sq mi) of coniferous forests and 6,177 km (3,838 mi) of waterways. Humid lands only covers 58 km (22 sq mi) and

15704-592: The legal rights under the French seigneurial régime which applied in Quebec, and wanting to use the British legal system to which they were accustomed, the Loyalists protested to British authorities until the Constitutional Act of 1791 was enacted, dividing the Province of Quebec into two distinct colonies starting from the Ottawa River : Upper Canada to the west (predominantly Anglo-Protestant) and Lower Canada to

15855-560: The legend of the Kingdom of Saguenay to the King, inspiring him to order a third expedition, this time led by Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval ; it was unsuccessful in its goal of finding the kingdom. After these expeditions, France mostly abandoned North America for 50 years because of its financial crisis; France was involved in the Italian Wars and religious wars. Around 1580, the rise of

16006-630: The majority of its population residing in the St. Lawrence River valley, which contains its most populous city of Montreal and the eponymous provincial capital of Quebec . Between 1534 and 1763, what is now Quebec was the French colony of Canada and was the most developed colony in New France . Following the Seven Years' War , Canada became a British colony , first as the Province of Quebec (1763–1791), then Lower Canada (1791–1841), and lastly part of

16157-448: The middle of the 20th century due to the strong natality and a reduction of child mortality, the inhabited area of Bas-Saint-Laurent has declined over the last 50 years. This observation is not unique to the region however, as the population living on the south shore of the estuary, in the regions of Côte-du-Sud, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie , has dropped from 9.3 to 5.4% of the total population of Quebec between 1951 and 1991. This decline

16308-690: The name New France for northeast North America. In his first expedition ordered from the Kingdom of France, Jacques Cartier became the first European explorer to discover and map Quebec when he landed in Gaspé on July 24, 1534. In the second expedition, in 1535, Cartier explored the lands of Stadacona and named the village and its surrounding territories Canada (from kanata , 'village' in Iroquois ). Cartier returned to France with about 10 St. Lawrence Iroquoians , including Chief Donnacona . In 1540, Donnacona told

16459-479: The name Québec in 1608 for the colonial outpost he would use as the administrative seat for New France . The Paleo-Indians , theorized to have migrated from Asia to America between 20,000 and 14,000 years ago, were the first people to establish themselves on the lands of Quebec, arriving after the Laurentide Ice Sheet melted roughly 11,000 years ago. From them, many ethnocultural groups emerged. By

16610-482: The name of the region was present on a map made in 1863 by Stanislas Drapeau, it took time to settle in; the expression "le Bas du Fleuve" being preferred. With the settlement of Témiscouata and la Matapédia , the name start imposing itself between 1920 and 1960, when a number of enterprises and organisms of the region delimitated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rimouski and Rivière-du-Loup , like

16761-574: The next hundred years. This phenomenon is known as the Grande Hémorragie and threatened the survival of the Canadien nation. The massive British immigration ordered from London that followed the failed rebellion, compounded this. To combat it, the Church adopted the revenge of the cradle policy. In 1844, the capital of the Province of Canada was moved from Kingston to Montreal. Political unrest came to

16912-692: The north shore of Lake Ontario to anyone willing to swear allegiance to George III. During the War of 1812 , Charles-Michel de Salaberry became a hero by leading the Canadian troops to victory at the Battle of the Chateauguay . This loss caused the Americans to abandon the Saint Lawrence Campaign, their major strategic effort to conquer Canada. Gradually, the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada , who represented

17063-530: The northern border of the region. The name of the river, and by extension the region, has a hagiotoponymic origin originating from the baye sainct Laurens named by Jacques Cartier , originating from the date of discovery being 10 August 1535, day of the festival of Saint Lawrence in the Christian martyrology . The name of the bay was used again to describe the river when the Narration , his report of his expedition,

17214-548: The northern shore of the peninsula, soon climbing into the mountains and entering vast forests, crossing several small rivers before reaching the town. From Murdochville, Route 198 follows the York River to the city of Gaspé on the peninsula's eastern tip. The peninsula's economy has historically been focused on fishing, agriculture and forestry. But primary resource-based industries are suffering due to overfishing , overexploitation , and fewer numbers of farmers in business, forcing

