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{{Use Canadian English|date = April 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = April 2019}}
{{Cleanup rewrite|date=November 2023}}
{{History of Quebec}}
[[Quebec]] was first called ''[[Canada (New France)|Canada]]'' between 1534 and 1763. It was the [[List of French possessions and colonies|most developed colony]] of [[New France]] as well as New France's centre, responsible for a variety of dependencies (ex. [[Acadia]], [[Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador|Plaisance]], [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]], and the [[Pays d'en Haut]]). Common themes in Quebec's early history as ''Canada'' include the fur trade, emphasized by the ''coureurs du bois'' who encountered lucrative prospects, which highlights the main commercial advantage. Furthermore, the exploration of North America, war against the English, and alliances or war with Native American groups have contributed to the sense of identity and language as Quebec became surrounded by Anglophone institutions as well as Protestantism.

Following the [[Seven Years' War]], Quebec became a [[List of British colonies|British colony]] in the [[British Empire]]. It was first known as the [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Province of Quebec]] (1763–1791), then as [[Lower Canada]] (1791–1841), and then as [[Canada East]] (1841–1867) as a result of the [[Lower Canada Rebellion]]. During this period, the inferior socio-economic status of [[Francophone Canadians|francophones]] (because anglophones dominated the natural resources and industries of Quebec), the Catholic church, resistance against cultural assimilation, and isolation from non English-speaking populations were important themes; some of these issues persist until today, emphasizing the complexity of divergent language, culture, and identity.

Quebec was confederated with [[Ontario]], [[Nova Scotia]], and [[New Brunswick]] in 1867, beginning the [[Confederation of Canada]]. Important events that mark this period are the World Wars, the [[Grande Noirceur]], the [[Quiet Revolution]] (which improved the socio-economic standing of [[French Canadians]] and secularized Quebec), and the emergence of the contemporary [[Quebec sovereignty movement]].

These three large periods of Quebec's history are represented on its [[Coat of arms of Quebec|coat of arms]] with three fleurs-de-lis, followed by a lion, and then three maple leaves.

== Summary of Quebec's political transformations ==
Names in bold refer to provinces, others to sub-provincial levels of government; the first names listed are those areas mostly nearly corresponding to contemporary Quebec.
* [[Canada (New France)|Canada]], the core of '''[[New France]]''' (1608–1761): a French colony
* '''[[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Province of Quebec]]''' (1763–1791): a British colony
* '''[[Lower Canada]]''', one of [[the Canadas]] (1791–1841): a British colony
* the [[Canada East]] portion of the '''[[Province of Canada]]''' (1841–1867): a British colony
* '''[[Quebec]]''' (1867–present): a province of Canada

== Precolonial era ==
The [[Paleo-Indians]], theorized to have migrated from Asia to America between 20,000 and 14,000 years ago, were the first people to establish themselves on the lands of Quebec, arriving there after the [[Laurentide Ice Sheet]] melted 11,000-10,000 years ago. From them, many [[Ethnic groups|ethnocultural groups]] emerged over time. The vast majority are forgotten today because none of them developed writing. Before contact with Europeans, aboriginals passed down their history and other cultural knowledge through [[oral tradition]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Hunter Publishing |title=Québec |publisher=Ulysses Travel Guides |year=2008 |isbn=9782894647110 |pages=27–8}}</ref>

=== Paleo-Indian Era (11,000–8000 BC) ===
Existing archaeological evidence attests to a human presence on the current territory of Quebec sometime around 10,000 BC.<ref>{{cite book|first1=R. Cole|last1=Harris|first2=Geoffrey J.|last2=Matthews|title=Historical Atlas of Canada: From the beginning to 1800|year=1987|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9780802024954|pages=1}}</ref>

=== Archaic era (8000–1500 BC) ===
The Paleoindian period was followed by the [[Pre-Columbian era|Archaic]], a time when major changes occurred in the landscape and the settlement of the territory of Quebec. With the end of glaciation, the inhabitable territory increased in size and the environment (such as climate, vegetation, lakes and rivers) became increasingly stable. Migrations became rarer and moving around became a seasonal activity necessary for hunting, fishing or gathering.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Harris, R. Cole |first2=Geoffrey J.|last2=Matthews|title=Historical Atlas of Canada: From the beginning to 1800|year=1987|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9780802024954|pages=2}}</ref>

The nomadic populations of the Archaic period were better established and were very familiar with the resources of their territories. They adapted to their surroundings and experienced a degree of population growth. Their diet and tools diversified. Aboriginal peoples used a greater variety of local material, developed new techniques, such as polishing stone, and devised increasingly specialized tools, such as knives, awls, fish hooks, and nets.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Harris, R. Cole |first2=Geoffrey J.|last2=Matthews|title=Historical Atlas of Canada: From the beginning to 1800|year=1987|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9780802024954|pages=3}}</ref>

=== Woodland era (1500 BC–1500 AD) ===
Agriculture appeared experimentally toward the 8th century. It was only in the 14th century that it was fully mastered in the [[Saint Lawrence River]] valley by the Iroquoians, who cultivated [[maize|corn]], [[Squash (plant)|marrow]], [[sunflower]]s, and [[bean]]s.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Harris, R. Cole |first2=Geoffrey J.|last2=Matthews|title=Historical Atlas of Canada: From the beginning to 1800|year=1987|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9780802024954|pages=5}}</ref>

In the 1500s, [[Inuit]] communities could be found in [[Nunavik]], as well as 11 [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]]:

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

*[[Abenaki people|Abenakis]]
*[[Algonquin people|Algonquins]]
*[[Atikamekw]]
*[[Cree]]s
*[[Innu people|Innu]]
*[[Maliseet people|Malecite]]
*[[Mi'kmaq people|Mi'kmaq]]
*[[Mohawk people|Mohawks]]
*[[Naskapi]]
*[[Wyandot people|Wendats]]

{{div col end}}

Each group had their own languages, way of life, economies, and religious beliefs.

Some [[Linguistics|linguists]] and [[Archaeology|archaeologists]] also consider the [[St. Lawrence Iroquoians]] to be distinct enough from the other Iroquoians to be considered their own group.

== European explorations ==
In the 15th century, the [[Byzantine Empire]] [[Fall of Constantinople|fell]]. For the [[Western Christianity|Christian West]], this made trade with the [[Far East]], usually for things like [[spices]] and [[gold]], more difficult because [[sea lane|sea routes]] were now under the control of less cooperative [[Arab people|Arab]] and [[Italian people|Italian]] [[merchant]]s.<ref>Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville, et Paul-André Linteau, Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Montréal, Éditions du Boréal Express, 1985, 448 p.47</ref> As such, in the 15th and 16th centuries, the [[Spanish people|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]], and then the [[English people|English]] and [[French people|French]], began to search for a new sea route.

In 1508, only 16 years after the first voyage of [[Christopher Columbus]], [[Thomas Aubert]], who was likely part of a fishing trip near Newfoundland, brought back a few Amerindians to France. This indicates that in the early 16th century, French navigators ventured in the gulf of the St. Lawrence, along with the [[Basque people|Basques]] and the [[Spanish people|Spaniards]] who did the same.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Harris, R. Cole |first2=Geoffrey J.|last2=Matthews|title=Historical Atlas of Canada: From the beginning to 1800|year=1987|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9780802024954|pages=58}}</ref>

Around 1522–1523, the Italian navigator [[Giovanni da Verrazzano]] persuaded [[King Francis I of France]] to commission an expedition to find a western route to [[Cathay]] (China). Therefore, [[King Francis I]] launched a maritime expedition in 1524, led by [[Giovanni da Verrazzano]], to search for the [[Northwest Passage]]. Though this expedition was unsuccessful, it established the name "[[New France]]" for Northeastern North America.<ref>Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville, et Paul-André Linteau, Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Montréal, Éditions du Boréal Express, 1985, 448, p.50</ref>

[[Image:Jacques Cartier 1851-1852.jpg|left|thumb|A [[portrait]] of [[Jacques Cartier]].]]

On June 24, 1534, [[France|French]] explorer [[Jacques Cartier]] planted a cross on the [[Gaspé Peninsula]] and took possession of the territory in the name of [[Francis I of France|King François I]] of [[Kingdom of France|France]].<ref name="McIlwraith, Thomas F., and Edward K. Muller 2001 67">{{cite book|author1=McIlwraith, Thomas F.|first2=Edward K.|last2=Muller|title=North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent|year=2001|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9780742500198|pages=[https://archive.org/details/northamericahist00mcil/page/67 67]|url=https://archive.org/details/northamericahist00mcil/page/67}}</ref>

On his second voyage on May 26, 1535, Cartier sailed upriver to the [[St. Lawrence Iroquoians|St. Lawrence Iroquoian]] villages of [[Stadacona]], near present-day [[Quebec City]], and [[Hochelaga (village)|Hochelaga]], near present-day [[Montreal]]. That year, Cartier decided to name the village and its surrounding territories ''[[Canada (New France)|Canada]]'', because he had heard two young natives use the word ''kanata'' ("village" in [[Iroquoian language|Iroquois]]) to describe the location.<ref>{{cite book|first= Jacques|last= Cartier|title=Brief recit de la navigation faicte es ysles de Canada|date= 1545}}</ref> 16th-century European cartographers would quickly adopt this name.<ref>[https://echo.franco.ca/nouvellefrance/index-Id=32824&Sequence_No=32822&Repertoire_No=2137985652&Voir=journal_article&niveau=3.cfm.html "L'origine du nom Canada, 1535"], Consulted 9 July 2021</ref> Cartier also wrote that he thought he had discovered large amounts of diamonds and gold, but this ended up only being [[quartz]] and [[pyrite]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Igxh-pKXkkC&q=cartier+also+wrote+that+he+thought+he+had+discovered+large+amounts+of+diamonds+and+gold&pg=PA114|title=Champlain's Dream|first=David Hackett|last=Fischer|date=November 3, 2009|publisher=Knopf Canada|isbn=9780307373014}}</ref> Then, by following what he called the [[St Lawrence River|Great River]], he traveled West to the [[Lachine Rapids]]. There, navigation proved too dangerous for Cartier to continue his journey towards the goal: China. Cartier and his sailors had no choice but to return to Stadaconé and winter there. In the end, Cartier returned to France and took about 10 Native Americans, including the [[St. Lawrence Iroquoians]] chief [[Donnacona]], with him. In 1540, Donnacona told the legend of the [[Kingdom of Saguenay]] to the King of France. This inspired the king to order a third expedition, this time led by [[Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval]] and with the goal of finding the Kingdom of Saguenay. But, it was unsuccessful.<ref>Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville, et Paul-André Linteau, Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Montréal, Éditions du Boréal Express, 1985, p.51</ref>

In 1541, [[Jean-François Roberval]] became lieutenant of [[New France]] and had the responsibility to build a new [[colony]] in America. It was Cartier who established the first French settlement on American soil, [[Cap-Rouge, Quebec City|Charlesbourg Royal]].

France was disappointed after the three voyages of Cartier and did not want to invest further large sums in an adventure with such uncertain outcome. A period of disinterest in the new world on behalf of the French authorities followed. Only at the very end of the 16th century interest in these northern territories was renewed.<ref name="McIlwraith, Thomas F., and Edward K. Muller 2001 67" />

Still, even during the time when France did not send official explorers, [[Brittany|Breton]] and [[Basque people|Basque]] fishermen came to the new territories to stock up on [[cod]]fish and [[whale oil]]. Since they were forced to stay for a longer period of time, they started to trade their metal objects for fur provided by the indigenous people. This commerce became profitable and thus the interest in the territory was revived. 

Around 1580, France became interested in America again, because the [[fur trade]] had become important in Europe. France returned to America looking for a specific animal: the [[beaver]]. As New France was full of beavers, it became a [[Factory (trading post)|colonial-trading post]] where the main activity was the fur trade in the [[Pays d'en Haut|Pays-d'en-Haut]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Nouvelle-France |encyclopedia=L'Encyclopédie Canadienne |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/nouvelle-france |access-date=5 July 2021 |language=fr}}</ref> In 1600, [[Pierre de Chauvin de Tonnetuit]] founded the first [[Trading post|permanent trading post]] in [[Tadoussac]] for expeditions carried out in the [[Domaine du roy|Domaine du Roy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Poste de traite Chauvin |url=https://www.bonjourquebec.com/fr-ca/fiche/quoi-faire/visites-et-patrimoine/musees-et-sites-historiques/poste-de-traite-chauvin-1173290 |access-date=5 July 2021 |publisher=Bonjour Quebec |language=fr}}</ref>

Fur commerce made a permanent residence in the country worthwhile. Good relations with the aboriginal providers were necessary. For some fishermen however, a seasonal presence was sufficient. Commercial companies were founded that tried to further the interest of the Crown in colonizing the territory. They demanded that France grant a monopoly to one single company. In return, this company would also take over the [[colonization]] of the French American territory. Thus, it would not cost the king much money to build the colony. On the other hand, other merchants wanted commerce to stay unregulated. This controversy was a big issue at the turn of the 17th century.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}}

In 1603, [[Samuel de Champlain]] travelled to the Saint Lawrence River and, on [[Pointe Saint-Mathieu]], established a [[defense pact|defence pact]] with the Innu, Wolastoqiyik and Micmacs, that would be "a decisive factor in the maintenance of a French colonial enterprise in America despite an enormous numerical disadvantage vis-à-vis the British colonization in the South".<ref name="Champlain">{{cite book |last1=de Champlain |first1=Samuel |title=Des Sauvages, ou, Voyage de Samuel Champlain |year=1603}}</ref><ref name="Litalien20042">{{cite book |last=Litalien |first=Raymonde |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X2VAMDgy3YQC&pg=PA312 |title=Champlain: The Birth of French America |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7735-7256-0 |pages=312–314}}</ref> Thus also began French military support to the [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]] and [[Wyandot people|Huron]] peoples in defence against [[Iroquois]] attacks and invasions. These Iroquois attacks would become known as the [[Beaver Wars]] and would last from the early 1600s to the early 1700s.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Iroquois Wars |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/iroquois-wars |access-date=10 July 2021}}</ref> 

By the end of the 17th century, a census showed that around 10,000 French settlers were farming along the lower St. Lawrence Valley.<ref>{{cite book|author1=McIlwraith, Thomas F.|first2=Edward K.|last2=Muller|title=North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent|year=2001|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9780742500198|pages=[https://archive.org/details/northamericahist00mcil/page/73 73]|url=https://archive.org/details/northamericahist00mcil/page/73}}</ref> By 1700, fewer than 20,000 people of French origin were settled in New France, extending from Newfoundland to the Mississippi, with the pattern of settlement following the networks of the cod fishery and fur trade, although most Quebec settlers were farmers.<ref>{{cite book|author1=McIlwraith, Thomas F.|first2=Edward K.|last2=Muller|title=North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent|year=2001|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9780742500198|pages=[https://archive.org/details/northamericahist00mcil/page/77 77]|url=https://archive.org/details/northamericahist00mcil/page/77}}</ref>

==Canada of New France (1608–1763)==
{{Main|Canada (New France)|New France}}

Modern [[Quebec]] was part of the territory of [[New France]], the general name for the [[North America]]n possessions of [[France]] until 1763. At its largest extent, before the [[Treaty of Utrecht (1713)|Treaty of Utrecht]], this territory included several colonies, each with its own administration: [[Canada, New France|Canada]], [[Acadia]], [[Hudson Bay]], and [[French Louisiana|Louisiana]].

