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.
After the failure of that union, Quebec became in a province of the Canadian federation. The government is in charge of the executive powers. This makes them provide all the political management needed in Quebec. Also, all the bills that are being passed to the parliament are conceptualized and drafted by the government. The prime minister of the province of Quebec is voted in by the electorate during the election of majority of the members of a single party.
They hold this power for as long as the majority of the Members have confidence in them. More information about this topic can be found from the official website of the National Assembly of Quebec. What is one reason why the federal government wants Quebec to remain part of Canada? Why was the Quebec Act made? Why does Canada's government not want Quebec to become independent? How do people make a living in Quebec? Who is the Premier of the provincial government in Quebec?
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