| |||||
| Anthem | "Salut au Québec" | ||||
| Capital | Quebec City | ||||
| Largest city | Montreal | ||||
| Other cities | Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Saguenay | ||||
| Language official |
French | ||||
| others | English | ||||
| Ethnic Groups main |
European White | ||||
| others | Indigenous American | ||||
| Demonym | Quebecois, Quebecer | ||||
| Government | Constitutional republic | ||||
| Legislature | Parliament of Quebec | ||||
| President | Jacques Parizeau | ||||
| Prime Minister | Pauline Marois | ||||
| Population | 8,177,561 | ||||
| Established | 1995 | ||||
| Independence | from Canada | ||||
| declared | 1995 | ||||
| recognized | 1995 | ||||
| Currency | Quebec franc | ||||
| Internet TLD | .qb | ||||
The Republic of Quebec (French: Le Republique du Québec), also known as Quebec, is a Francophone North American nation located north of the United States and east of Mainland Canada. It border Atlantic Canada to the east. Quebec is a parliamentary republic, with a mostly honorary President and a Prime Minister who serves as head of the government. The capital of Quebec is Quebec City, and its largest city is Montreal. The current President of Quebec is Jacques Parizeau, and its Prime Minister is Pauline Marois.
History
Quebec was formerly known as New France and became part of British Canada in the 1760s following the end of the Seven Years War. Towards the middle of the 20th century, a distinct Quebecois nationalist movement began in Communist Canada, most notably when Pierre Trudeau was made Premier of Canada in 1970. Following Canadian independence in 1991, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney promised a referendum on Quebecois sovereignty. In the January 1995 referendum, Quebecois were given the options of "Federation," "Sovereign Status" or "Independence." 54% of Quebecois chose Independence, and on November 1, 1995 Quebec officially seceded from the Federation of Canada, selecting as its first President Lucien Bouchard and as its first Prime Minister Jacques Parizeau.
Jacques Parizeau resigned leadership of the dominant Bloc Quebecois political party in 1999 and Bernard Landry took over, governing until he was defeated in the 2004 elections. The current Prime Minister, Pauline Marois, took office in November of 2012 after leading the Bloc Quebecois back to the majority over the ADQ-PLQ alliance.