The borders of these colonies were not precisely defined, and were open on the western side, as the maps below show:

<gallery>
File:1592 4 Nova Doetecum mr.jpg|'''1592–1594:''' A map of New France made by [[cartographer]]s Jan Doetecom, Petrus Plancius, and Cornelis Claesz.
Image:Samuel de Champlain Carte geographique de la Nouvelle France.jpg|'''1612:''' A map of New France made by Samuel de Champlain.
File:1730 Canada de l'Isle.jpg|'''1730:''' New France, also referred to as Canada on the map. 
</gallery>

=== Early years (1608–1663) ===
[[File:Plaque des premiers colons de Quebec.jpg|thumb|Plaque honouring the first settlers of Quebec City]]
Quebec City was founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain. Some other towns were founded before, like [[Tadoussac]] in 1604 which still exists today, but Quebec was the first to be meant as a permanent settlement and not a simple [[trading post]]. Over time, it became a province of Canada and all of New France.

The first version of the town was a single large walled building, called the Habitation. A similar [[Habitation at Port-Royal|Habitation]] was established in Port Royal in 1605, in Acadia. This arrangement was made for protection against perceived threats from the indigenous people. The difficulty of supplying the city of Quebec from France and the lack of knowledge of the area meant that life was hard. A significant fraction of the population died of hunger and diseases during the first winter. However, agriculture soon expanded and a continuous flow of immigrants, mostly men in search of adventure, increased the population.

The settlement was built as a permanent [[Fur trade|fur trading]] outpost. First Nations traded their furs for many French goods such as metal objects, guns, alcohol, and clothing.<ref name="LeaMilward20012">{{cite book|first1=David |last1=Lea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C7WayaUhkUEC&pg=PA43|title=A Political Chronology of the Americas|first2=Colette |last2=Milward|first3=Annamarie |last3=Rowe |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-85743-118-6|page=43}}</ref> In 1616, the Habitation du Québec became the first permanent establishment of the {{ill|Indes occidentales françaises|lt=Indes occidentales françaises|fr|Indes occidentales françaises}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid219frenchwestindies.pdf |series=French West Indies Collection, 1712–1757 |title=Collection 219 |publisher=The Historical Society of Pennsylvania |access-date=August 14, 2021 }}</ref> with the arrival of its two very first settlers: [[Louis Hébert]]<ref>{{cite DCB |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/hebert_louis_1E.html |title=Hébert, Louis |volume=1 |access-date=June 17, 2016 |last=Mathieu |first=Jacques}}</ref> and [[Marie Rollet]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Marie Rollet |first=Josiane |last=Lavallée |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/marie-rollet |access-date=29 July 2019 |encyclopedia=[[The Cabadian Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Historica Canada]] }}</ref>

The French quickly established trading posts throughout their territory, trading for fur with aboriginal hunters. The ''[[coureur des bois]]'', who were freelance traders, explored much of the area themselves. They kept trade and communications flowing through a vast network along the rivers of the hinterland. They established fur trading forts on the [[Great Lakes]] ([[Étienne Brûlé]] 1615), [[Hudson Bay]] ([[Pierre-Esprit Radisson|Radisson]] and [[Médard des Groseilliers|Groseilliers]] 1659–60), [[Ohio River]] and [[Mississippi River]] ([[Robert Cavelier de La Salle|La Salle]] 1682), as well as the [[Saskatchewan River]] and [[Missouri River]] ([[Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye|de la Verendrye]] 1734–1738).<ref name="Chartrand2013b2">{{cite book|first=Rene |last=Chartrand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ihSrWOl-zsIC&pg=PA1736|title=French Fortresses in North America 1535–1763: Quebec, Montreal, Louisbourg and New Orleans|publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4728-0317-7}}</ref> This network was inherited by the English and Scottish traders after the fall of the French Empire in Quebec, and many of the coureur des bois became ''[[voyageurs]]'' for the British.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hayes|first=Derek|title=Historical Atlas of Canada: Canada's History Illustrated with Original Maps|year=2006|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=9781553650775|pages=84}}</ref>

In 1612, the ''Compagnie de Rouen'' received the royal mandate to manage the operations of [[New France]] and the fur trade. In 1621, they were replaced by the ''Compagnie de Montmorency.'' Then, in 1627, they were substituted by the ''[[Compagnie des Cent-Associés]]'' (Company of One Hundred Associates). Shortly after being appointed, the Compagnie des Cent-Associés introduced the [[Custom of Paris in New France|Custom of Paris]] and the [[Seigneurial system of New France|seigneurial system]] to New France. They also forbade settlement in [[New France]] by anyone other than [[Roman Catholic]]s.<ref name="Harris19842">{{cite book|first=Richard |last=Cole Harris|url=https://archive.org/details/seigneurialsyste0000harr_b4j9|title=The Seigneurial System in Early Canada: A Geographical Study|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press|year=1984|isbn=978-0-7735-0434-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/seigneurialsyste0000harr_b4j9/page/105 105]–109|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://histoire-du-quebec.ca/ |title=Brève histoire du Québec |website=Histoire du Québec |language=fr |access-date=August 14, 2021 }}</ref> The Catholic Church was given ''[[Seigneurial system of New France|en seigneurie]]'' large and valuable tracts of land estimated at nearly 30% of all the lands granted by the [[List of French monarchs|French Crown]] in [[New France]].<ref name="roydalton">{{cite book |last=Dalton |first=Roy |title=The Jesuit Estates Question 1760–88 |page=60 |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |date=1968}}</ref>

Because of [[Anglo-French War (1627–29)|war with England]], the first two convoys of ships and settlers bound for the colony were waylaid near [[Gaspé, Quebec|Gaspé]] by British [[privateer]]s under the command of three French-Scottish [[Huguenot]] brothers, [[David Kirke|David]], Louis and Thomas Kirke. Quebec was effectively cut off. In 1629, there was the [[surrender of Quebec]], without battle, to English privateers led by David Kirke during the [[Anglo-French War (1627–29)|Anglo-French War]]. On 19 July 1629, with Quebec completely out of supplies and no hope of relief, Champlain surrendered Quebec to the Kirkes without a fight.  Champlain and other colonists were taken to England, where they learned that peace had been agreed (in the 1629 [[Treaty of Suza]]) before Quebec's surrender, and the Kirkes were obliged to return their takings.  However, they refused, and it was not until the 1632 [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1632)|Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye]] that Quebec and all other captured French possessions in North America were returned to New France. Champlain was restored as de facto governor but died three years later.

In 1633, [[Cardinal Richelieu]] granted a charter to the [[Company of One Hundred Associates]], which had been created by the Cardinal himself in 1627. This gave the company control over the booming fur trade and land rights across the territory in exchange for the company supporting and expanding settlement in New France (at the time encompassing Acadia, Quebec, Newfoundland, and Louisiana).<ref>{{cite book|last=Courville|first=Serge|title=Quebec: A historical geography|year=2008|publisher=University of British Columbia Press|isbn=9780774814256|pages=49|translator-first=Richard |translator-last=Howard}}</ref> Specific clauses in the charter included a requirement to bring 4000 settlers into New France over the next 15 years. The company largely ignored the settlement requirements of their charter and focused on the lucrative fur trade, only 300 settlers arriving before 1640. On the verge of bankruptcy, the company lost its fur trade monopoly in 1641 and was finally dissolved in 1662.<ref>{{cite book|last=Courville|first=Serge|title=Quebec: A historical geography|year=2008|publisher=University of British Columbia Press|isbn=9780774814256|pages=69|translator-first=Richard |translator-last=Howard}}</ref>

In 1634, [[Sieur de Laviolette]] founded [[Trois-Rivières]] at the mouth of the [[Saint-Maurice River]]. In 1642, [[Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve|Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve]] founded [[Fort Ville-Marie|Ville-Marie]] (now Montreal) on [[Pointe-à-Callière]]. He chose to found Montreal on an island so that the settlement could be naturally protected against Iroquois invasions. Many heroes of New France come from this period, such as [[Dollard des Ormeaux]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ville.ddo.qc.ca/ma-municipalite/histoire|title=Histoire de la Ville de Dollard-des-Ormeaux |publisher=City of Dollard-des-Ormeaux |language=fr |access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref> [[Guillaume Couture]], [[Madeleine de Verchères]] and the [[Canadian Martyrs]].

=== Royal Province (1663–1760) ===
{{Main|Sovereign Council of New France}}
 
[[File:Royal Standard of King Louis XIV.svg|thumb|right|Seal of Louis XIV, used in the colony when the King determined New France to be a province of France]]
The establishment of the ''Conseil souverain'', political restructuring which turned New France into a province of France, ended the period of company rule and marked a new beginning in the colonization effort.

In 1663, the [[Company of One Hundred Associates|Company of New France]] ceded Canada to the King, [[King Louis XIV]], who officially made New France into a royal province of France.<ref name="rois">{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/fr/patrimoine-canadien/services/famille-royale/rois-reines.html#c13|title=Rois et reines du Canada|date=11 August 2017|publisher=Government of Canada |language=fr}}</ref> New France would now be a [[First French colonial empire|true colony]] administered by the [[Sovereign Council of New France]] from [[Quebec City|Québec]], and which functioned off {{ill|triangular trade in New France|fr|Commerce triangulaire en Nouvelle-France}}. A [[Governor of New France|governor-general]], assisted by the [[intendant of New France]] and the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec|bishop of Québec]], would go on to govern the colony of Canada (Montreal, Québec, Trois-Rivières and the Pays-d'en-Haut) and its administrative dependencies: [[Acadia]], [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]] and [[Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador|Plaisance]].<ref name="Hayes20082">{{cite book|first=Derek|last=Hayes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hrkq7t_4080C&pg=PA33|title=Canada: An Illustrated History|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|year=2008|isbn=978-1-55365-259-5|page=33}}</ref>[[File:Quebec city lower town 2010.JPG|thumb|Colonial buildings in the Lower Town of [[Old Quebec]], [[Quebec City]].]]The French settlers were mostly farmers and they were known as "[[Canadiens]]" or "[[Habitants]]". Though there was little immigration,<ref name="Preston20092">{{cite book|first=David L.|last=Preston|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-9N6-6UCnoC&pg=PA43|title=The Texture of Contact: European and Indian Settler Communities on the Frontiers of Iroquoia, 1667–1783|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8032-2549-7|page=43}}</ref> the colony still grew because of the Habitants' high birth rates.<ref name="Powell20092">{{cite book|first=John|last=Powell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNCX6UsdZYkC&pg=PA203|title=Encyclopedia of North American Immigration|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4381-1012-7|page=203}}</ref><ref name="McIlwraithMuller20012">{{cite book|first1=Thomas F.|last1=McIlwraith|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fa--xLT_dRYC&pg=PA72|title=North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent|first2=Edward K.|last2=Muller|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2001|isbn=978-1-4616-3960-2|page=72}}</ref> In 1665, the [[Régiment de Carignan-Salières|Carignan-Salières regiment]] developed the string of fortifications known as the "Valley of Forts" to protect against Iroquois invasions.  The Regiment brought along with them 1,200 new men from [[Dauphiné]], [[Liguria]], [[Piedmont]] and [[Savoy]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/fr/article-357/Fortifications_au_Qu%C3%A9bec,_un_patrimoine_arch%C3%A9ologique.html#.YOPFkugSg2w |encyclopedia=Encyclopédie du Patrimoine Culturel de L'Amérique Française |title=Fortifications au Quebec |language=fr |access-date=14 June 2023}}</ref> To redress the severe imbalance between single men and women, and boost population growth, King Louis XIV sponsored the passage of approximately 800 young French women (known as ''[[les filles du roi]]'') to the colony.<ref name="rois" /> In 1666, [[Intendant of New France|intendant]] [[Jean Talon]] organized the first census of the colony and counted 3,215 Habitants. Talon also enacted policies to diversify agriculture and encourage births, which, in 1672, had increased the population to 6,700 Canadiens.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://histoire-du-quebec.ca/recensement-canada/|title=Premier recensement au Canada (Nouvelle-France)|date=March 2, 2014 |publisher=Histoire du Quebec|access-date=5 July 2021|language=fr}}</ref>

In 1686, the [[Pierre de Troyes, Chevalier de Troyes|Chevalier de Troyes]] and the [[Troupes de la Marine]] seized three northern forts the English had erected on the lands explored by [[Charles Albanel]] in 1671 near Hudson Bay.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/troyes-pierre-de|title=Pierre de Troyes|website=L'Encyclopédie Canadienne|access-date=29 July 2019 |language=fr}}</ref> Similarly, in the south, [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle|Cavelier de La Salle]] took for France lands discovered by [[Jacques Marquette]] and [[Louis Jolliet]] in 1673 along the [[Mississippi River]]. As a result, the colony of New France's territory grew to extend from Hudson Bay all the way to the [[Gulf of Mexico]], and would also encompass the [[Great Lakes]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.museedelhistoire.ca/musee-virtuel-de-la-nouvelle-france/les-explorateurs/rene-robert-cavelier-de-la-salle-1670-1687/|publisher=Canadian Museum of History|title=René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle 1670–1687|access-date=5 July 2021|language=fr}}</ref>
[[File:Frontenac receiving the envoy of Sir William Phipps demanding the surrender of Quebec, 1690.jpg|thumb|left|[[Louis de Buade de Frontenac|Governor Frontenac]] speaking with the envoy of Sir William Phipps at the Battle of Quebec, in 1690.]]
In the early 1700s, [[Louis-Hector de Callière|Governor Callières]] concluded the [[Great Peace of Montreal]], which not only confirmed the alliance between the [[Algonquian peoples]] and New France, but also definitively ended the [[Beaver Wars]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Beaver_Wars|publisher=Ohio History Central|title=Beaver Wars|access-date=5 July 2021}}</ref> In 1701, [[Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville]] founded the district of [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]] and made its administrative headquarter [[Biloxi, Mississippi|Biloxi]]. Its headquarters was later moved to [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]], and then to [[New Orleans]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Colonial Louisiana|url=https://www.crt.state.la.us/louisiana-state-museum/online-exhibits/the-cabildo/colonial-louisiana/index |access-date=2021-08-04|website=MuseumSubAgency-2013-09-18|date=January 23, 2014 }}</ref> During this time, the town had a population of 2,000 settlers.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Douville |first1=Raymond |url=http://archive.org/details/dailylifeinearly00douv |title=Daily Life in Early Canada |last2=Casanova |first2=Jacques Donat |publisher=Macmillan |year=1968 |location=New York |pages=82 |language=en}}</ref> In 1738, [[Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye|Pierre Gaultier de Varennes]], extended New France to [[Lake Winnipeg]]. In 1742, his [[Voyageurs|voyageur]] sons, [[François de La Vérendrye|François]] and [[Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye|Louis-Joseph]], crossed the [[Great Plains]] and discovered the [[Rocky Mountains]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/la-verendrye-pierre-gaultier-de-varennes-et-de |encyclopedia=L'Encyclopédie Canadienne |language=fr|title=Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye|access-date=5 July 2021}}</ref>

From 1688 onwards, the fierce competition between the [[First French colonial empire|French Empire]] and [[First British Empire|British Empire]] to control North America's interior and monopolize the fur trade pitted New France and its [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Indigenous]] allies against the [[Iroquois]] and English -primarily in the [[Province of New York]]- in a series of four successive wars called the [[French and Indian Wars]] by Americans, and the Intercolonial wars in Quebec.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/King-Williams-War|title=King William's War|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref> The first three of these wars were [[King William's War]] (1688–1697), [[Queen Anne's War]] (1702–1713), and [[King George's War]] (1744–1748). Many notable battles and exchanges of land took place. In 1690, the [[Battle of Quebec (1690)|Battle of Quebec]] became the first time Québec's defences were tested. In 1713, following the [[Peace of Utrecht]], the [[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|Duke of Orléans]] ceded Acadia and [[Placentia Bay|Plaisance Bay]] to the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], but retained [[Prince Edward Island|Île Saint-Jean]], and [[Cape Breton Island|Île-Royale]] ([[Cape Breton Island]]) where the [[Fortress of Louisbourg]] was subsequently erected. These losses were significant since Plaisance Bay was the primary communication route between New France and France, and Acadia contained 5,000 [[Acadian people|Acadians]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/treaties-of-Utrecht|title=Treaties of Utrecht |website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Charpentier |first1=Louise |first2=René |last2=Durocher |first3=Christian |last3=Laville |first4=Paul-André |last4=Linteau |title=Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada |location=Montréal |publisher=Éditions du Boréal Express |date=1985 |page=115|language=fr}}</ref> In the [[Siege of Louisbourg (1745)|siege of Louisbourg]] in 1745, the British were victorious, but returned the city to France after war concessions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/louisbourg|title=Louisbourg|website=L'Encyclopédie Canadienne|access-date=29 July 2019 |language=fr}}</ref>

