How long has quebec been a part of canada

A few years after the Conquest, the remaining French population of the new British colony benefited from tension between the Thirteen Colonies and Britain with the Quebec Act of The Quebec Act enlarged the frontiers of the Province of Quebec, recognized freedom of religion for Catholics, the legality of the seigneurial system and the French civil code.

After the American Revolution, the Constitutional Act of reduced the frontiers of the province for the purpose of establishing a new colony, Upper Canada eventually Ontario , and guaranteed a legislative assembly, although with limited powers, in each colony Upper Canada and Lower Canada.

French-Canadians were, during the years to , extremely active both politically and in every aspect of economic life. Local markets, as revealed by recent research, were extraordinarily complex and diversified.

At the international level some French-Canadians, like Augustin Cuvillier and Joseph Masson, were also involved in international commerce and banking. In , the rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada over the principle of self-government resulted in military repression and the Durham Report of Lord Durham recommended the application of the principle of self-government but suggested that the only solution to the French-Canadian problem was the union of the two colonies.

The aim was to assimilate the French-Canadians. That plan was implemented in through the Union Act , voted in London in and enacted in Section 41 of the Union Act stipulated that English was the only language of the new colony. But, when Britain abolished the mercantilist system between and , the principle of self-government was granted to the colonies as compensation for the loss of protected access to the British market. Following that decision, a coalition of reformists led by Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hyppolite LaFontaine formed the first democratic government of the Province of Canada the colony formed by the union of Lower and Upper Canada in The right of the French language was recognized by the reformists.

By , during negotiations for a new federation of British North American colonies, it was clear that there was a growing recognition of the French reality in the proposed federation.

See also Quebec and Confederation ; Quebec since Confederation. The economic history of Quebec can be divided into five major periods. The first period started with the arrival of the French and lasted until the Treaty of Utrecht in The main economic activity was the fur trade. The fur trade was the heart of New France's economy. Other economic activities in the colony that might compete with the home country were discouraged.

During the second period , the economy of New France remained dominated by the fur trade although an attempt was made to diversify the economy by improving farming and by encouraging projects like the Forges Saint-Maurice.

The Conquest of did not fundamentally change the mercantilist system, at least for a while, as Britain was also a protectionist country. During the third period , wheat and timber see Timber Trade History replaced fur as the main export products. This period marked the rise of commercial capitalism. The major event of the period, between and , was the Britain's abolition of its protectionist laws and the abandonment of the mercantilist system.

The solution was to transform Canada into an industrialized country. That year marks the beginning of the fourth period , which was characterized by the rise of industrial capitalism. In , 51 per cent of Canada's manufacturing capacity was based in Ontario, compared to 32 per cent in Quebec.

The main industries in Quebec were in the sectors of textiles, footwear , food, railways and timber. By , hydroelectricity was the main source of energy while pulp and paper mills and aluminum factories were sectors of high employment and substantial foreign investment.

The fifth and final period is from to today. It is characterized by the rapid development of modern communications and services. In contrast to previous periods, there has been a shift away from manufacturing. During the s, the government invested significantly in the technology sector, and the province became an important international player with companies such as Softimage, CGI, CAE and Ubisoft. In the s, Quebec's portion of Canadian agricultural production was around 13 per cent.

Quebec has 6. After a period of intense speculation and urban growth between and , the government began protecting agricultural land. Quebec farmers have supplied public markets since the s, if not before, according to historians.

Recent studies have revealed the presence of a complex local economy during the 19th century. Pork and dairy products were a Quebec speciality by the end of the 19th century. Specialization increased the industrialization of agriculture and, as a result, the value of agricultural production in Quebec increased by more than four times between and see History of Agriculture.

The Agricultural Land Protection Act Loi sur la protection du territoire agricole was passed in and now protects Quebec's best farmland. Other measures to support the farming industry were also taken, including the introduction of crop insurance and stabilization insurance plans.

There was also a substantial increase in allocations to various assistance programs. There were 29, agricultural enterprises in Quebec in The principal industries in Quebec are manufacturing, generation of electric power, mining, pulp and paper. The Quebec manufacturing sector represents 25 per cent of the Canadian total.

