Latest Quebec happenings & news updates. stay updated with news about events, headlines and sports happening in Quebec.
The Quebec Standard, has reported on events dating back to the French Revolution. The only most read English-language online daily publication in the province, the Standard offers in-depth coverage of the stories that matter most to Quebecers.
Québec is a predominantly French-speaking province in eastern Canada with 2 vibrant cities in its south, connected by the Chemin du Roy highway along the Saint Lawrence River. The metropolis Montréal is named after Mt. Royal, the triple-peaked hill at its heart. Dating to 1608, Québec City retains its old colonial core, Place Royale, and historic harbor, Vieux Port, now known for nightlife.
Quebec is the second-most populous province of Canada, after Ontario. It is the only one to have a predominantly French-speaking population, with French as the sole official language. Most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. Approximately half of Quebec residents live in the Greater Montreal Area and the Island of Montreal. The island of Montreal houses most of the allophone and anglophone population, as well as most English-language institutions. The Nord-du-Québec region, occupying the northern half of the province, is sparsely populated and inhabited primarily by Aboriginal peoples.
The name “Québec”, which comes from the Algonquin or Ojibwe word kébec meaning “where the river narrows”, originally referred to the area around Quebec City where the Saint Lawrence River narrows to a cliff-lined gap. Early variations in the spelling of the name included Québecq (Levasseur, 1601) and Kébec (Lescarbot, 1609). French explorer Samuel de Champlain chose the name Québec in 1608 for the colonial outpost he would use as the administrative seat for the French colony of New France. The province is sometimes referred to as “La belle province” (“The beautiful province”).