====Catholic nuns====
{{main|Catholic sisters and nuns in Canada}}

[[File:Portrait de Marguerite Bourgeoys.jpg|thumb|St. [[Marguerite Bourgeoys]] (c.1700), one of the many women who contributed to their communities as nuns.]]
Outside the home, Canadian women had few domains which they controlled. An important exception came with Roman Catholic [[nun]]s. Stimulated by the influence in France of the popular religiosity of the [[Counter-Reformation]], new orders for women began appearing in the seventeenth century and became a permanent feature of Quebec society.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Carr |first=Thomas Jr. |title=Writing the Convent in New France: The Colonialist Rhetoric of Canadian Nuns |journal=Quebec Studies |date=2009 |volume=47 |pages=3–23|doi=10.3828/qs.47.1.3 |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/modlangfrench/64 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The [[Ursulines#Ursulines in North America|Ursuline Sisters]] arrived in Quebec City in 1639, and in Montreal in 1641. They spread as well to small towns. They had to overcome harsh conditions, uncertain funding, and unsympathetic authorities as they engaged in educational and nursing functions.  They attracted endowments and became important landowners in Quebec. [[Marie Guyart|Marie de l'Incarnation]] (1599–1672) was the mother superior at Quebec, 1639–72.<ref>{{cite DCB |first=Marie-Emmanuel |last=Chabot |title=Guyart, Marie, dite Marie de l'Incarnation |volume=1 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/guyart_marie_1E.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Agnes |last=Repplier |title=Mère Marie of the Ursulines: a study in adventure |location=New York |date=1931}}</ref>

During the 1759 Quebec Campaign of the Seven Years' War, Augustinian nun Marie-Joseph Legardeur de Repentigny, Sœur de la Visitation, managed the Hôpital Général in Quebec City and oversaw the care of hundreds of wounded soldiers from both the French and British forces.  She wrote in after-action report on her work, noting, "The surrender of Quebec only increased our work. The British generals came to our hospital to assure us of their protection and at the same time made us responsible for their sick and wounded." The British officers stationed at the hospital reported on the cleanliness and high quality of the care provided.  Most civilians deserted the city, leaving the Hôpital Général as a refugee centre for the poor who had nowhere to go. The nuns set up a mobile aid station that reached out to the cities refugees, distributing food and treating the sick and injured.<ref>{{cite journal |last=MacLeod |first=D. Peter. |title=Women of War |journal=Beaver |date=2009 |volume=89 |issue=4 |pages=28–34}}</ref>

===British conquest of New France (1754–1763)===
{{Main|French and Indian War|Seven Years' War}}

In the middle of the 18th century, [[British North America]] had grown to be close to a full-fledged independent country, something they would actually become a few decades later, with more than 1 million inhabitants. Meanwhile, [[New France]] was still seen mostly as a cheap source of natural resources for the metropolis.  New France was territorially larger than the [[Thirteen Colonies]] but had less than {{frac|1|10}} as much population, only about 60,000 inhabitants. There was warfare along the borders, with the French supporting Indian raids into the American colonies.<ref>{{cite book |first=Guy |last=Frégault |title=Canada: the War of the Conquest |date=1969}}</ref>

The earliest battles of the [[French and Indian War]] occurred in 1754 and soon widened into the worldwide [[Seven Years' War]]. The territory of New France at that time included parts of present-day [[Upstate New York]], and a series of battles were fought there.  The French military enjoyed early successes in these frontier battles, gaining control over several strategic points in 1756 and 1757.

The British sent substantial military forces, while the Royal Navy controlled the Atlantic, preventing France from sending much help.  In 1758 the British [[Siege of Louisbourg (1758)|captured Louisbourg]], gaining control over the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and also took control of key forts on the frontier in battles at [[Battle of Fort Frontenac|Frontenac]] and [[Battle of Fort Duquesne|Duquesne]]. In spite of the spectacular defeat of the supposed main British thrust in the [[Battle of Carillon]] (in which a banner was supposedly carried that inspired the modern [[flag of Quebec]]), the French military position was poor.
[[File:Martello Tower 1.jpg|thumb|A [[Martello tower]] at the [[Plains of Abraham]].]]

In the next phase of the war, begun in 1759, the British aimed directly at the heart of New France. [[James Wolfe|General James Wolfe]] led a fleet of 49 ships holding 8,640 British troops to the fortress of Quebec. They disembarked on [[Île d'Orléans]] and on the south shore of the river; the French forces under [[Louis-Joseph de Montcalm]], Marquis de Saint-Veran, held the walled city and the north shore. Wolfe laid siege to the city for more than two months, exchanging cannon fire over the river, but neither side could break the siege.  As neither side could expect resupply during the winter, Wolfe moved to force a battle. On 5 September 1759, after successfully convincing Montcalm he would attack by the [[Beauport, Quebec City|Bay of Beauport]] east of the city, the British troops crossed close to Cap-Rouge, west of the city, and successfully climbed the steep Cape Diamond undetected.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hayes|first=Derek|title=Historical Atlas of Canada: Canada's History Illustrated with Original Maps|year=2006|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=9781553650775|pages=100–1}}</ref> Montcalm, for disputed reasons, did not use the protection of the city walls and fought on open terrain, in what would be known as the [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham]]. The battle was short and bloody; both leaders died in battle, but the British easily won. (''[[The Death of General Wolfe]]'' is a well-known 1770 painting by artist [[Benjamin West]] depicting the final moments of Wolfe.)

Now in possession of the main city and capital, and further isolating the inner cities of Trois-Rivières and Montreal from France, the rest of the campaign was only a matter of slowly taking control of the land.  While the French had a tactical victory in the [[Battle of Sainte-Foy]] outside Quebec in 1760, an attempt to [[Siege of Quebec (1760)|lay siege to the city]] ended in defeat the following month when British ships arrived and forced the French besiegers to retreat. An attempt to resupply the French military was further dashed in the naval [[Battle of Restigouche]], and [[Pierre de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial]], New France's last Royal governor, [[Montreal Campaign|surrendered Montreal]] on 8 September 1760. Because the Seven Years' War was still ongoing in Europe, the British put the region under [[British military regime in New France|a military regime]] between 1760 and 1763.

[[Great Britain in the Seven Years' War|Britain's success in the war]] forced France to cede all of Canada to the British at the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]]. The Royal Proclamation of 7 October 1763 by King [[George III]] set out the terms of government for the newly captured territory, as well as defining the geographic boundaries of the territory.<ref>{{cite book|last=Courville|first=Serge|title=Quebec: A historical geography|year=2008|publisher=University of British Columbia Press|isbn=9780774814256|pages=6–7|translator-first=Richard |translator-last=Howard}}</ref>

The rupture from France would provoke a transformation within the [[French Canadians|descendants of the Canadiens]] that would eventually result in the [[nation|birth of a new nation]] whose development and culture would be founded upon, among other things, ancestral foundations anchored in Northeastern America.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/haf/1958-v12-n2-haf2023/301901ar.pdf|title=Les Canadiens apres la conquete|publisher=Institut d'histoire de l'Amérique française|first=Michel|last=Brunet|journal=Revue d'Histoire de l'Amérique Française|issn=1492-1383|language=fr}}</ref> What British Commissioner [[John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham|John George Lambton]] (Lord Durham) would describe in his [[Durham Report|1839 report]] would be the kind of relationship that would reign between the "[[Two Solitudes (Canadian society)|Two Solitudes]]" of Canada for a long time: "I found two nations at war within one state; I found a struggle, not of principles, but of races".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/rapport-durham |encyclopedia=L'Encyclopédie Canadienne|title=Rapport Durham|access-date=9 July 2021|language=fr}}</ref> Incoming British immigrants would find that Canadiens were as full of national pride as they were, and while these newcomers would see the American territories as a vast ground for colonization and speculation, the Canadiens would regard Quebec as the heritage of their own race - not as a country to colonize, but as a country already colonized.<ref>{{citation |url=http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/lawdemo/webread/durham.htm |title=Lord Durham's Report, 1839 |work=Canadian History in Documents, 1763–1996 |editor-last=Bliss |editor-first=J. M. |location=Toronto |publisher=Ryerson Press |pages=49–62 |via=University of Victoria}}</ref>

== Province of Quebec (1763–1791) ==
British rule under Royal Governor [[James Murray (Quebec governor)|James Murray]] was benign, with the French Canadians guaranteed their traditional rights and customs.<ref>{{cite DCB |first=G. P. |last=Browne |title=Murray, James |volume=4 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/murray_james_4E.html |access-date=November 17, 2015}}</ref>   The British [[Royal Proclamation of 1763]] united three Quebec districts into the Province of Quebec.  It was the British who were the first to use the name "Quebec" to refer to a territory beyond [[Quebec City]].<ref name="Hayes 2006 116">{{cite book|last=Hayes|first=Derek|title=Historical Atlas of Canada: Canada's History Illustrated with Original Maps|year=2006|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=9781553650775|pages=116}}</ref>  The British tolerated the Catholic Church, and protected the traditional social and economic structure of Quebec. Much French law was retained inside a system of British courts, all under the command of the British governor.<ref>{{citation |first=Hilda |last=Neatby |title=The administration of justice under the Quebec Act |date=1937}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Robert Arthur |last=Humphreys |title=Lord Shelburne and the Proclamation of 1763 |journal=English Historical Review |date=1934 |volume=49 |issue=194 |pages=241–264 |doi=10.1093/ehr/XLIX.CXCIV.241 |jstor=553250 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/553250 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501135243/https://www.jstor.org/stable/553250 |archive-date=2018-05-01|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The goal was to satisfy the Francophile settlers, albeit to the annoyance of British merchants.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Cameron |editor-last=Nish |title=French Canadians, 1759–1766: Conquered? half-conquered? liberated? |date=1966}}</ref>

=== Quebec Act (1774) ===
With unrest growing in the colonies to the south, which would one day grow into the [[American Revolution]], the British were worried that the Canadiens might also support the growing rebellion. At the time, Canadiens formed the vast majority of the population of the Province of Quebec. To secure the allegiance of Canadiens to the British crown, Governor [[James Murray (Quebec governor)|James Murray]] and later Governor [[Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester|Guy Carleton]] promoted the need for accommodations. This eventually resulted in enactment of the [[Quebec Act]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Brown Foulds |first=Nancy|title=The Quebec Act|chapter-url=http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/quebec-act/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608081944/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006592|archive-date=8 June 2011|access-date=29 June 2011 |chapter=Effects and Consequences |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia}}</ref> of 1774. The ''Quebec Act'' was an [[Act of Parliament|Act]] of the [[Parliament of Great Britain]] setting procedures of governance in the [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Province of Quebec]]. Among other components, this act restored the use of the French [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] for private matters while maintaining the use of the English [[common law]] for public administration (including criminal prosecution), replaced the oath of allegiance so that it no longer made reference to the [[Protestant]] faith, and guaranteed free practice of the [[Catholic]] faith. The purpose of this Act was to secure the allegiance of the French Canadians with unrest growing in the American colonies to the south.<ref name="georgetown1">{{cite web |url=http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/resources/countries/canada |title=Canada |publisher=[[Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs]] |access-date=2011-12-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027124041/http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/resources/countries/canada |archive-date=October 27, 2011 }} See drop-down essay on "Early European Settlement and the Formation of the Modern State"</ref>

=== American Revolutionary War ===
{{See also|Invasion of Quebec (1775)|3=Saratoga campaign}}
When the [[American Revolutionary War]] broke out in early 1775, Quebec became a target for American forces, that sought to liberate the French population there from British rule.  In September 1775 the [[Continental Army]] began a two-pronged [[Invasion of Canada (1775)|invasion]], with one army capturing Montreal while another traveled through the wilderness of what is now Maine toward Quebec City. The two armies joined forces, but were defeated in the [[Battle of Quebec (1775)|Battle of Quebec]], in which the American General [[Richard Montgomery]] was slain.  The Americans were driven back into New York by the arrival of a large army of British troops and German auxiliaries ("[[Hessian (soldier)|Hessians]]") in June 1776.

Before and during the American occupation of the province, there was a significant [[propaganda]] war in which both the Americans and the British sought to gain the population's support.  The Americans succeeded in raising two regiments in Quebec, led by [[James Livingston (American Revolution)|James Livingston]] and [[Moses Hazen]], one of which served throughout the war.  Hazen's [[2nd Canadian Regiment]] served in the [[Philadelphia campaign]] and also at the [[Siege of Yorktown]], and included [[Edward Antill (soldier)|Edward Antill]], a New Yorker living in Quebec City (who actually led the regiment at Yorktown as Hazen had been promoted to brigadier general), [[Clément Gosselin]], Germain Dionne, and many others. [[Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil]], a Quebecker, was with the French Navy in the [[Battle of the Chesapeake]] that prevented the British Navy from reaching [[Yorktown, Virginia]].
<!-- TODO: reactions to invasion, propaganda; consequences of British troop presence-->

After General [[John Burgoyne]]'s failed 1777 [[Saratoga campaign|campaign for control of the Hudson River]], Quebec was used as a base for raiding operations into the northern parts of the United States until the end of the war. In the [[Western theater of the American Revolutionary War|Western theater]] of the war, U.S. forces had much better success in [[Northwest Territory|areas north of the Ohio River]], which were annexed to Quebec in 1774. During the [[Illinois campaign]], [[Virginia militia]] leader [[George Rogers Clark]] captured [[Kaskaskia, Illinois|Kaskaskia]] without any loss of life. From there, his men marched into and captured [[Vincennes]], but was soon lost to British Lieutenant Colonel [[Henry Hamilton (colonial administrator)|Henry Hamilton]], the commander at [[Fort Detroit]]. It was later retaken by Clark in the [[Siege of Fort Vincennes]] in February 1779. Roughly half of Clark's militia in the theater were French Canadian volunteers sympathetic to the American cause.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1797&context=facsch_papers#page=4|title="The Old Northwest Under British Control, 1763-1783" and "Indiana A Part of the Old Northwest, 1783-1800"|author=George W. Geib|date=1987 |pages=42–44|publisher=[[Butler University]]}}</ref>

When the war ended in 1783, Quebec shrunk as a result, with portions of its southwest being ceded to the new United States in accordance with the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]]. Around 75,000 or 15% of the [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]]s fled the new United States, with 85% of the rest choosing to stay. These refugees were resettled into parts of the province that bordered on [[Lake Ontario]]. These settlers eventually sought to separate themselves administratively from the French-speaking Quebec population, which occurred in 1791.<ref name="georgetown1" />

== Lower Canada (1791–1840) ==
The [[Constitutional Act of 1791]] divided Quebec into [[Upper Canada]] (the part of present-day Ontario south of [[Lake Nipissing]] plus the current Ontario shoreline of [[Georgian Bay]] and [[Lake Superior]]) and [[Lower Canada]] (the southern part of present-day Quebec).<ref name="georgetown1" /> Newly arrived English-speaking Loyalist refugees had refused to adopt the Quebec seigneurial system of land tenure, or the French civil law system, giving the British reason to separate the English-speaking settlements from the French-speaking territory as administrative jurisdictions.<ref>{{cite book|last=Courville|first=Serge|title=Quebec: A historical geography|year=2008|publisher=University of British Columbia Press|isbn=9780774814256|pages=7|translator-first=Richard |translator-last=Howard}}</ref> Upper Canada's first capital was Newark (present-day [[Niagara-on-the-Lake]]); in 1796, it was moved to [[York, Upper Canada|York]] (now [[Toronto]]).