Five groups of industries account for 65 per cent of the factories and over 50 per cent of the manufacturing jobs: clothing and textiles, food and beverages, paper and related products, metal products and wood products.

Quebec has the second-largest area of forest land in Canada after the Northwest Territories. Most of this land, km 2 of forests, is provincially owned, although many land claims by Aboriginal peoples are currently being contested in the courts. Around 33 million m 3 of wood is cut each year, 80 per cent of which is conifer.

Most of the cut wood is used for lumber and pulp manufacturing. For the last 20 years, a vast reforestation program has been underway. However, the number of trees planted annually has diminished since due to the adoption of new practices such as timber harvesting that protects advance regeneration. Consequently, in , million seedlings were planted, compared with million in More than three quarters of these trees were planted in public forests and the majority were softwood. The pulp and paper industry in Quebec is among the 10 leading producers in the world and the second-largest exporter of newsprint in Canada.

Over 23, workers are employed in this sector, producing about 42 per cent of Canada's paper. Timber, wood pulp and newsprint together constitute 20 per cent of Quebec exports, 80 per cent of which goes to the US. The lumber industry is another active sector. There are over 1, lumber processing plants, and the wood industry alone employs over 36, people.

By , this number had been reduced to 1, fishermen. Most owned boats that are less than 10 m long. Quebec's annual catch is only a fraction of that taken by the Atlantic Provinces. The main catches are groundfish and various molluscs and crustaceans. The fishery now relies more on shellfish, which make up two-thirds of the catch.

Groundfish now account for only 10 per cent of the catch and pelagic fish e. Quebec is the largest producer of electricity in Canada. Its installed generating capacity is 36, MW, or more than 30 per cent of the Canadian total, more than 99 per cent of the production is hydraulic. In the s, the province tried to reduce its dependency on petroleum products. In petroleum accounted for 74 per cent of all energy used in the province. In , it was The hydro main project of the s was the James Bay project.

It produces over 10, MW of electricity. A large portion of this electricity is exported to Ontario, New Brunswick and the northeastern United States. French and English merchants dreamed of a commercial empire along the St. Although the North American commercial empire never materialized, the St.

The opening of the St. The opening of the seaway in , while contributing to the development of North Shore ports, also led to the rapid growth of Ontario ports on the Great Lakes.

In the mids, The railway network was mainly developed in southern Quebec, though the National Transcontinental Railway was an expensive, failed effort to open up frontiers in the north. The construction of the Mirabel airport in the s was very controversial. Today, in retrospect, it seems that the detractors of the project were right: in , international flights were all dispatched back to Dorval airport, leaving only air freight to Mirabel.

Almost 85 per cent of the 10 million passengers who annually used Quebec's airports passed through Dorval and Mirabel. The province has 55, km of roads and 2, km of superhighways. More than 3. The political institutions of the province of Quebec have not fundamentally changed since Initially a French colony, Quebec was later administered directly by British authorities.

In it became part of a legislative union, and in a member of the Canadian federation. In Quebec did not sign Canada's repatriated Constitution, although it did sign an accord in to enter into Canada's constitutional agreement see Meech Lake Accord ; Meech Lake Accord: Document and another, the so-called Charlottetown Accord see Charlottetown Accord: Document , in However, neither of these was ratified and the latter was overwhelmingly rejected in a national referendum.

The evolution of Quebec's institutions has thus not been marked by any legal discontinuity. The most important institutions are the central political institutions. Quebec, like all constitutional regimes with a British tradition, has no rigid division of legislative and executive functions among its various agencies. Its political system is based on co-operation rather than on a separation of powers.

In the s, efforts were made to ensure an equal number of voters per riding around 34, voters. The National Assembly has the power to pass laws in areas defined as provincial jurisdiction by section 92 of the British North America Act.

The political party with a majority of seats in the National Assembly forms a government. The leader of the party becomes the premier of the province see Quebec Premiers: Table.