17365-429: The other lakes of the region which prefer to follow the orientation of the creases and breaks of the Appalachian Mountains. Bas-Saint-Laurent, like the rest of Quebec, is a Nordic American territory. The Quebecois geographer Louis-Edmond Hamelin categorized the region in his pre-north area, second of the five zones of his map of nordicity zones. The oceanic influence of the estuary of the Saint Lawrence River has

17516-458: The peninsula. Percé Rock (or Rocher Percé ), an island pierced by a natural arch , is just offshore of the peninsula's eastern end. The peninsula's interior is a rugged northward continuation of the Appalachian Mountains called the Chic-Chocs , with Mount Jacques-Cartier at 1,268 metres (4,160 ft) the peninsula's highest peak. Mount Albert (Mont Albert) at 1,151 m (3,776 ft)

17667-571: The people, came into conflict with the superior authority of the Crown and its appointed representatives . Starting in 1791, the government of Lower Canada was criticized and contested by the Parti canadien . In 1834, the Parti canadien presented its 92 resolutions , political demands which expressed loss of confidence in the British monarchy . Discontentment intensified throughout the public meetings of 1837, and

17818-521: The protected areas of this designation. The second largest designation by superficy are the protected areas devoted to the protection of aquatic birds, of which a large part (507 km [196 sq mi]) are in a marine environment. Although they are not strictly considered protected areas, the territories structured for the gestion of wildlife cover 45,5% of the surface area of the region. They are divided in four wildlife reserves and five Zone d'exploitation contrôlée . After reaching its peak in

17969-742: The province of Quebec, initially composed of the historic heart of the territory of the French Canadian nation and where French Canadians would most likely retain majority status. Following the London Conference of 1866 , the Quebec Resolutions were implemented as the British North America Act, 1867 and brought into force on July 1, 1867, creating Canada. Canada was composed of four founding provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec. These last two came from splitting

18120-498: The provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border with the territory of Nunavut . To the north, it is flanked by major bodies of water such as James Bay , Hudson Bay , Hudson Strait , Ungava Bay , Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, and in the south, it shares a border with the United States . It is the second-largest province by population , with

18271-529: The referendum, Lévesque went back to Ottawa to start negotiating constitutional changes. On November 4, 1981, the Kitchen Accord took place. Delegations from the other nine provinces and the federal government reached an agreement in the absence of Quebec's delegation, which had left for the night. Because of this, the National Assembly refused to recognize the new Constitution Act, 1982 , which patriated

18422-528: The region in third place, Mauricie (47.2). Quebec Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada . It is the largest province by area with an area of 1.5 million square kilometres (0.58 million square miles) and more than 12,000 km (7,500 mi) of borders, in North America , Quebec is located in Central Canada . The province shares land borders with

18573-400: The region lives in two RCMs , Rimouski-Neigette (55,364 inhabitants in 2011) and Rivière-du-Loup (34,326 inhabitants in 2011). Since 1951, the region has seen its population stagnate or slightly decline. This is due to two opposing factors, the decline of rural areas and the reinforcement of urban areas, like Rimouski and Rivière-du-Loup. The share of these two towns alone went from 16% of

18724-472: The region to move towards tourism and the services industry . The peninsula is one of Quebec's most popular tourism regions. The Gaspé National Park (Parc national de la Gaspésie) is in the Chic-Chocs, and Forillon National Park is at the peninsula's northeastern tip. A section of the International Appalachian Trail travels through the peninsula's mountains. Bonaventure National Park

18875-426: The region. On land, the eider appears around 18,000 BP and a mastodon closely related to the mammoth inhabited the area before disappearing 8000 years ago. Today, the region is dominated by the big game moose , white-tailed deer and black bear . The small game is composed of the ruffed grouse , the spruce grouse and snowshoe hare . The muskrat , North American beaver and red fox are also usual sights in

19026-650: The results of the Seven Years' War in Europe, New France was put under a British military regime led by Governor James Murray . In 1762, Commander Jeffery Amherst ended the French presence in Newfoundland at the Battle of Signal Hill . France secretly ceded the western part of Louisiana and the Mississippi River Delta to Spain via the Treaty of Fontainebleau . On February 10, 1763, the Treaty of Paris concluded

19177-576: The same connection to the British Empire and there was no direct threat to Canada, French Canadians saw no reason to fight. By late 1916, casualties were beginning to cause reinforcement problems. After enormous difficulty in the federal government, because almost every French-speaking MP opposed conscription while almost all English-speaking MPs supported it, the Military Service Act became law on August 29, 1917. French Canadians protested in what