The new constitution, primarily passed to answer the demands of the Loyalists, created a unique situation in Lower Canada. The Legislative Assembly, the only elected body in the colonial government, was continually at odds with the Legislative and Executive branches appointed by the governor. When, in the early 19th century, the [[Parti canadien]] rose as a nationalist, liberal and reformist party, a long political struggle started between the majority of the elected representatives of Lower Canada and the colonial government. The majority of the elected representatives in the assembly were members of the francophone professional class: "lawyers, notaries, doctors, innkeepers or small merchants", who comprised 77.4% of the assembly from 1792 to 1836.<ref name="Dickinson, John A., and Brian Young 2008 No page">{{cite book|last1=Dickinson |first1=John A. |first2=Brian|last2=Young|title=A Short History of Quebec|year=2008|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP|isbn=9780773577268|pages=No page}}</ref>

By 1809, the government of Newfoundland was no longer willing to supervise the coasts of Labrador. To solve this issue, and as a result of lobbying in [[London]], the British government assigned the coasts of Labrador to the colony of Newfoundland. The inland border between the jurisdiction of Lower Canada and Newfoundland was not well-defined.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/labrador-boundary.php |title=The Labrador Boundary |publisher=Newfoundland & Labrador Heritage |access-date=August 14, 2021 }}</ref>

In 1813, [[Beauport, Quebec City|Beauport]]-native [[Charles de Salaberry|Charles-Michel de Salaberry]] became a hero by leading the Canadian troops to victory at the [[Battle of the Chateauguay|Battle of Chateauguay]], during the [[War of 1812]]. In this battle, 300 [[Canadian Voltigeurs|Voltigeurs]] and 22 Amerindians successfully pushed back a force of 7,000 Americans. This loss caused the Americans to abandon the Saint Lawrence Campaign, their major strategic effort to conquer Canada. [[File:Louis-Joseph Papineau.jpg|thumb|[[Louis-Joseph Papineau]], leader of the [[Parti canadien|Parti patriote]].]]

The [[Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada]], who represented the people, came more and more into conflict with the superior authority of the [[The Crown|Crown]] and [[Legislative Council of Lower Canada|its appointed representatives]]. In 1834, things hit a breaking point and the Parti canadien presented its [[Ninety-Two Resolutions|92 resolutions]], a series of political demands which expressed a genuine loss of confidence in the [[British monarchy]]. [[London]] refused to consider these and, in response, submitted {{ill|Russell's 10 resolutions|fr|10 résolutions de Russell}}. Discontentment intensified throughout the [[List of the public meetings held in Lower Canada between May and November 1837|public meetings]] of 1837, sometimes being led by tribunes like [[Louis-Joseph Papineau]]. Despite opposition from ecclesiastics, for example [[Jean-Jacques Lartigue]], the [[Lower Canada Rebellion|Rebellion of the Patriotes]] began in 1837.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/patriotes|title=Patriotes|website=L'Encyclopédie Canadienne|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref>[[File:Saint-Eustache-Patriotes.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Saint-Eustache]] was the final battle of the Lower Canada Rebellion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/bataille-de-saint-eustache|title=Bataille de Saint-Eustache|website=L'Encyclopédie Canadienne|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref>]] Key goals for the rebels were to have responsible government and, for many, to terminate prejudicial dominance of the English minority over the French majority. [[Louis-Joseph Papineau]] was instrumental in acting as a leadership figure for the rebels, yet his ideological views were ambiguous concerning the relative importance of seigneurial landowners, the Roman Catholic Church, and the francophone bourgeoisie. Under his influence, the first rebellion of 1837 was directed at the seigneurs and the clergy as much as the anglophone governor.<ref name="Dickinson, John A., and Brian Young 2008 No page" /> The 1837 rebellion resulted in a declaration of martial law, and suspension of Canada's Constitution. To centralize authority under the Crown, [[John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham|John Lambton, Lord Durham]] was named governor of all of British North America.

In 1837, Louis-Joseph Papineau and [[Robert Nelson (insurrectionist)|Robert Nelson]] led residents of Lower Canada to form an armed resistance group called the [[Patriotes]] in order to seek an end to the unilateral control of the British governors.<ref>{{cite web|author=SWiSH v2.0|title=Les Patriotes de 1837@1838|url=http://cgi2.cvm.qc.ca/glaporte/1837.pl?cat=ptype&cherche=DOCUMENT|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706202410/http://cgi2.cvm.qc.ca/glaporte/1837.pl?cat=ptype&cherche=DOCUMENT|archive-date=July 6, 2011|access-date=February 21, 2010|website=Cgi2.cvm.qc.ca}}</ref> They made a [[Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada|Declaration of Independence]] in 1838, guaranteeing human rights and equality for all citizens without discrimination.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nelson |first=Robert|date=February 1838|title=Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Independence_of_Lower_Canada|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107082359/http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Independence_of_Lower_Canada|archive-date=November 7, 2011|access-date=February 21, 2010|website=Wikisource}}</ref> Their actions resulted in rebellions in both Lower and [[Upper Canada Rebellion|Upper Canada]]. The Patriotes forces were victorious in their first battle, the [[Battle of Saint-Denis (1837)|Battle of Saint-Denis]], due to government forces being unprepared. However, the Patriotes were unorganized and badly equipped, leading to them suffering a defeat in their second battle, the [[Battle of Saint-Charles]], and another defeat in their final battle, the [[Battle of Saint-Eustache]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/rebellion-du-bas-canada|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|title=Rébellion du Bas-Canada (La guerre des patriotes)|access-date=12 July 2021}}</ref> Following the government defeat of the Patriotes, the Catholic clergy recovered their moral authority among the people and preached for the cohesion and development of the nation in the fields of education, health and civil society.

=== Martial law and Special Council (1838–1840) ===
The second rebellion in 1838 was to have more far-reaching consequences. In 1838, [[John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham|Lord Durham]] arrived in Canada as High Commissioner. Although skirmishes with government troops were relatively bloodless during the second rebellion of 1838, the Crown dealt forcefully in punishing the rebels. 850 of them were arrested; 12 were eventually hanged, and 58 were [[Penal transportation|transported to Australian penal colonies]].<ref name="Dickinson, John A., and Brian Young 2008 No page" />

In 1839, Lord Durham was called upon by the Crown to deliver a ''[[Report on the Affairs of British North America]]'' as a result of the rebellions. The Special Council that governed the colony from 1838 to 1841 enacted many reforms with the aim of improving economic and bureaucratic affairs, such as land ownership and the establishment of new schools. These institutional reforms ultimately became the foundation of "responsible government" in the colony.<ref name="Dickinson, John A., and Brian Young 2008 No page" />

Many American colonists who remained loyal to England left the 13 Atlantic colonies before American independence for Canada, with many settling in communities in southern Quebec.<ref name="georgetown1" />  In the 19th century, Quebec experienced several waves of immigration, principally from England, Scotland and Ireland. At the turn of the 20th century, immigrants to Quebec came mainly from Ireland, but large numbers of immigrants arrived from Germany and other areas of western Europe.

== Province of Canada (1840–1867) ==
Lord Durham recommended that Upper Canada and Lower Canada be united, in order to make the francophone population of Lower Canada a minority within the united territory and weaken its influence. Durham expressed his objectives in plain terms.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Linteau, Paul André |first2=René |last2=Durocher |author3=Jean-Claude Robert |title=Quebec, a History, 1867-1929|url=https://archive.org/details/quebechistory1860000lint |url-access=registration |year=1983|publisher=James Lorimer & Company|isbn=9780888626042|pages=[https://archive.org/details/quebechistory1860000lint/page/18 18–9]}}</ref> His recommendation was followed; the new seat of government was located in Montreal, with the former Upper Canada being referred to as "[[Canada West]]" and the former Lower Canada being referred to as "[[Canada East]]". The [[Act of Union 1840]] formed the [[Province of Canada]]. Rebellion continued sporadically, and in 1849, the [[burning of the Parliament Buildings in Montreal]] led to the relocation of the seat of government to Toronto. Historian [[François-Xavier Garneau]], like other Canada East francophones during the 1840s, had deep concerns about the united entity and the place of the francophones within it.<ref>Linteau, ''Quebec, a History, 1867-1929'' p 19</ref>

This union, unsurprisingly, was the main source of political instability until 1867.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-3010.04-f.html |title=L'Acte d'Union |language=fr |access-date=September 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191126213224/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-3010.04-f.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The differences between the two cultural groups of the Province of Canada made it impossible to govern without forming [[coalition government]]s. Furthermore, despite their population gap, both Canada East and Canada West obtained an identical number of seats in the [[Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada]], which created representation problems. In the beginning, Canada East was under-represented because of its superior population size. Over time, however, massive immigration from the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British Isles]] to Canada West occurred, which increased its population. Since the two regions continued to have equal representation in the Parliament, this meant that it was now Canada West that was under-represented. The representation issues were frequently called into question by debates on "Representation by Population", or "[[Representation (politics)|Rep by Pop]]". When Canada West was under-represented, the issue became a rallying cry for the Canada West Reformers and Clear Grits, led by [[George Brown (Canadian politician)|George Brown]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Donald |last=Creighton |title=The Road to Confederation: The Emergence of Canada, 1863–1867  |publisher=Oxford University Press |orig-year=1964 |year=2012 |edition=Reprint |pages=43–45}}</ref>

In 1844, the capital of the Province of Canada was moved from [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]] to Montreal.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Musée Pointe-à-Callière |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCWs7opCrUI  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/uCWs7opCrUI| archive-date=2021-12-12|title=Montréal, une capitale, un parlement (1844-1849) | date=March 11, 2016 |language=fr |via=youtube.com |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[File:1855 Colton Map of Canada East or Quebec - Geographicus - Quebec-colton-1855.jpg|thumb|A map of [[Canada East]] and [[New Brunswick]] in 1855.]]

In this period, the Loyalists and immigrants from the [[British Isles]] decided to no longer refer to themselves as English or British, and instead appropriated the term "[[English Canadians|Canadian]]", referring to Canada, their place of residence. The "[[French Canadian|Old Canadians]]" responded to this appropriation of identity by henceforth identifying with their [[ethnic community]], under the name "[[French Canadian]]". As such, the terms ''French Canadian'' and ''English Canadian'' were born. French Canadian writers began to reflect on the survival of their own. [[François-Xavier Garneau]] wrote an influential national epic, and wrote to [[James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin|Lord Elgin]]: "I have undertaken this work with the aim of re-establishing the truth so often disfigured, and of repelling the attacks and insults which my compatriots have been and still are the daily target of, from men who would like to oppress and exploit them all at every opportunity. I thought the best way to achieve this was to simply expose their story".<ref>{{citation |author=Conseil supérieur de la langue française |title=Le français au Québec : 400 ans d'histoire et de vie |publisher=Éditions Fides |edition=Nouvelle |date=2008 |page=183}}</ref> His and other written works allowed French Canadians to preserve their [[collective consciousness]] and to protect themselves from assimilation, much like works like ''[[Evangeline]]'' had done for Acadians.<ref>Garneau, François-Xavier. ''Histoire du Canada depuis sa découverte jusqu'à nos jours'', 4 volumes, de 1845 à 1852</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/histoire-du-canada-depuis-sa-decouverte-jusqua-nos-jours |language=fr |encyclopedia=L'Encyclopédie canadienne |title=Histoire du Canada depuis sa découverte jusqu'à nos jours |last=Lacombe |first=Michèle}}</ref>

Political unrest came to a head in 1849, when English Canadian rioters [[Burning of the Parliament Buildings in Montreal|set fire to the Parliament Building in Montreal]] following the enactment of the ''Rebellion Losses Bill,'' a law that compensated French Canadians whose properties were destroyed during the rebellions of 1837–1838.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://histoire-du-quebec.ca/incendie-parlement-1849/|title=Émeute du 25 avril 1849 : Incendie du Parlement|date=March 2, 2014 |publisher=Histoire du Quebec|access-date=5 July 2021 |language=fr}}</ref> This bill, resulting from the [[Robert Baldwin|Baldwin]]-[[Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine|La Fontaine]] coalition and Lord Elgin's advice, was a very important one as it established the notion of [[responsible government]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/loi-dindemnisation-pour-le-bas-canada|encyclopedia=L'Encyclopédie canadienne|title=Loi d'indemnisation pour le Bas-Canada|access-date=5 July 2021 |language=fr}}</ref> In 1854, the seigneurial system was abolished, the [[Grand Trunk Railway]] was built and the [[Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty]] was implemented. In 1866, the [[Civil Code of Lower Canada]] was adopted.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/grand-trunk-railway-of-canada |title=Grand Trunk Railway of Canada |language=fr |encyclopedia=L'Encyclopédie canadienne}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-economic-history/article/abs/canadianamerican-reciprocity-treaty-of-1855-to-1866/43B9931704F67904DABB6474B5475F46 |title=The Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty of 1855 to 1866 |journal=The Journal of Economic History |date=2011 |last1=Officer |first1=Lawrence H. |last2=Smith |first2=Lawrence B. |volume=28 |issue=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/fr/article-404/R%C3%A9gime_seigneurial_au_Qu%C3%A9bec__.html#.YOPNsOgSg2w |title=Régime seigneurial au Québec |language=fr |encyclopedia=Encyclopédie du Patrimoine Culturel de l'Amérique Française}}</ref> Then, the long period of political impasse that was the Province of Canada came to a close as the [[John A. Macdonald|Macdonald]]-[[George-Étienne Cartier|Cartier]] coalition began to reform the [[political system]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-3010.26-f.html |title=La Grande Coalition |access-date=September 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191126213254/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-3010.26-f.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Confederation and Early Quebec (1867–1914) ==
In the decades immediately before [[Canadian Confederation]] in 1867, French-speaking Quebeckers, known at that time as Canadiens, remained a majority within Canada East. Estimates of their proportion of the population between 1851 and 1861 are 75% of the total population, with around 20% of the remaining population largely composed of English-speaking citizens of British or Irish descent.<ref>Linteau, ''Quebec, a History, 1867-1929'' p 39</ref> From 1871 to 1931, the relative size of the French-speaking population stayed much the same, rising to a peak of 80.2% of Quebec's population in 1881. The proportion of citizens of British descent declined slightly in contrast, from a peak of 20.4% of the population in 1871, to 15% by 1931. Other minorities made up the remainder of the population of the province.<ref>Linteau, ''Quebec, a History, 1867-1929'' p 40</ref>

After several years of negotiations, in 1867 the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]] passed the [[British North America Acts]], by which the Province of Canada, [[New Brunswick]], and [[Nova Scotia]] joined to form the Dominion of Canada. Canada East became the Province of Quebec. Canada remained self-governing locally, but the British continued to control its external affairs.
[[File:George-Etienne Cartier.jpg|thumb|upright|[[George-Étienne Cartier]], creator of the [[Quebec state]] and premier of [[Canada East]], in Montreal in 1863.]]
After having fought as a [[Patriote Rebellion|Patriote]] at the [[Battle of Saint-Denis (1837)|Battle of Saint-Denis]] in 1837, [[George-Étienne Cartier]] joined the ranks of the [[Fathers of Confederation]] and submitted the ''72 resolutions'' of the [[Quebec Conference, 1864|Quebec Conference]] of 1864<ref>Bibliothèque et Archives Canada [http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-7104-f.html, Résolutions de la Conférence de Québec - octobre 1864]</ref> approved for the establishment of a [[federated state]] -Quebec- whose territory was to be limited to the region which corresponded to the historic heart of the French Canadian nation and where French Canadians would most likely retain majority status. In the future, Quebec as a political entity would act as a form of protection against cultural assimilation and would serve as a vehicle for the national affirmation of the French-Canadian collective to the face of a [[Constitution of Canada|Canadian state]] that would, over time, become dominated by [[English Canadians|Anglo-]][[Culture of the United States|American culture]]. Despite this, the objectives of the new federal political regime were going to serve as great obstacles to the assertion of Quebec and the political power given to the provinces would be restricted. Quebec, economically weakened, would have to face political competition from [[Ottawa]], the capital of the strongly centralizing federal state.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blais |first1=Christian |first2=Gilles |last2=Gallichan |first3=Jocelyn |last3=Lemieux |last4=Saint-Pierre |title=Québec: Quatre siècles d'une capitale |location=Québec |publisher=Les Publications du Québec |date=2008 |pages=334–335, 337 |isbn=978-2-551-19804-7}}</ref> On July 15, 1867, [[Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau]] became Quebec's first Premier.