The Queen's representative in the province is the lieutenant-governor. He or she is appointed by federal authorities in consultation with the province. The role is mainly symbolic, but in some situations the lieutenant-governor may be called upon to settle a parliamentary issue. As the sovereign's direct and personal representative, the lieutenant-governor ensures the continuity of government.

It is the Conseil executif that decides on the general orientation of government action. The 27 or so Cabinet ministers are appointed by the premier and are bound by the principle of ministerial solidarity.

Since the s, major reforms have transformed the operations of these central bodies. The National Assembly's rules of procedure were modernized and adapted to Quebec's circumstances: a total of 11 parliamentary standing committees have been established and debates are now televised. The Conseil executif is operating more and more with the assistance of departmental standing committees, each headed by a minister of state.

A priorities committee provides better planning, and a treasury board, headed by a minister, is responsible for formulating and implementing the government's financial policies.

From the Conquest of and the Royal Proclamation of , and basically until , Quebec was a British colony. In , with the Constitutional Act , the frontiers of the colony were reduced to what is essentially southern Quebec today. The colony was also granted an elected Assembly.

But the territory, like any other British colony, was directly and undemocratically governed from the metropolis through a governor named by London and a body of Councils also composed of non-elected members.

The Assembly had limited powers. Because French-Canadians had developed a distinct identity by the end of the 18th century, the struggle for democracy became, at least for half a century, synonymous with nationalism. After the Rebellion of , Quebec was amalgamated with Upper Canada Ontario in and became part of a legislative union. Accessed 14 November In The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Historica Canada. Article published November 14, ; Last Edited April 30, The Canadian Encyclopedia , s. Thank you for your submission Our team will be reviewing your submission and get back to you with any further questions.

Thanks for contributing to The Canadian Encyclopedia. Article by Jon Tattrie. Cartier and pro-Confederation forces in Canada East focused on four arguments: Political deadlock had made the Province of Canada almost impossible to govern. Proponents believed Confederation would allow a new federal government to make national decisions, while letting individual provinces find local solutions.

Confederation would strengthen the wider economy. Britain had supported the losing South in the American Civil War , and some Canadians feared the victorious North would attack Canada in revenge. They believed creating a new country would blunt the desire for revenge. A new provincial political party devoted to separatism known as the Parti Quebecois was founded in and elected in to power in In , it organized a province-wide referendum on separatism, but Quebecers ultimately voted to stay.

Despite the defeat, the French-Canadian separatist movement grew in power and size during the s and s. That loss was quite demoralizing, however, and since then the separatist movement has declined in popularity quite a bit, with many Quebecers now inclined to regard separation as a distraction from more immediate social and economic problems.

Despite its traditionalist past, modern Quebec is said to be one of the most left-wing places in North America. Politics in Quebec are thus not terribly ideological, and most politicians support broadly similar social-democratic agendas. The bigger source of polarization is the question of separatism. In , a new party, the Coalition Avenir Quebec coalition for Quebec was elected to power for the first time.

It is a European-style conservative populist-nationalist party that has promised to not reopen the separatism debate.

Grand, gothic cathedrals remain popular tourist attractions in Quebec, even as the province becomes increasingly irreligious. The "Fleur de lis" and the colour blue are the two most common symbols of Quebec, and feature prominently on all sorts of logos and brands associated with the province.

Both are supposed to evoke nostalgic memories of ancient France. Next Chapter. Bennett Louis St. The St. Lawrence The mighty St.

City of Montreal official website Quebec City official website. Library and Archives Canada. History of Quebec As the early history chapter discusses in more detail, explorers from France were the first Europeans to actively settle the land that is now Canada, forming an impressive colony known as New France along the St. Francis Gagnon. The journey Quebec faces is that of a nation able to develop a relationship on equal footing with First Nations and the Inuit nation, where the Anglophone community has a place, and where the contribution of Quebec immigrants is valued.

We have a rendezvous with freedom and the country we have desired for so long. Quebec Politics Despite its traditionalist past, modern Quebec is said to be one of the most left-wing places in North America.