19328-658: The seigneurial system was abolished, the Grand Trunk Railway was built and the Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty was implemented. In 1866, the Civil Code of Lower Canada was adopted. In 1864, negotiations began for Canadian Confederation between the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia at the Charlottetown Conference and Quebec Conference . After having fought as

19479-411: The south west end of the region, the littoral stripe before Rivère-du-Loup and the medium plateau in the golden birch forest, the high plateau as part of the paper birch forest, and finally, the Chic-Choc Mountains as part of the white spruce forest. The fauna of Bas-Saint-Laurent is similar to the one found in other parts of Quebec and has a relatively poor diversity in species. The glacial episodes of

19630-476: The south, it borders Maine of the United States, and the Canadian New Brunswick and the regions of Chaudière-Appalaches and Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine . It had a population of 199,039 and a land area of 22,188.19 km (8,566.91 sq mi) as of the 2021 census . The territory has evidence of human occupation since the Pleistocene by successive indigenous peoples. The historic First Nations occupied it all until European colonisation started in

19781-477: The spring of 1760, the Chevalier de Lévis besieged Quebec City and forced the British to entrench themselves during the Battle of Sainte-Foy . However, loss of French vessels sent to resupply New France after the fall of Quebec City during the Battle of Restigouche marked the end of France's efforts to retake the colony. Governor Pierre de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial signed the Articles of Capitulation of Montreal on September 8, 1760. While awaiting

19932-420: The subduction. The two collided 450 million years ago and formed a chain of immature mountains, the Taconic Mountains , their nappe covers a part of the Saint Lawrence Lowlands . This first zone, which follows the river today, is known as Humber's zone. Dating from the Ordovician , this bedrock is composed primarily of sedimentary rocks  : sandstone , mudrocks and conglomerates . South of this zone,

20083-439: The summer and −40 °C (−40 °F) during the Quebec winter, Most of central Quebec, ranging from 51 to 58 degrees North has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc ). Winters are long, very cold, and snowy, and among the coldest in eastern Canada, while summers are warm but very short due to the higher latitude and the greater influence of Arctic air masses. Precipitation is also somewhat less than farther south, except at some of

20234-465: The summer, severe weather patterns (such as tornadoes and severe thunderstorms ) occur occasionally. Quebec is divided into four climatic zones: arctic, subarctic, humid continental and East maritime. From south to north, average temperatures range in summer between 25 and 5 °C (77 and 41 °F) and, in winter, between −10 and −25 °C (14 and −13 °F). In periods of intense heat and cold, temperatures can reach 35 °C (95 °F) in

20385-405: The temperature variations between winter and summer as "brutal". During the winter, which lasts for five months, the cold freezes the lakes and rivers and transforms the estuary into a "vast prairie of ice". The oceanic influence, while it mitigates the cold of the winters, cools the summers. The average temperature in July in Rimouski inferior by 4 degrees to the one recorded in Quebec. To this,

20536-437: The term " Canadian ", referring to Canada, their place of residence. The French population, who had thus far identified as "Canadiens", began to be identified with their ethnic community under the name " French Canadian " as they were a "French of Canada". As access to new lands remained problematic because they were still monopolized by the Clique du Château , an exodus of Canadiens towards New England began and went on for

20687-449: The territory is composed of golden birch trees, an Ecotone marking the transition between the temperate nordique area and the boreal area. It is located mainly in the highest part of the Appalachian plateau. The main species of trees within it are the paper birch, the balsam fir , and the white spruce, as well as rarer quaking aspens and jack pines . The second forest in superficy is composed of primarily golden birch, and covers 35% of

20838-448: The total area of Quebec. The Canadian boreal forest is the northernmost and most abundant of the three forest areas in Quebec that straddle the Canadian Shield and the upper lowlands of the province. Given a warmer climate, the diversity of organisms is also higher: there are about 850 plant species and 280 vertebrate species. The mixed forest is a transition zone between the Canadian boreal forest and deciduous forest . This area contains

20989-496: The total population of the region in 1951 to 34% in 2001. The new importance of these urban centres explain the fact that only their RCMs have had a population increase between 1951 and 2001. Opposite to these, RCMs devoid of a strong urban centre, like La Matapédia , Témiscouata and Les Basques , have been the RCMs where the population has dropped the most in the region. Accounting for the population decrease observed since 1951, even when Quebec's population has increased by 82%, it