=== Grande Hémorragie ===
{{Main|Grande Hémorragie}}
<!---copied from History of New England. Please extend edits from here into that article-->

In the 1820s and 1830s, rapid demographic growth made access to land in Lower Canada increasingly difficult for young people. Crop failures and political repression in 1838–1839 placed an additional strain on the agricultural sector in the southern part of the colony. Only slowly did [[French Canadian]] farmers adapt to competition and new economic realities. According to some contemporary observers, their farming methods were outdated.<ref>Brault, Gerard J. ''The French-Canadian Heritage in New England''. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1986 p. 52</ref> About this time the textile industry in New England experienced a boom. With living conditions so harsh, and work very hard to find even in the largest city, Montreal, they were pushed out of Quebec. Emigration promised a better life. As the first wave moved out in the 1850s, word of mouth soon began to move young people by the late 1870s.  From 1840 to the 1930s, some 900,000 residents of Quebec--almost a third of the population-- permanently emigrated to New England. Mill owners hired them more cheaply than American and Irish-born workers. They were easily pulled in because mill jobs were plentiful and wages were much higher than in Quebec. They clustered in neighborhoods called Little Canadas, and slowly adopted English while keeping their Catholicism.
<ref>Damien-Claude Bélanger, and  Claude Bélanger, "French Canadian Emigration to the United States: 1840-1930" ''Quebec History'' (1999) [http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/readings/leaving.htm online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620073138/http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/readings/leaving.htm |date=June 20, 2019 }}</ref><ref>Gerard J. Brault, ''The French-Canadian Heritage in New England'' ( Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1986) pp. 54.</ref><ref>Iris Podea Saunders, "Quebec to 'Little Canada': The Coming of the French Canadians to New England in the Nineteenth Century," ''New England Quarterly'' (1950) 23#3 pp. 365-380. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/361423 online] </ref>

When the emigration began to increase and the provincial economy was going through a depression, Quebec leaders became alarmed. The province was losing good young workers--and voters. Some intellectuals believed French-Canadian culture could be recreated on U.S. soil, but many more elites warned against emigration; they argued that cultural and moral perdition would occur south of the border. Instead they proposed domestic colonization in Quebec and the development of the St. Lawrence River valley's periphery.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lacroix |first1=Patrick |date=2018 |title=Parish and Nation: French Canada, Quebec, and Providential Destiny, 1880–1898 |journal=The Historian |volume=80 |issue=4 |pages=725–748 |doi=10.1111/hisn.13000 |s2cid=150281519}}</ref> Nevertheless, another 200,000 went south in the 1880s and 1890s.<ref>Roby, Yves. ''The Franco-Americans of New England: Dreams and Realities''. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004 pp. 40–42</ref>

=== Growth of Montreal ===
Urban expansion characterized Montreal around the time of Confederation, as rural French Canadians moved to the city to find work. Immigrants flocked to Montreal, Canada's largest city at the time, and so did many people from other parts of Canada. Major business and financial institutions were established in Montreal, including the headquarters of several national banks and corporations. Prominent businessmen included brewer and politician [[John Molson Jr.]], jeweller [[Henry Birks]], and insurer [[James Bell Forsyth]]. Montreal's population grew rapidly, from around 9000 in 1800, to 23,000 in 1825, and 58,000 in 1852.<ref>{{cite web|title=Montreal Archives Portal - Chapter 6|url=http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/archives/500ans/portail_archives_en/rep_chapitre6/chapitre6-2.html|publisher=Ville de Montréal (City of Montreal), Quebec|access-date=October 9, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918030450/http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/archives/500ans/portail_archives_en/rep_chapitre6/chapitre6-2.html|archive-date=September 18, 2012}}</ref> By 1911, the population was over 528,000. The City of Montreal annexed many neighbouring communities, expanding its territory fivefold between 1876 and 1918.<ref>{{cite web|title=Montreal Archives Portal - Chapter 8|url=http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/archives/500ans/portail_archives_en/rep_chapitre8/chapitre8-1.html|publisher=Ville de Montréal (City of Montreal), Quebec|access-date=October 9, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105010102/http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/archives/500ans/portail_archives_en/rep_chapitre8/chapitre8-1.html|archive-date=November 5, 2012}}</ref>  As Montreal was the financial center of Canada during this era, it was the first Canadian city to implement new innovations, like [[electricity]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hydroquebec.com/history-electricity-in-quebec/timeline/early-years.html|title=1878-1897 – The Early Years|publisher=Hydro-Quebec}}</ref> [[Streetcars in Montreal|streetcars]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archivesdemontreal.com/2015/11/02/chronique-montrealite-no-48-les-debuts-de-lautomobile-a-montreal/#:~:text=La%20premi%C3%A8re%20%C2%ABvoiture%20sans%20cheval,un%20passionn%C3%A9%20de%20l'automobile.&text=La%20compagnie%20am%C3%A9ricaine%20exp%C3%A9die%20un,former%20Dandurand%20%C3%A0%20la%20conduire.|title=Chronique Montréalité no 48 : Les débuts de l'automobile à Montréal|publisher=Archives Montreal}}</ref> and [[radio]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/memoiresdesmontrealais/montreal-un-siecle-radiophonique#:~:text=%C3%80%20Montr%C3%A9al%2C%20Robert%20Choquette%20cr%C3%A9e,antenne%20%C3%A0%20la%20station%20CKAC.|title=Montréal, un siècle radiophonique|date=March 30, 2020|publisher=Mémoires des Montréalais}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:McGee Funeral.jpg|The funeral of [[Thomas D'Arcy McGee]] in 1868 drew a crowd of 80,000 out of a city population of 110,000.
File:Montreal Stock Exchange 1903.jpg|Montreal Stock Exchange, 1903.
File:Charrette biscuits Christie Montreal 1904.jpg|Wagon for [[William Mellis Christie|Christie's Biscuits]] in Montreal, 1904.
File:Ouimetoscope-presse.jpg|1908 newspaper advertisement for a movie theatre on Ste.-Catherine Street, Montreal.
File:Montreal from Mount Royal4.jpg|Montreal in 1902
</gallery>

=== Influence of the Catholic institutions ===
{{Main|Clerico-nationalism}}

Many aspects of life for French-speaking Quebeckers remained dominated by the Catholic Church in the decades following 1867. The Church operated many of the institutions of the province, including most French-language schools,<ref>Linteau, ''Quebec, a History, 1867–1929'' pp. 212–213</ref> hospitals, and charitable organizations. The leader of the Catholic Church in Quebec was the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal|Bishop of Montreal]], and from 1840 to 1876 this was [[Ignace Bourget]], an opponent of liberalism. Bourget eventually succeeded in gaining more influence than the liberal, reformist [[Institut canadien de Montréal|Institut Canadien]]. At his most extreme, Bourget went so far as to deny a Church burial to [[Joseph Guibord]], a member of the Institut, in 1874. A court decision forced Bourget to allow Guibord to be buried in a Catholic cemetery, but Bourget deconsecrated the burial plot of ground, and Guibord was buried under army protection.<ref>Linteau, ''Quebec, a History, 1867–1929'' pp. 203–204</ref> The conservative approach of the Catholic Church was the major force in Quebec society until the reforms of the [[Quiet Revolution]] during the 1960s. In 1876, [[Pierre-Alexis Tremblay]] was defeated in a federal by-election because of pressure from the Church on voters, but succeeded in getting his loss annulled with the help of a new federal law. He quickly lost the subsequent election. In 1877, the [[Pope]] sent representatives to force the Quebecois Church to minimize its interventions in the electoral process.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nuntiatura.ca/fr/history/ |title=Histoire |language=fr |publisher=Nonciature Apostolique au Canada |access-date=August 14, 2021 }}</ref>

Catholic women started dozens of independent religious orders, funded in part by dowries provided by the parents of young nuns. The orders specialized in charitable works, including hospitals, orphanages, [[maternity home|homes for unwed mothers]], and schools. In the first half of the twentieth century, about 2-3% of Quebec's young women became nuns; there were 6,600 in 1901 and 26,000 in 1941. In Quebec in 1917, 32 different teaching orders operated 586 boarding schools for girls. At that time there was no public education for girls in Quebec beyond elementary school. The first hospital was founded in 1701. In 1936, the nuns of Quebec operated 150 institutions, with 30,000 beds to care for the long-term sick, the homeless, and orphans.<ref>[[Micheline Dumont (historian)|Micheline Dumont]] et al. (The Clio Collective,) ''Quebec Women: A History'' (1987)  pp. 94–96, 218–220, 241</ref>  Between 1870 and 1950, thousands of young girls were sent to Quebec City, to the reform school (1870–1921) and the industrial school (1884–1950) of the Hospice St-Charles, both operated by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.<ref>Dale Dilbert, "Assister les familles de Québec", ''Revue d'histoire de L'Amerique francaise'' (2008) 61#3 pp. 469–499</ref>

[[Lionel Groulx]] wanted to build a nationalistic French-Canadian identity, in purpose to protect the power of the Church and dissuade the public from popular-rule and secularist views.  Groulx propagated French-Canadian nationalism and argued that maintaining a Roman Catholic Quebec was the only means to 'emancipate the nation against English power.'  He believed the powers of the provincial government of Quebec could and should be used within Confederation, to bolster provincial autonomy (and thus Church power), and advocated it would benefit the French-Canadian nation economically, socially, culturally and linguistically.  Groulx successfully promoted Québécois nationalism and the ultra-conservative Catholic social doctrine, to which the Church would maintain dominance in political and social life in Quebec.<ref>Mason Wade, The French-Canadians 1760–1967, vol. 2, p. 894.</ref>  In the 1920s–1950s, this form of traditionalist Catholic nationalism became known as [[clerico-nationalism]].<gallery>
File:Couvent Soeurs Grises Montreal 1867.jpg|Convent belonging to the [[Grey Nuns]] (''Soeurs Grises''), Montreal, 1867.
File:Ignace Bourget 1862.jpg|[[Ignace Bourget]], Bishop of Montreal, in 1862.
</gallery>

=== Politics ===
The 1885 execution in Saskatchewan of [[Métis]] rebel leader [[Louis Riel]] resulted in protests in Quebec, as the French Canadians thought they were being deliberately persecuted for their religion and language. [[Honoré Mercier]] became the outspoken leader of the protest movement. The federal Cabinet members of the [[Conservative Party of Quebec (historical)|Quebec Conservative Party]] had reluctantly supported Prime Minister Macdonald's decision in favour of execution. Support for Conservatives eroded.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

Seizing the opportunity to build a coalition of his Liberals and dissident Conservatives, Mercier revived the "Parti National" name for the [[1886 Quebec general election|1886 Quebec provincial election]], and won a majority of seats.  However, the coalition consisted of mostly Liberals and only a few Conservatives, so the "Liberal" name was soon reinstituted.  The Conservatives, reduced to a minority in the [[Legislative Assembly of Quebec|Legislative Assembly]], clung to power for a few more months. Mercier became Premier of Quebec in 1887.<ref>Mason Wade, ''The French Canadians; 1760-1967'' (1968) 2:417-33</ref> Seeing provincial autonomy as the political expression of Quebec nationalism, he collaborated with Ontario premier [[Oliver Mowat]] to roll back federal centralism.<ref>{{cite book|author=Paul-André Linteau|title=Quebec: A History 1867-1929|publisher=James Lorimer & Company|url=https://archive.org/details/quebechistory1860000lint|url-access=registration|year=1983|pages=[https://archive.org/details/quebechistory1860000lint/page/261 261]–62|display-authors=etal|isbn=9780888626042}}</ref>

With his strong nationalist stance, Mercier was very much a precursor of later nationalist premiers in future decades who confronted the federal government and tried to win more power for Quebec. He promoted contacts with [[francophone]]s in other parts of North America outside of Quebec including [[Western Canada]] and [[New England]]. Those francophones had not yet been assimilated into the English-Canadian or American culture. Mercier promoted reform, economic development, [[Catholicism]], and the French language.  He was returned to the legislature as the Member for the district of [[Bonaventure (provincial electoral district)|Bonaventure]] and his party won the [[1890 Quebec general election|1890 election]] with an increased majority. He was defeated in 1892.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

In 1896, [[Wilfrid Laurier]] became the first French Canadian to become [[Prime Minister of Canada]]. Educated in both French and English, Laurier remained in office as Prime Minister until October 1911. Laurier had several notable political achievements in Quebec, among them winning Quebec votes for the Liberal Party, against the desires of the powerful Catholic clergy.

In 1899, [[Henri Bourassa]] was outspoken against the British government's request for Canada to send a militia to fight for Britain in the [[Second Boer War]]. Laurier's compromise was to send a volunteer force, but the seeds were sown for future conscription protests during the world wars. Bourassa challenged, unsuccessfully, the proposal to build warships to help protect the empire. He led the [[Conscription Crisis of 1917|opposition to mandatory conscription during World War I]], arguing that Canada's interests were not at stake. He opposed Catholic bishops who defended military support of Britain and its allies.<ref>Rolando Gomes, "Henri Bourassa et l'Imperialisme Britannique (1899-1918)," ''Bulletin d'Histoire Politique'' (2008) 16#3 pp 161-182.</ref>

=== Boundary extensions ===
As more provinces joined Canadian Confederation, there was a pressing need to formalize provincial boundaries. In 1898, the [[Canadian Parliament]] enacted the ''[[Quebec Boundary Extension Act, 1898]]'', which gave Quebec a part of Rupert's Land, which [[Canada]] had bought from the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] in 1870.<ref>[[Parliament of Canada|Library of the Parliament of Canada]], {{cite web|first=Jill|last=Wherrett|date=February 1996|title=ABORIGINAL PEOPLES AND THE 1995 QUEBEC REFERENDUM: A SURVEY OF THE ISSUES|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/bp412-e.htm#B|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613195221/http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/bp412-e.htm#B|archive-date=June 13, 2006|access-date=October 24, 2006}}</ref> This Act expanded the boundaries of Quebec northward.  In 1912, the Canadian Parliament enacted the ''[[Quebec Boundaries Extension Act, 1912]]'', which gave Quebec another part of Rupert's Land: the [[District of Ungava]].<ref name="Morantz20022">{{cite book|author=Toby Elaine Morantz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLPxHz4tHUUC&pg=PA133|title=The White Man's Gonna Getcha: The Colonial Challenge to the Crees in Québec|date=June 11, 2002|publisher=McGill-Queens|isbn=978-0-7735-2299-2|page=133}}</ref> This extended the borders of Quebec northward all the way to the [[Hudson Strait]].

Population migration also characterized life in late 19th century Quebec. In the late 19th century, overpopulation in the Saint Lawrence Valley led many Quebeckers to immigrate to the [[Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean]] region, the [[Laurentides]], and [[New England]], providing a link with that region that continues to this day. In 1909, the government passed a law obligating wood and pulp to be transformed in Quebec. This helped slow the Grande Hémorragie by allowing Quebec to export its finished products to the US instead of its labour force.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Adoption d'une loi sur l'exportation du bois|url=http://bilan.usherbrooke.ca/bilan/pages/evenements/172.html|access-date=2021-08-04|publisher=University of Sherbrooke |language=fr}}</ref> Clerico-nationalists eventually started to fall out of favour in the [[1911 Canadian federal election|federal elections of 1911]].

