Quebec

Physical Geography• Large area• Straddles three physiographic regions:

– Canadian Shield– Appalachia– St. Lawrence Lowlands

• St. Lawrence River separates Canadian Shield & Appalachia regions

Physical Geography• Landforms

– Canadian shield = craton– Low, rolling

topography

• Glaciation

Physical Geography

• Climate (Dfc & Dfb)– Often extreme:

blizzards, ice storms– Short, mild summers– Wet– Weather from West

to East

Physical Geography

Precipitation

Physical Geography

Soils

Historical Settlement

• First Nations & John Cabot

• Jacques Cartier, 1534

• Sam Champlain, 1608

• Furs & Fishing:– Lakes & Interior

waterways

New France in 1597

Historical Settlement• Seigneurial System• 18th and 19th centuries• The “Long Lot” System (Rang)

– Maximized river and road access for transportation– Rotures, mean distance of ½ mile

Long Lot Example

Political Economy• Primary sector, agriculture

– Thin, rocky soils• Wheat primary crop until great plains competition• Tried potatoes, apples, oats, dairy products, sugar beets in

18th and 19th centuries

– Trapping, fishing, forestry

Paper Mill, Quebec

Urban Industry

Montreal: Financial

Quebec City: Administrative

Québécois Nationalism

• Federation

– Powers and functions divided between a central government and political subdivisions

– Significant degree of political autonomy – Canada is a federal state, divided into ten

provinces and three territories

• British North America Act of 1867– Bilingual

• Rise of French as a first language

• The “Quiet Revolution”

Quebec Secession Movement

• 82% of Quebec = French as first language• But many other languages spoken:

– Italian and Ukranian in Ontario and the Prairie Provinces

– European and Chinese in British Columbia– Inuit and indigenous Native Canadian in

Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut

• Québécois assimilated into dominant English-speaking majority?

Québécois Response

Survey Says…

Religion

Basilique Ste.-Anne-de-Beaupre in Quebec City

Southern Quebec

Primary places of settlement

Near Gaspé

Northern Quebec

• > 90% of land, but few people

• Influence of Grand Trunk Railway

• Economy?– Mineral resources, forestry, mining, and

hydroelectric power

• More in Lecture 17

Urban Quebec

The Future?

• Dominant English-speaking Realm, yet French Culture prevalent

• Independence from Canada?

• Post-industrial economy dominated by services and information technology– Generating economic security

• Influence of EU and NAFTA?

Readings & Discussion Question

• Reading: Canadien• Reading: Maple Syrup• Reading: Joyce, William W. 1997. Introducing

Canada: Content Backgrounders, Strategies, and Resources for Educators. Washington, D.C.: National Council for the Social Studies, Bulletin 94.– Useful manual for anyone interested in helping

students learn more about Canada’s lands, peoples, politics, and economic development.

How might Quebec’s unique French heritage and culture impact its future?

Related Books

• Bone, R. M. 2000. The Regional Geography of Canada. New York: Oxford University.– Great look at the geography of Canada with a

specific section devoted to Quebec separatism.

• Young, Brian and John Dickinson. 1993. A Short History of Quebec. Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman.– Concise outline of Quebec.

WebSources

• Quebec Tourismhttp://www.bonjourquebec.com/anglais/

• Quebec Sovereignty (in French)http://www.souverainete.info/quoi.htm

• Immigration and Cultural Diversityhttp://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/vivrequebec/section9/9_2-an.htm