Quebec Geography

english vs french, industrialized south vs rural north

part of New France 1608-1759 until they lost to British control ln 1763

• institutional form of land distribution established in New France in 1627 and officially abolished in 1854
• where each farmer gets a strip of land with access to the river

significant in Fr-Can identity until the quiet revolution

• 1960s Liberal government under Jean Lesage replaced the Church as the protector of Fr culture:
• Hydro-Quebec,
• secular public education,
• Pension Plans directed to Qu firms and stimulated Fr business

preservation of Fr culture

one in 1980, one in 1995, barely rejected in ’95 by 51%

a person whose mother tongue is neither English nor French

the government has a legal obligation to conduct its affairs in these languages, and the public has a right to receive federal services

the first language learned in childhood and still understood by the individual

the language spoken most at home

the boundary of St. Laurent boulevard largely marks the boundary between francophones and anglophones. Allophones have created pockets of their own languages in the city.

• over 80% of the population lives in the urban centres
• resource and company towns in the North

• a provincial Crown corporation, stimulated Fr economic growth in QU
• Has the most technical potential hydro power in all of Canada

the portion of a theoretical resource that can be captured and converted into electricity using a specific technology (eg. hydro)

first modern land claim and cooperation between federal, provincial, and Aboriginal governments

• first modern land claim, 1975
• Cree and Inuit peoples surrendered claims to Northern Quebec in exchange for land, revenue, and cultural administrative power over education, health, and social services

main Aboriginal group in the province, largely settled into 8 colonies after the first modern land claim

• latest settlement of Cree in QU, most negative effects
• Hydro projects flooded traditional hunting grounds, and contaminated fish

• Hydro-QU 1989 project which wanted to use 3 rivers running E-W at the top, middle, and bottom of the province.
• opposed by Cree, who put pressure on the 4 US states that wanted to buy hydropower.
• Cree were successful in dissuading NY in 1992 and delaying the project.

Hydro-QU 2001 Project to divert 2 rivers into La Grande Basin for the hydro plants already there.

2001 QU government agrees to pay 3.6 billion over 50 years (70 mil a year) for setting aside governmental obligations from the James Bay and Northern QU Agreement to provide community and economic development

explorer who established France’s hold in North America, set up the fur trade, created a respectful trading relationships with Indigenous Peoples, and explored most of Canada

this river provided an easy trade route for furs into the interior and then provided fertile land when settlers turned to farming

massive world-connected container port. Containers are re-packed from ships to transport and often products are refined and value is added

continuous attempts in the province have been made by Liberal and PQ governments to ban the niquab for public servants under the guise of state secularism