In 1927, the British [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] drew a clear border between northeast Quebec and south [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Labrador]]. However, the [[Quebec government]] did not recognize the ruling of this council, resulting in a [[Labrador boundary dispute|boundary dispute]]. The [[Border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador|Quebec-Labrador boundary dispute]] is still ongoing today, leading some to comment that Quebec's borders are the most imprecise in the Americas.<ref name="Dorion 20112">Dorion, Henri et Jean-Paul Lacasse, ''Le Québec : territoire incertain'', Québec, Septentrion (coll. Territoires), 2011</ref>

== Early 20th century Quebec (1915–1959) ==

=== First World War ===
{{Main|Conscription Crisis of 1917}}

{{See also|Canada in World War I}}
When World War I broke out, Canada was automatically involved as a Dominion. Many English Canadians voluntarily enlisted to fight. Unlike English Canadians, who felt a connection to the British Empire, French Canadians felt no connection to anyone in Europe. Furthermore, Canada was not threatened by the enemy, who was an ocean away and uninterested in conquering Canada. So, French Canadians saw no reason to fight. Nevertheless, a few French Canadians did enlist in the 22nd Battalion - precursor to the [[Royal 22e Regiment]]. By late 1916, the horrific number of casualties were beginning to cause reinforcement problems. After enormous difficulty in the federal government, because virtually every French-speaking MP opposed conscription while almost all the English-speaking MPs supported it, the ''Military Service Act'' became law on August 29, 1917.<ref name="Conscription au Canada">{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/conscription|title=Conscription au Canada|publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia}}</ref> French Canadians protested in what is now called the [[Conscription Crisis of 1917]]. The conscription protests grew so much that they eventually led to the {{ill|Quebec riot|fr|Émeute de Québec de 1918}} of 1918.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/learn/dispatches/french-canada-and-recruitment-during-the-first-world-war/#tabs|title=FRENCH CANADA AND RECRUITMENT DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR|publisher=Canadian War Museum}}</ref>

=== Great Depression ===
The worldwide [[Great Depression in Canada|Great Depression]] that began in 1929 hit Quebec hard, as exports, prices, profits and wages plunged and unemployment soared to 30%, and even higher in lumbering and mining districts.  Politically there was a move to the right, as Quebec's leaders noted that across the globe the failures attributed to capitalism and democracy had led to the spread of socialism, totalitarianism, and Civil War.  The [[Spanish Civil War]] in particular alarmed devout Catholics, who demanded that Canada keep out representatives of the anti-Catholic Loyalist government of Spain.  There was a wave of clericalism and Quebec nationalism that represented a conservative reaction of a traditional society which feared social change as a threat to its survival.<ref>[[H. Blair Neatby]], ''William Lyon Mackenzie King: 1932–1939 The Prism of Unity'' (1976) pp. 232–233</ref>

With so many men unemployed or on lower wages, it was a major challenge for housewives to cope with the shortages of money and resources. Often they updated strategies their mothers used when they were growing up in poor families. Cheap foods were used, such as soups, beans and noodles. They purchased the cheapest cuts of meat—sometimes even horse meat—and recycled the [[Sunday roast]] into sandwiches and soups. They sewed and patched clothing, traded with their neighbors for outgrown items, and kept the house colder. New furniture and appliances were postponed until better days. These strategies, Baillargeon finds, show that women's domestic labour—cooking, cleaning, budgeting, shopping, childcare—was essential to the economic maintenance of the family and offered room for economies. Most of her informants also worked outside the home, or took boarders, did laundry for trade or cash, and did sewing for neighbors in exchange for something they could offer.  Extended families used mutual aid—extra food, spare rooms, repair-work, cash loans—to help cousins and in-laws.<ref>Denyse Baillargeon, ''Making Do: Women, Family and Home in Montreal during the Great Depression'' (Wilfrid Laurier U. Press, 1999) pp. 70, 108, 136–138, 159.</ref>  Half the devout Catholics defied Church teachings and used contraception to postpone births—the number of births nationwide fell from 250,000 in 1930 to about 228,000 and did not recover until 1940.<ref>{{cite book|author=M.C. Urquhart|title=Historical statistics of Canada|url=https://archive.org/details/historicalstatis0000urqu|url-access=registration|year=1965|publisher=Macmillan|location=Toronto|page=[https://archive.org/details/historicalstatis0000urqu/page/38 38]}}</ref>

The populist poet Emile Coderre (1893–1970), writing as "Jean Narrache" gave voice to the poor people of Montreal as they struggled for survival during the Great Depression. Writing in the language of the street, Narrache adopted the persona of a man living in poverty who reflects on the ironies attending the meagerness of social assistance, the role of class, the pretensions of the commercial elite, and the counterfeit philanthropy of the rich.<ref>Émile J. Talbot, "Populist Poetry in the 1930s: Jean Narrache and the Articulation of Powerlessness", ''American Review of Canadian Studies'' (2011) 41#4 pp. 479–494.</ref>

There was political alienation as more and more voters complained of the indifference and incompetence of both the national leadership of Prime Minister Bennett and the Conservative party,<ref>Marc LaTerreur, "R. B. Bennett et le Québec: Un Cas d'Incompréhension Réciproque", ''Canadian Historical Association Historical Papers'' (1969) pp. 94–102.</ref> as well as the provincial leadership of Liberal Premier [[Louis-Alexandre Taschereau]].<ref>B. L. Vigod, "The Quebec Government and Social Legislation during the 1930s: A Study in Political Self-Destruction", ''Journal of Canadian Studies'' (1979) 14#1 pp 59–69.</ref>  Many of the discontented gravitated toward the ultramontane nationalists especially [[Henri Bourassa]], editor of ''Le Devoir'', and the highly traditional Catholic writer [[Lionel Groulx]], editor of ''L'action canadienne-française''. Building on this disenchantment, [[Maurice Duplessis]] led the new ''Union nationale'' party to victory in 1936 with 58% of the vote and became premier.<ref>Susan Mann, ''The Dream of Nation: A Social and Intellectual History of Quebec'' (2nd ed 2003) pp. 232–248</ref>

=== Second World War ===
{{Main|Conscription Crisis of 1944}}
{{See also|Canada in World War II}}

Prosperity returned with the Second World War, as demand soared for the province's manpower, raw materials and manufactures.<ref>Mann, ''The Dream of Nation: A Social and Intellectual History of Quebec'' (2003) pp 249-65</ref>  140,000 young men, both Francophone and Anglophone, rushed to enlist, although English was the dominant language in all the services and essential for promotion.<ref>Susan Mann, ''The Dream of Nation: A Social and Intellectual History of Quebec'' (2nd ed 2003) p 250</ref>

Duplessis expected to ride antiwar sentiment to victory when he called an election in the fall of 1939. He miscalculated as the Liberals scored a landslide, with 70 seats to only 14 for the ''Union nationale.''<ref>Susan Mann, ''The Dream of Nation: A Social and Intellectual History of Quebec'' (2nd ed 2003) pp 250-51</ref>

Canadian leaders managed to avoid the depths of the conscription crisis that had soured relations between Anglophones and Francophones during the First World War. During the [[Conscription Crisis of 1944]] Quebecers protested the conscription. Prime Minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] tried, but did not succeed in, avoiding full conscription in Canada, and it became a reality in the final months of World War II. However, the end of the war also meant the end of the crisis. MacKenzie King succeeded in portraying himself as "a moderate", and at the same time "limited the ethnic bitterness" that had marked the 1917 conscription crisis.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Francis, R. D. |first2=Richard |last2=Jones |first3=Donald B. |last3=Smith |title=Journeys: A History of Canada|year=2009|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=9780176442446|pages=428}}</ref>

[[Image:Flag of Quebec.svg|thumb|right|250px|On March 9, 1950, the Fleurdelisé was approved as the official [[flag of Quebec]]]]

=== Grande Noirceur (1936–1959)===
{{Main|Grande Noirceur}}
[[File:Maurice Duplessis.jpg|thumb|Premier [[Maurice Duplessis]], 1952.]]
Duplessis returned as premier in the [[1944 Quebec general election|1944 election]],  and held power without serious opposition for the next fifteen years, until his death, winning elections in [[1948 Quebec general election|1948]], [[1952 Quebec general election|1952]] and [[1956 Quebec general election|1956]]. He became known simply as ''le Chef'' ("the boss").  He championed rural areas, provincial rights, and anti-Communism, and opposed the trade unions, modernizers and intellectuals. He worked well with the powerful Anglo businessmen who controlled most of the economy. A highly controversial figure even today, Duplessis and his [[Union Nationale (Quebec)|Union Nationale]] party dominated the province. Duplessis' years in power have been ridiculed as the ''[[Grande Noirceur|La Grande Noirceur]]'' ("Great Darkness") by his opponents.<ref>Conrad Black, ''Render Unto Caesar: The Life and Legacy of Maurice Duplessis'' (1998)</ref>  The Duplessis years were ones of close church-state relations. Quebec society remained culturally insular during this period, in contrast to the modernizing influences sweeping through the rest of North America. Traditional Catholic morality and Church doctrine defined many aspects of daily life, highlighting traditionalism. For example, most schools and hospitals were Church-controlled. Births outside marriage were rare, abortion was illegal, and divorce was not fully legalized in Quebec until 1968.<ref>Linteau, Paul-André (1991). ''Quebec Since 1930'' pp323-40</ref> In recent years, many people in Quebec have spoken out about exploitation by Church and government institutions during the Duplessis years, such as the tragedy of the [[Duplessis Orphans]].<ref name="Farnsworth">{{cite news|last1=Farnsworth|first1=Clyde H.|title=Orphans of 1950s, Telling of Abuse, Sue Quebec|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/21/world/orphans-of-the-1950-s-telling-of-abuse-sue-quebec.html?pagewanted=2&pagewanted=all|access-date=February 3, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=May 21, 1993|ref=power|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207050616/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/21/world/orphans-of-the-1950-s-telling-of-abuse-sue-quebec.html?pagewanted=2&pagewanted=all|archive-date=February 7, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Agitation for reform came from liberal Quebeckers during the Duplessis years, although such provocative attitudes were often frowned upon and marginalized. In 1948, a collective of artists calling themselves [[Les Automatistes]] published {{lang|fr|Le Refus global}}, meaning "total refusal". The pamphlet was an attempt to start a new vision of Quebec. It has been described as "an anti-religious and anti-establishment manifesto and one of the most influential social and artistic documents in modern Quebec history".<ref>{{cite book|last=Paulin|first=Marguerite|title=Maurice Duplessis |year=2005|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=9781894852173|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mauriceduplessis0000paul/page/182 182]|url=https://archive.org/details/mauriceduplessis0000paul/page/182}}</ref> It would have a lasting impact, influencing the supporters of Quebec's [[Quiet Revolution]] during the 1960s.

Other signs of frustration with the [[status quo]] appeared with the bitter [[Asbestos Strike]] of 1949. It led to a greater appreciation of labour and social-democratic issues in Quebec.

In fall of 1950 [[Rivière-du-Loup]] was the site of a [[1950 Rivière-du-Loup B-50 nuclear weapon loss incident|nuclear accident]]. A USAF B-50 was returning a nuclear bomb to the USA. The bomb was released due to engine troubles, and then was destroyed in a non-nuclear detonation before it hit the ground. The explosion scattered nearly 100 pounds (45&nbsp;kg) of [[uranium]] (U-238).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Norris |first1=Robert S. |last2=Arkin |first2=William M. |last3=Burr |first3=William |title=Where they were |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |year=1999 |volume=55 |issue=6 |pages=26–35 |url=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~sanders/214/other/news/nd99norris.pdf <!-- http://www.bullatomsci.org/issues/1999/nd99/nd99norris.html is a dead link -->|doi=10.2968/055006011 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
[[File:Visite, Hotel du Parlement du Quebec - 14.jpg|thumb|A crucifix had been hanging above the seat of the [[National Assembly of Quebec]] from 1936 until it was removed in July 2019.]]
In 1936, [[Maurice Duplessis]] hung a [[crucifix]] in the [[National Assembly of Quebec]]. It hung there for 83 years, until it was removed on 10 July 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/crucifix-removed-national-assembly-from-blue-room-1.5205352|title=Crucifix removed from National Assembly's Blue Room|date=July 9, 2019|work=CBC News|access-date=2019-07-14}}</ref>

The [[Union Nationale (Quebec)|Union Nationale]], often had the active support of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] during political campaigns, using the slogan ''Le ciel est bleu; l'enfer est rouge'' ("Heaven is blue; hell is red"; red is the colour of the Liberal party, and blue was the colour of the Union Nationale).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bernier Arcand |first=Philippe |date=2018 |title=Bleu, histoire d'une couleur politique |url=https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/hq/2018-v23-n4-hq03653/88141ac/ |journal=Histoire Québec |language=fr |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=15–17 |issn=1201-4710}}</ref>

== Late 20th century Quebec (1960–1999) ==

===Quiet Revolution (1960–1980)===
{{Main|Quiet Revolution|Quebec nationalism}}

During the 1960s, the [[Quiet Revolution]] ushered in an array of socio-political transformations, from secularism and the welfare state to a specifically Québécois national identity. The [[baby boom]] generation embraced the changes that liberalized social attitudes in the province.

In 1960, the Liberal Party of Quebec was brought to power with a two-seat majority, having campaigned with the slogan "{{lang|fr|C'est l'temps qu'ça change}}" ("Its time for things to change"). This new Jean Lesage government had the "team of thunder": [[René Lévesque]], [[Paul Gérin-Lajoie]], [[Georges-Émile Lapalme]] and [[Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain]]. This government made many reforms in the fields of social policy, education, health and economic development. It also created the [[Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec]], Labour Code, [[Ministry of Health and Social Services (Quebec)|Ministry of Social Affairs]], [[Ministry of Education and Higher Education (Quebec)|Ministry of Education]], [[Office québécois de la langue française]], Régie des rentes and [[Investissement Québec|Société générale de financement]].
[[File:Maitres chez nous 1962.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|"{{lang|fr|Maîtres chez nous}}" was the electoral slogan of the Liberal Party during the 1962 election]]
The Quiet Revolution was particularly characterized by the 1962 Liberal Party's slogan "{{lang|fr|Maîtres chez nous}}" ("Masters in our own house"), which, to the Anglo-American conglomerates that dominated the economy and natural resources of Quebec, announced a collective will for freedom of the French-Canadian people.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jacques |last=Parizeau |title=La souveraineté du Québec : Hier, aujourd'hui et demain |editor-first=Michel |editor-last=Brûlé |year=2009 |chapter=189 |publisher=Michel Brûlé |isbn=9-782894-854556}}</ref>

Confrontations between the lower [[clergy]] and the [[laity]] began. As a result, state institutions began to deliver services without the assistance of the church, and many parts of [[civil society]] began to be more secular. During the [[Second Vatican Council]], the reform of Quebec's institutions was overseen and supported by the [[Holy See]]. In 1963, [[Pope John XXIII]] proclaimed the [[encyclical]] {{lang|la|cat=no|[[Pacem in Terris]]}}, establishing [[human rights]].<ref>''La Révolution tranquille, 50 ans après'', Première Chaîne de la radio de Radio-Canada, 2009, coffret 10 CD</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Concile Vatican II|url=http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_xxiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-xxiii_enc_11041963_pacem_fr.html |title=Encyclique Pacem in Terris}}</ref> In 1964, the {{lang|la|cat=no|[[Lumen Gentium]]}} confirmed that the laity had a particular role in the "management of {{ill|temporal things|fr|Temporel et spirituel}}".<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Concile Vatican II. |url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_fr.html|title=Constitution dogmatique sur l'Église ''Lumen Gentium'', numéro IV, § 31}}</ref>

In 1965, the [[Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/idees/515763/bilinguisme-et-biculturalisme-un-plaidoyer-en-faveur-de-la-dualite-canadienne|title=Un plaidoyer en faveur de la dualité canadienne|website=Le Devoir|date=December 19, 2017 |access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref> wrote a preliminary report underlining Quebec's distinct character, and promoted open federalism, a political attitude guaranteeing Quebec to a minimum amount of consideration.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sqrc.gouv.qc.ca/relations-canadiennes/federalisme/quebec-fil-du-temps.asp#26|title=Le Québec au fil du temps - Secrétariat du Québec aux relations canadiennes|website=www.sqrc.gouv.qc.ca|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.radio-canada.ca/politique/provincial_territorial/dossiers/592/|title=La Commission Laurendeau-Dunton - Les Archives de Radio-Canada|website=archives.radio-canada.ca|access-date=29 July 2019|archive-date=March 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328195017/http://archives.radio-canada.ca/politique/provincial_territorial/dossiers/592/|url-status=dead}}</ref> To favour Quebec during its Quiet Revolution, Canada, through [[Lester B. Pearson]], adopted a policy of open federalism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collections.musee-mccord.qc.ca/scripts/explore.php?Lang=2&tableid=11&tablename=theme&elementid=108__true&contentlong|title=Les relations Québec-Canada - Ensembles thématiques - Musée McCord Museum|website=collections.musee-mccord.qc.ca|access-date=29 July 2019|archive-date=March 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328214905/http://collections.musee-mccord.qc.ca/scripts/explore.php?Lang=2&tableid=11&tablename=theme&elementid=108__true&contentlong|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/lester-bowles-pearson|title=Lester Bowles Pearson|website=L'Encyclopédie Canadienne|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref> In 1966, the Union Nationale was re-elected and continued on with major reforms.<ref>{{cite web |language=French |author=Université de Sherbrooke |title=Daniel Johnson (1915-1968) Homme politique |url=http://bilan.usherbrooke.ca/bilan/pages/biographies/131.html |website=bilan.usherbrooke.ca |access-date=10 January 2021}}</ref>
[[File:René Lévesque BAnQ (restored).jpg|thumb|left|[[René Lévesque]], one of the architects of the Quiet Revolution, and the Premier of Quebec's first modern sovereignist government.]]

