Québec
From Conservapedia
Québec is the largest province in Canada geographically, and the second most populous after Ontario. The capital of Québec is Québec City with the largest city being Montréal. Quebec entered Confederation in 1867 and has a total area of 1,540,680 km2. The population of Quebec was 7,546,131 in 2006, approximately 23.4% of the national total.[1]
Quebec traces its roots to French colonization of North America prior to the English conquest of Canada during the French and Indian Wars. Quebec still retains much of the unique French culture, although this has become distinct from the culture of France.
The official language of the province is French, although many residents are bilingual, speaking both French and English. Laws and regulations must be written in both English and French as per the Constitution Act of 1867.
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Economy
The per capita provincial income in 2001 was $28,756 (Cdn).[2]. This has lagged behind the overall growth of Canada, in part because of the successive separatist governments who did not create a stable environment and their policies of large government intervention. The economy has a large aerospace and manufacturing sector, however mineral extraction and forestry also play a large role.
Politics and Government
On May 20th, 1980 a separatist government held a referendum on declaring independence from Canada. This was defeated by a 60% to 40% vote. A second referendum was held on October 31st, 1995 and saw the separatist side lose again, but by less than two percentage points.
The separatist movement has waned recently, and since 2003 Québec has been governed by a pro-federalist party. On March 26, 2007, the Liberal Party of Québec, led by Jean Charest, was elected to a minority government, with Mario Dumont's Action Démocratique Québec forming the official opposition. The former official opposition, the Parti Québecois led by André Boisclair, finished the election in third place.