21140-416: The unemployment rate increased from 8% to 26%. In an attempt to remedy this, the Quebec government enacted infrastructure projects, campaigns to colonize distant regions, financial assistance to farmers, and the secours directs – the ancestor to Canada's Employment Insurance . French Canadians remained opposed to conscription during the Second World War. When Canada declared war in September 1939,

21291-416: The war. France ceded its North American possessions to Great Britain. Thus, France had put an end to New France and abandoned the remaining 60,000 Canadiens, who sided with the Catholic clergy in refusing to take an oath to the British Crown . The rupture from France would provoke a transformation within the descendants of the Canadiens that would eventually result in the birth of a new nation . After

21442-418: The western part of the territory, this littoral plain is interrupted by inselbergs , ridges reaching that can reach 200m in height, typical of the riverside land of Bas-Saint-Laurent In the Quaternary , the region was marked by glaciation. the Wisconsin glaciation caused the crust to sink by 200 m (660 ft) in the vicinity of Rimouski . When the end of the glaciation started in 18,000 BP, it opened

21593-431: The wind of the north west adds humidity and cold. Rainfall is abundant and consistent throughout the year. The region currently receives annually 800 to 1,200 mm (31 to 47 in) of rainfall, of which between 250 and 360 cm (98 and 142 in) is snow. The oceanic influence is less present inland, where slightly warmer temperatures in the summer and slightly colder in the winter are recorded. Bas-Saint-Laurent

21744-422: The withdrawal of the water formed a number of narrow streaks of emerged land near the riverside between Rivière-du-Loup and Rimouski , known today as Île aux Lièvres , Île Verte , île aux Basques , île du Bic and île Saint-Barnabé . The estuary of the Saint Lawrence river , to the north of the region, plays a primary role in the region. It is divided in two regions split at Cacouna : west of Cacouna, it

21895-437: The world's renewable fresh water . More than half a million lakes and 4,500 rivers empty into the Atlantic Ocean , through the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Arctic Ocean , by James , Hudson , and Ungava bays. The largest inland body of water is the Caniapiscau Reservoir ; Lake Mistassini is the largest natural lake. The Saint Lawrence River has some of the world's largest sustaining inland Atlantic ports. Since 1959,

22046-421: Was a period of modernization, secularization and social reform, where French Canadians expressed their concern and dissatisfaction with their inferior socioeconomic position , and the cultural assimilation of francophone minorities in the English-majority provinces. It resulted in the formation of the modern Québécois identity and Quebec nationalism . In 1960, the Liberal Party of Quebec was brought to power with

22197-436: Was little immigration, the colony grew because of the Habitants' high birth rates. In 1665, the Carignan-Salières regiment developed the string of fortifications known as the "Valley of Forts" to protect against Iroquois invasions and brought with them 1,200 new men. To redress the gender imbalance and boost population growth, King Louis XIV sponsored the passage of approximately 800 young French women ( King's Daughters ) to

22348-417: Was the primary communication route between New France and France, and Acadia contained 5,000 Acadians . In the siege of Louisbourg (1745) , the British were victorious, but returned the city to France after war concessions. The last of the four French and Indian Wars was the Seven Years' War ("The War of the Conquest " in Quebec) and lasted from 1754 to 1763. In 1754, tensions escalated for control of

22499-412: Was the warmest and driest recorded in more than 60 years. Given the geology of the province and its different climates, there are a number of large areas of vegetation in Quebec. These areas, listed in order from the northernmost to the southernmost are: the tundra , the taiga , the Canadian boreal forest (coniferous), mixed forest and deciduous forest. On the edge of Ungava Bay and Hudson Strait

22650-411: Was translated to Spanish and Italian, and definitively fixed by its use in the world map of cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, according to historian Marcel Trudel . The name "Bas-Saint-Laurent", however, only appeared much later. In their Histoire du Bas-Saint-Laurent , the historians Fortin and Lechasseur assert that the relation with the Saint Lawrence grew with the population of the region in

22801-423: Was −51.0 °C (−59.8 °F). The all-time record of the greatest precipitation in winter was established in winter 2007–2008, with more than five metres of snow in the area of Quebec City. March 1971, however, saw the " Century's Snowstorm " with more than 40 cm (16 in) in Montreal to 80 cm (31 in) in Mont Apica of snow within 24 hours in many regions of southern Quebec. The winter of 2010

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