The upheavals of the 1960s were also a time of conflict for some in Quebec. The emergence of extremist nationalist violence marked a dark chapter in the province's history, when in 1963, the first bombs of the [[Front de libération du Québec]] were detonated in Montreal. A major recognition of Quebec's cultural importance came in 1964 when, under authority granted by the Government of Canada, the Province of Quebec signed its first international agreement in Paris. The same year, during an official visit by [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|the Queen]], the police were required to maintain order during a demonstration by members of the [[Quebec separatist]] movement.

As a result of confrontations between the lower [[clergy]] and the [[laity]], state institutions began to deliver services without the assistance of the church, and many parts of [[civil society]] began to be more secular. During the [[Second Vatican Council]], the reform of Quebec's institutions was overseen and supported by the [[Holy See]]. In 1965, the [[Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism]] wrote a preliminary report underlining Quebec's distinct character, and promoted open federalism, a political attitude guaranteeing Quebec to a minimum amount of consideration. To favour Quebec during its Quiet Revolution, [[Lester B. Pearson]] adopted a policy of open federalism. In 1966, the Union Nationale was re-elected and continued on with major reforms.

In 1967, President of France [[Charles de Gaulle]] visited Quebec, the first French head of state to do so, to attend [[Expo 67]]. There, he addressed a crowd of more than 100,000, making a speech ending with the exclamation: "''[[Vive le Québec libre]]!''" ("Long live free Quebec"). This declaration had a profound effect on Quebec by bolstering the burgeoning modern [[Quebec sovereignty movement]] and resulting in a political crisis between France and Canada. Following this, various civilian groups developed, sometimes confronting public authority, for example in the [[October Crisis]] of 1970. The meetings of the [[Estates General of French Canada]] in November 1967 marked a tipping point where relations between [[French America|francophones of America]], and especially francophones of Canada, ruptured. This breakdown greatly affected Quebec society's evolution.

In 1968, [[class conflict]]s and changes in mentalities intensified. That year, [[An Option for Quebec|Option Quebec]] sparked a constitutional debate on the political future of the province by pitting [[Federalism in Quebec|federalist]] and [[Quebec sovereignty movement|sovereignist]] doctrines against each other. In 1969, the federal [[Official Languages Act (Canada)|Official Languages Act]] was passed to introduce a linguistic context conducive to Quebec's development. In 1973, the liberal government of [[Robert Bourassa]] initiated the [[James Bay Project]] on [[La Grande River]] which expanded the capacity of [[Hydro-Québec]] by creating one of the largest hydro-electric projects in the world. In 1974, it enacted the [[Official Language Act (Quebec)|Official Language Act]], which made French the official language of Quebec. In 1975, it established the [[Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms|Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms]] and the [[James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement]].

=== Expo 67 ===
[[File:Biosphère Montréal.jpg|thumb|The Montreal Biosphere, a landmark built for World [[Expo 67]].]]The 1960s were largely a time of optimism in Quebec. [[Expo 67]] marked Montreal's pinnacle as Canada's largest and most important city and prompted the construction of what is now Parc [[Jean Drapeau]] and the [[Montreal Metro]]. In 1962, the mayor of Montreal, [[Jean Drapeau]] (the man who later was behind [[Expo 67]] and the [[1976 Summer Olympics|'76 Olympics]] projects) instigated the construction of the [[Montreal Metro|Metro]] ([[Rapid transit|subway]]). The first phase of the subway was completed in 1966. These mega-projects came in the same era as Canada's Confederation centennial celebrations in 1967, when a wave of patriotism swept through most of Canada.

===Religion and culture===
In the midst of the powerful and urban changes, cultural change took root as well. Quebec was greatly affected by the [[baby boom]]; between 1960 and 1970, more than 1.2 million Quebeckers reached the age of 14.<ref>{{cite book|last=Linteau|first=Paul-André|title=Quebec Since 1930|year=1991|publisher=James Lorimer & Company|page=321|isbn=9781550282962|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/quebecsince19300000unse}}</ref> As more young Québécois rejected Catholic teachings, they made life choices that were a complete change from tradition in the province. Cohabitation rates among young couples rose, as the institution of marriage gradually lost its obligatory status. Births outside of marriage began to rise, from 3.7 percent in 1961 to 10 percent in 1976, then 22 percent by 1984.<ref>Linteau, Paul-André (1991). ''Quebec Since 1930'' p 325</ref> As of 2015, 62.9% of births were outside of marriage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/statistiques/population-demographie/naissance-fecondite/5p2.htm|title=Proportion de naissances hors mariage selon le rang de naissance, Québec, 1976-2017|first=Institut de la Statistique du|last=Québec|website=www.stat.gouv.qc.ca|access-date=1 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501135243/http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/statistiques/population-demographie/naissance-fecondite/5p2.htm|archive-date=1 May 2018}}</ref>
Student protests at local universities erupted, mirroring the youth protests throughout the United States and Western Europe during the 1960s and early 1970s. Reforms included an expansion of post-secondary educational opportunities for both English- and French-speaking Quebeckers. In 1968, the [[Université du Québec à Montréal]] opened. Protests by English-speaking students led to the establishment of [[Concordia University]] in Montreal that same year.<ref>Linteau, Paul-André (1991). ''Quebec Since 1930'' p 489</ref> The Quiet Revolution combined declericalization with the Church reforms of Vatican II. There was a dramatic change in the role of nuns.  Many left the convent while very few young women entered.  The Provincial government took over the nuns' traditional role as provider of many of Quebec's educational and social services. Ex-nuns often continued the same roles in civilian dress, and men for the first time started entering the teaching profession.<ref>Micheline D'Allaire, "Les Religieuses du Québec dans le Courant de la Laïcisation," ''Cultures du Canada Français'' (1986), Vol. 3, pp 38-45.</ref>

With the Quiet Revolution, Quebeckers affirmed their identity, especially in the arts, culture and language. It was during the revolution that the government of Quebec formed the Ministry of Culture which focused mainly on defending the French language and culture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.revolutiontranquille.gouv.qc.ca/index.php?id=15|title=La promotion de la culture et de la langue|publisher=Gouvernement du Québec|access-date=1 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426055717/http://www.revolutiontranquille.gouv.qc.ca/index.php?id=15|archive-date=2012-04-26}}</ref> The transformation of Quebec was also marked by the adoption of the Law on the assurance-hospitalisation, guaranteeing [[universal health care]] through a tax-funded public delivery system. In 1964, Quebec had recognized the equality between men and women and allows all women to have jobs which were once exclusively for men.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.revolutiontranquille.gouv.qc.ca/index.php?id=14|title=Le développement du système social|publisher=Gouvernement du Québec|access-date=1 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426055740/http://www.revolutiontranquille.gouv.qc.ca/index.php?id=14|archive-date=2012-04-26}}</ref>

===Politics and independence===
The growth of Quebec's government bureaucracy and its perceived interventionism produced friction with the federal government, particularly since the federal government followed a policy of close centralization.

English-speaking Canada showed concern at the changes happening in Quebec society and the protests of the Québécois. In 1963, Canada's Prime Minister, [[Lester B. Pearson]], asked the famous question, "What does Quebec want?" as he instituted a royal commission of enquiry into bilingualism and biculturalism to find an answer for this question, and to propose measures to satisfy the demands of the Québécois. French-speaking communities beyond Quebec were also pushing for increased linguistic and cultural accommodations; in 1965 the report of the [[Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism|Laurendeau-Dunton royal commission]] recommended making [[French language|French]] an official language in the parliaments of Canada, the provincial assemblies of [[Ontario]] and [[New Brunswick]], in federal tribunals and in all federal government administration of Canada.

The implementation of the proposed measures only increased the divide between English Canada and Quebec francophones. English Canadians considered the measures put in place to be unacceptable concessions, while francophones considered the measures an insufficient response.

Frictions with English popularized the idea of independence from Canada.

In 1967, [[René Lévesque]] quit the [[Quebec Liberal Party]] and founded the [[Mouvement Souveraineté-Association]]. The [[Ralliement national]] (RN), led by [[Gilles Grégoire]], and the [[Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale]] (RIN), led by [[Pierre Bourgault]] and [[Hubert Aquin]], were founded in 1960 and quickly became political parties. In 1967, [[René Lévesque]], who until then had been a leading figure in the [[Liberal Party of Quebec]], quit the Liberals to found the [[Mouvement Souveraineté-Association]] (MSA).

In 1968, the sovereignists reorganized into a single political party, the [[Parti Québécois]], under the leadership of René Lévesque. Pro-independence parties gained 8% of the popular vote in Quebec in 1966, 23% in 1970 and 30% in 1973.

During an official visit to Quebec as a guest of the government of Canada, in front of a huge crowd the [[President of France]], Colonel [[Charles de Gaulle]], who had been temporarily given the rank of general in WWII, undiplomatically declared from the balcony of the Montreal city hall; ''"[[Vive le Québec libre]]!"'' (Long live free Quebec!). The Canadian federal government strongly took offence. De Gaulle abruptly cancelled his visit to Ottawa and went home.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bothwell |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PXdDze0yxwwC&pg=PA255 |title=Alliance and Illusion: Canada and the World, 1945-1984 |publisher=UBC Press |year=2011 |isbn=9780774840880 |page=255}}</ref>

Violence erupted in 1970 with the [[October Crisis]], when ''Front de libération du Québec'' members kidnapped British Trade Commissioner [[James Cross]] and Quebec Minister of Labour [[Pierre Laporte]]. Pierre Laporte was later found murdered.  Prime Minister [[Pierre Trudeau]] used the [[War Measures Act]], which allowed anyone suspected of being involved with the [[terrorism|terrorists]] to be held temporarily without charge.

===Economic burden===
During this time period, several factors contributed to the stagnation or reduction of the buying power of Québécois:
*the [[1970s energy crisis|gas price shocks of 1973–1974 and of 1979]] generated price inflation and high interest rates (→ [[Stagflation]], [[Reaganomics]]);
*taxes increased to pay for government programs put in place during the period 1960–1975;
*governments, struggling with spending and growing deficits, disengaged itself from some services that citizens now had to pay for out of their own pocket;
*[[Economic globalization|globalization of the economy]] put downward pressure on [[National average salary|salaries]].

===1980 referendum===
In 1976, the separatist [[Parti Québécois]] under [[René Lévesque]] was elected, and formed the first separatist government of the province. The Parti Québécois promised in its campaign that it would not declare independence without obtaining a mandate through a [[referendum]]. The mandate of the Parti Québécois was to govern the province well, and not to bring about independence. The first years of the Parti Québécois government were very productive and the government passed progressive laws that were well accepted by the majority of the population, such as French language protection laws, a law on the financing of political parties, laws for compensating road accident victims, for protecting farm land, and many other social-democracy-type laws. Even opponents of the Parti Québécois occasionally acknowledged that the Party governed the province well.

On May 20, 1980, the [[1980 Quebec referendum|first referendum]] was held on [[Quebec sovereignty movement|sovereignty-association]], but was rejected by a majority of 60 percent (59.56% "No", 40.44% "Yes"). Polls showed that the overwhelming majority of anglophones and immigrants voted against, and that francophones were almost equally divided.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 1980 Quebec Referendum|url=http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/constitution/topics/1092-6040/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531220955/http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/constitution/topics/1092-6040/|archive-date=May 31, 2008|access-date=June 29, 2011|work=Facts and results|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>

===Constitution Act of 1982===
Together with the [[Canada Act 1982]], an [[Act of Parliament]] passed by the British Parliament severed virtually all remaining constitutional and legislative ties between the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Canada]]. The Act was signed by all the provinces except Quebec.

On the night of November 4, 1981, (widely known among Quebec sovereigntists as ''La nuit des longs couteaux'' and in the rest of Canada as the [[Patriation#The Kitchen Accord|"Kitchen Accord"]]) Federal Justice Minister Jean Chrétien<!--not PM Trudeau, as erroneously reported here before. PM Trudeau had simply pointed out to the provinces that had held out with Lévesque that he had been individually negotiating with Lévesque, against the terms of the agreement between all the hold-out provinces--> met with all of the provincial premiers except [[René Lévesque]] to sign the document that would eventually become the new Canadian constitution. The next morning, they presented the "fait accompli" to Lévesque. Lévesque refused to sign the document and returned to Quebec. In 1982, Trudeau had the new constitution approved by the British Parliament, with Quebec's signature still missing (a situation that persists to this day). Quebec is the only province not to have formally assented to the [[patriation]] of the [[Constitution of Canada|Canadian constitution]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001869 |title=Constitution, Patriation of|last=Sheppard|first=Robert|publisher=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|access-date=September 23, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102145936/http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001869|archive-date=January 2, 2010}}</ref>

=== Meech Lake Accord and Charlottetown Accord ===
[[File:Robert-Bourassa.jpg|thumb|In a speech delivered on June 22, 1990, in the [[National Assembly of Quebec]] following the failure of the [[Meech Lake Accord]], [[Robert Bourassa]] stated, "English Canada must understand very clearly that, no matter what anyone says and no matter what anyone does, Quebec is, today and forever, a distinct society, free and capable of assuming its destiny and development. Thank you."]]
Between 1982 and 1992, the Quebec government's attitude changed to prioritize reforming the federation. The subsequent attempts at constitutional amendments by the [[Brian Mulroney|Mulroney]] and [[Robert Bourassa|Bourassa]] governments ended in failure with both the [[Meech Lake Accord]] of 1987 and the [[Charlottetown Accord]] of 1992, resulting in the creation of the [[Bloc Québécois]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Busta |last2=Hui |first2=Ann|first1=Shannon |title=Bloc Québécois through the years|work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/bloc-qubcois-through-the-years/article2008669/|url-status=dead|access-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509013937/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/bloc-qubcois-through-the-years/article2008669/|archive-date=May 9, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/accord-de-charlottetown |title=Accord de Charlottetown|encyclopedia=L'Encyclopédie Canadienne|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref>

===1995 referendum===
On October 30, 1995, a [[1995 Quebec referendum|second referendum]] for Quebec sovereignty was rejected by a slim margin (50.58% "No", 49.42% "Yes"). Instrumental leaders of the Quebec separatist side were [[Lucien Bouchard]] and Quebec Premier [[Jacques Parizeau]]. Bouchard had left the senior ranks of Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]]'s [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]] government to form Canada's first federal separatist party (the [[Bloc Québécois]]) in 1991 and had become the leader of the Opposition after the [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993 federal election]]. He campaigned heavily for the "Yes" side against [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] Prime Minister [[Jean Chrétien]], a major proponent of the federalist "No" side. Parizeau, a longtime separatist who had played an important role in the [[1980 Quebec referendum|1980 referendum]], promised a referendum for sovereignty in his electoral campaign leading up to the [[1994 Quebec general election|1994 provincial election]], which had earned him a majority government in the province. In the aftermath of the referendum, he faced criticism when he blamed the loss of the referendum on "[[money and the ethnic vote]]" in his concession speech.  Parizeau resigned as Premier and as leader of the Parti québécois the day after his controversial speech, claiming he had always planned to do so in the case of separatist defeat, and Bouchard left federal politics to replace him in January 1996.

