Canada: Quebec

Quebec is:

• Canada's largest province, situated in the east of the country
  
• the only Canadian province where French is the official language
• responsible for selecting its own immigrants, welcoming about 45 000 each year

Advantages of living in Quebec

• a safe environment in north America
• a vibrant culture, the meeting point of European and American tendencies
• an affordable cost of living, proportional to the the average salary
• good public health and education systems
• the French-speaking society eases integration of French-speaking immigrants whilst offering a new but accessible cultural experience to other immigrants
• high standard of living
• a welcoming society with strong values centred around liberty, quality and tolerance

Statistics

Geography:

Situated in the north-eastern area of North America, Quebec covers an area of 1 667 441 km² roughly equivalent to the combined land mass of Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. Quebec lies between the Arctic Ocean in the north, the USA and New Brunswick to the south, NewFoundland, Labrador and the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Ontario to the west. It is the largest of the Canadian provinces.

Population:

7 598 146 inhabitants, of which 3 750 120 men and 3 848 026 women

Life expectancy at birth:

77,2 years for men, 82,4 for women

Average age:

38,4 (men); 40,8 (women)

Language:

French (official)

mother tongues: French (80,9%), English (7,8 %), other (10%)

Religions:

No religion (5,6%); Roman Catholic (83%); Protestant (4,7%); Orthodox Christian (1,4%); Muslim (1,5%); Jewish (1,3%); Buddhist (0,6%); Hindu (0,3%); Sikh (0,1%)

Capital:

Québec

Administrative regions (17):

Bas Saint-Laurent; Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean; Capitale-Nationale; Mauricie; Estrie; Montréal; Outaouais; Abitibi-Témiscamingue; Côte-Nord; Nord-du-Québec; Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine; Chaudière-Appalaches; Laval; Lanaudière; Laurentides; Montérégie; Centre-du-Québec

Political system:

Three tiers: federal, provincial, municipal.

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $29,400 (2002 .est)

Unemployment rate:

8,5%