Federalists accused the sovereigntist side of asking a vague, overcomplicated question on the ballot. Its English text read as follows:
<blockquote>
''Do you agree that Québec should become sovereign after having made a formal offer to Canada for a new economic and political partnership within the scope of the bill respecting the future of Québec and of the agreement signed on June 12,&nbsp;1995?''
</blockquote>In 1998, following the [[Supreme Court of Canada]]'s decision on the [[Reference Re Secession of Quebec|reference relating to the secession of Quebec]], the Parliaments of Canada and Quebec defined the [[Clarity Act|legal frameworks]] within which their respective governments would act in another referendum.

== 21st century Quebec (2000–present) ==
On October 30, 2003, the National Assembly voted unanimously to affirm "that the people of Québec form a nation".<ref>{{cite web |date=October 30, 2003 |title=Résolution unanime sur la nation québécoise |trans-title=Resolution by the National Assembly of Québec |url=http://www.saic.gouv.qc.ca/publications/resolutions/20031030_en.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728013918/http://www.saic.gouv.qc.ca/publications/resolutions/20031030_en.pdf |archive-date=July 28, 2013|access-date=September 29, 2013}}</ref>

After winning the provincial election in 1998, Bouchard retired from politics in 2001. [[Bernard Landry]] was then appointed leader of the [[Parti Québécois]] and [[premier of Quebec]]. In 2003, Landry lost the election to the [[Parti Libéral du Québec|Quebec Liberal Party]] and [[Jean Charest]]. Landry stepped down as PQ leader in 2005, and in a crowded race for the party leadership, [[André Boisclair]] was elected to succeed him.

On November 27, 2006, the [[House of Commons of Canada]] passed [[Québécois nation motion|a motion]] recognizing that the "Québécois form a nation within a united Canada."<ref>{{cite web|title=Hansard; 39th Parliament, 1st Session; No. 087; November 27, 2006|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=2544166&File=0&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Pub=hansard&Ses=1#SOB-1798651|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002113653/http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=2544166&File=0&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Pub=hansard&Ses=1#SOB-1798651|archive-date=October 2, 2013|access-date=September 29, 2013|publisher=Parl.gc.ca}}</ref> The motion was introduced in the House of Commons by the federal government.

In January 2007, the town of [[Hérouxville]] received attention when it approved a code of conduct for [[immigration|immigrants]], which occurred in the context of a debate on "[[reasonable accommodation]]" for other cultures in Quebec.<ref>[http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=ac491c78-76df-467b-ab58-2bc90e4bfb63&k=83142 Herouxville wants immigrants that fit in with its citizens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314111446/http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=ac491c78-76df-467b-ab58-2bc90e4bfb63&k=83142 |date=2007-03-14 }}, ''National Post'', January 29, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/regional/modele.asp?page=/regions/mauricie/2007/01/27/001-herouxville-immigramts.shtml Strict code of behaviour for immigrants] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208125800/http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/regional/modele.asp?page=%2Fregions%2Fmauricie%2F2007%2F01%2F27%2F001-herouxville-immigramts.shtml |date=2007-02-08 }}, Radio-Canada, January 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070126/CPACTUALITES/70126280/5025/CPDMINUTE Il est interdit de lapider les femmes !], Cyberpresse, 26 janvier 2007</ref> This would start a debate which would lead to the Parti Québécois [[Quebec Charter of Values]].[[File:Pauline Marois Quebec-3 Sept 2012-4.JPG|thumb|Former Premier of Quebec [[Pauline Marois]], campaigning before the September 2012 provincial election.]]Quebec elected [[Pauline Marois]] as its first female premier on September 4, 2012. Marois served as leader of the [[Parti Québécois]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Canadian Press |title=Referendum on Quebec sovereignty 'hardly conceivable' right now, Marois tells media in France|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/referendum-on-quebec-sovereignty-hardly-conceivable-right-now-marois-tells-media-in-france|access-date=October 18, 2012|newspaper=National Post|date=October 16, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129132633/http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/16/referendum-on-quebec-sovereignty-hardly-conceivable-right-now-marois-tells-media-in-france/|archive-date=January 29, 2013}}</ref>

During the [[2011 Canadian federal election]]s, Quebec voters rejected the sovereignist Bloc Québécois in favour of the federalist and previously minor [[New Democratic Party]] (NDP). As the NDP's logo is orange, this event was called the "orange wave".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/idees/447949/elections-federales-retour-sur-la-vague-orange-de-2011|title=Retour sur la vague orange de 2011|website=Le Devoir |last=Rocher |first=François |date=August 20, 2015 |access-date=30 July 2019}}</ref>

Marois called a provincial election for April 2014, during which her party was defeated by the [[Parti libéral du Québec]] (PLQ). The PLQ won by a large margin, securing a majority government. In the [[2018 Quebec general election]], the [[Coalition Avenir Québec]] defeated the Liberals, forming a majority government. [[François Legault]] is the current Premier.

In January 2017, A [[Quebec City]] mosque was the subject of a [[Quebec City mosque shooting|mass shooting]]. There were six deaths and numerous others injured.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-city-mosque-gun-shots-1.3957686|title=Only 1 suspect in deadly Quebec mosque shooting, police say|date=January 29, 2017|access-date=January 30, 2017|language=en|newspaper=CBC News}}</ref>

In May 2017, [[2017 Quebec floods|floods]] spread across southern Quebec, with Montreal declaring a state of emergency.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/quebec-hardest-hit-as-battle-against-floods-continues-in-central-eastern-canada-and-british-columbia|title=Quebec hardest hit as battle against floods continues in communities across Canada|date=2017-05-08|first=Giuseppe|last=Valiante|work=National Post|access-date=2017-05-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/05/07/canadians-in-desperate-struggle-with-floods-across-the-country.html|title=Montreal declares state of emergency as flooding continues|date=2017-05-07|first=Giuseppe|last=Valiante|work=The Toronto Star|access-date=2017-05-08|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20171126124206/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/05/07/canadians-in-desperate-struggle-with-floods-across-the-country.html|archive-date=2017-11-26}}</ref>

In 2018, the [[Coalition Avenir Québec]] (CAQ), led by [[François Legault]], won the [[2018 Quebec general election|provincial general elections]].This marked the first time since the [[1966 Quebec general election|1966 election]], which was won by the now-defunct [[Union Nationale (Quebec)|Union Nationale]], that a party other than the Quebec Liberals or the [[Parti Québécois]] formed government in Quebec.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/francois-legaults-caq-wins-quebec-election-ends-nearly-50-years-of-two-party-rule-in-province|title=Francois Legault's CAQ wins majority in Quebec election, ends nearly 50 years of two-party rule|date=2 October 2018|work=National Post|access-date=2 October 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

In June 2019, Quebec passed [[Quebec ban on religious symbols|Bill 21]], a law which bars public servants from wearing religious symbols while on duty.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-quebec-legislature-expected-to-pass-bill-21-late-sunday/|title = Quebec passes bill banning public servants from wearing religious symbols}}</ref>

In the [[2019 Canadian federal election]], The [[Bloc Québécois]] increased its number of seats from 10 in 2015, to 32 seats in 2019, both over taking the [[New Democratic Party|NDP]] to become the third largest party in Canada and regaining [[official party status]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/big-gains-for-the-bloc-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois-but-what-did-it-sacrifice-in-the-process-1.5330056|title=Big gains for the Bloc Québécois, but what did it sacrifice in the process? Social Sharing|last=Montpetit ·|first=Jonathan|date=22 October 2019|publisher=CBC News|access-date=30 November 2019}}</ref>

Between 2020 and 2021, Quebec took measures to protect itself against the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Simard |first1=Julien |title=Quebec was a hotbed of COVID-19 transmission—what went wrong? |url=https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/quebec-was-a-hotbed-of-covid-19-transmission-what-went-wrong/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=quebec-was-a-hotbed-of-covid-19-transmission-what-went-wrong |website=CCPA |language=en-CA |date=6 June 2023}}</ref>

In 2022, the provincial legislature passed ''[[An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec]]''. This act expanded the requirement to speak French in many public and private settings and reinforced French as the language of legislation, justice, civil administration, professional orders, employers, commerce and business, and educational instruction.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Austen |first1=Ian |title=Law Requiring French in Quebec Becomes Stricter |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/24/world/canada/quebec-language-bill-96.html |work=The New York Times |date=24 May 2022}}</ref>

The [[Coalition Avenir Québec]] Government increased its parliamentary majority in the [[2022 Quebec general election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Quebec 2022 live election results |url=https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/quebec/2022/results/ |work=CBC News |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Timeline of Quebec history]]
*[[History of Montreal]]
*[[List of National Historic Sites of Canada in Quebec]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Primary sources===
* Innis, Harold Adams, ed. ''Select documents in Canadian economic history, 1497–1783'' (1929), French documents are not translated by Harold Adams Innis
* {{cite book|editor=Kennedy, W.P.M. |title=Documents of the Canadian Constitution, 1759-1915|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dc5AAAAAIAAJ|year=1918|publisher=Oxford UP|isbn=9780722267325}}; 707pp

===Journals===
* [http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/QuebecHistory/index.htm ''Quebec History''], large-scale encyclopedia
* [http://online.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/toc/qs/60 ''Quebec Studies'']{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}
* [https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/haf/ ''Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française'']

==Further reading==
* Bélanger, Damien-Claude, and  Claude Bélanger. "French Canadian Emigration to the United States: 1840-1930" ''Quebec History'' (1999) [http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/readings/leaving.htm online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620073138/http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/readings/leaving.htm |date=June 20, 2019 }}
 
* Brunet, Michel. ''French Canada in the early decades of British rule'' (1981) [http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/008004/f2/H-13_en.pdf online], 18pp; basic survey
* Christie, Nancy. ''The Formal and Informal Politics of British Rule in Post-Conquest Quebec, 1760-1837: A Northern Bastille'' (Oxford University Press, 2020) [https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=59430 online book review]
* Cook, Ramsay, ed. ''French-Canadian Nationalism: An Anthology'' (1969)
* Coulombe; Pierre A. ''Language Rights in French Canada'' (1997)
* Desbiens, Caroline. ''Power from the North: Territory, Identity, and the Culture of Hydroelectricity in Quebec'' (2014)
* Dickinson, John A., and Brian Young. ''A Short History of Quebec'' ( McGill-Queen's Press 2000)
* Dumont, Micheline et al. (The Clio Collective,) ''Québec Women: A History'' (1987)
* Falardeau, Jean-C. and Mason Wade, eds; ''Canadian Dualism: Studies of French-English Relations'' (1960), bilingual
* Fraser, Graham (2002). ''PQ: René Lévesque and the Parti Québécois in Power'', Montreal, McGill-Queen's University Press; 2nd edition, 434 pages {{ISBN|0-7735-2310-3}}
* Fyson, Donald. "Between the Ancien Régime and Liberal Modernity: Law, Justice and State Formation in colonial Quebec, 1760–1867," ''History Compass'' 12#5 (2014) pp 412–432 DOI: 10.1111/hic3.12154
* Gagnon, Alain-G., and Mary Beth Montcalm. ''Quebec Beyond the Quiet Revolution''. Scarborough: Nelson, 1990.
* Gagnon, Alain-G. ed. ''Quebec: State and Society'' (1984)
* Heintzman, Ralph. "The political culture of Quebec, 1840–1960." ''Canadian Journal of Political Science'' 16#1 (1983): 3-60. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3227554 in JSTOR]
* Jenkins, Kathleen. ''Montreal: Island City of the St Lawrence'' (1966), 559pp.
* Lachapelle, Guy, et al. ''The Quebec Democracy: Structures, Processes and Policies''. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1993.
* Laforest, Guy. ''Trudeau and the End of a Canadian Dream'' (1995) 
* Langlois, Simon. ''Recent Social Trends in Quebec, 1960–1990 (1991)''
* Lewis, H. Harry. " Population of Quebec Province: Its Distribution and National Origins," ''Economic Geography'' (1940) 16#1 pp.&nbsp;59–68 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/141390 in JSTOR]
* Linteau, Paul-André, René Durocher, Jean-Claude Robert, and Robert Chodos. ''Quebec: A History 1867–1929'' (1983) ''Quebec Since 1930'' (1991), standard 2 vol textbook.
* Linteau, Paul-André, and Peter McCambridge. ''The History of Montreal: The Story of Great North American City'' (2013)
* MacDonald, L. Ian. ''From Bourassa to Bourassa: a Pivotal Decade [i.e. the years 1976–1984] in Canadian History''. [S.l.]: Harvest House, 1984. 324 p., ill. with b&w port. photos. {{ISBN|0-88772-029-3}} pbk
* McRoberts, Kenneth. ''Quebec: Social Change and Political Crisis.'' (McClelland and Stewart, 1988)
* Manning; Helen Taft. ''The Revolt of French Canada, 1800–1835: A Chapter of the History of the British Commonwealth'' (1962) [https://www.questia.com/library/1319505/the-revolt-of-french-canada-1800-1835-a-chapter online]
* Marshall, Bill, ed. ''France and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History'' (3 Vol 2005)
* Moogk, Peter. ''La Nouvelle France: The Making of French Canada a Cultural History'' (2000) to 1763
* Ouellet, Fernand. ''Lower Canada 1791–1840'' (1980) a major scholarly survey
* Roberts, Leslie. ''Montreal: From Mission Colony to World City'' (Macmillan of Canada, 1969).
* Saywell, John. ''The Rise of the Parti Québécois 1967–76'' (1977)
* Trofimenkoff, Susan Mann. ''Dream of Nation: a Social and Intellectual History of Quebec''. Toronto: Gage, 1983. 344pp; second edition (2003) under the name of Susan Mann.
* Vacante, Jeffery. "The Posthumous Lives of René Lévesque," '' Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'études canadiennes'' (2011) 45#2 pp 5–30 [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_canadian_studies/v045/45.2.vacante.html online], 
* Wade, Mason. ''The French Canadians 1760–1967'' (2 vol. 2nd ed. 1975), standard history [https://www.questia.com/library/1220649/the-french-canadians-1760-1945 online]
* Weiss, Jonathan, and Jane Moss. ''French-Canadian Literature'' (1996)
* Whitcomb, Dr. Ed. ''A Short History of Quebec''. Ottawa. From Sea To Sea Enterprises, 2012.  92 p. {{ISBN|978-0-9694667-8-9}}. 92 p.

{{New France}}
{{Quebec topics}}
{{Canada topic|History of}}
{{Former French colonies}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:History of Quebec| ]]