Situated in east-central Canada, Québec is a primarily French-speaking province, with most of its residents living in the capital city of Montreal. Québec has an area of 1.542 million km² and a population of over 8 million people making this one of the most densely populated provinces. Here’s all you need to know about life in Québec.
Quebec is bordered on the west by Ontario, to the north by Hudson Bay and to the south by the US state of Maine, Vermont and New York. The province has varying climates depending on which region you are in with mild summers and cold winters in the north, and moderate temperatures in the south.
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The average earnings in Quebec are lower than most provinces in Canada at $70,480 per year, but the province does provide an extremely high quality of life. Living in Quebec means that you will pay high taxes, resulting in high-quality public services, transport and tertiary education.
The average cost of a home in Montreal is $327,000, meaning that this a relatively affordable city.
Québec has one of the largest supplies of freshwater in the world (3%), with over 500,000 lakes, rivers and streams. The topography ranges from lowlands in the south, to rolling mountains in the north. Until the 20th century, Quebec’s economy was based mainly on natural resources, especially fishing, trapping, agriculture and timber. With the advent of new technologies, Quebec has experienced phenomenal growth in the aerospace industry and information technology. Principle exports include pulp and paper, agricultural and forestry products.
Quebec’s official language is French with 81% of the population adopting the language, while English-speakers are uncommonly seen as a minority group. Due to the language in the province, it is no wonder that a large majority of the population (28.8%) is of French descent, with a little less than half of the population being bilingual.
The Catholic and Protestant faiths are primarily followed by residents, though there are many other places of worship in the province.
The majority of the population (almost 50%) lives in Montreal, with the rest sparsely distributed over the province.
Montreal has 4 universities and most colleges and universities in Québec offer education in both English and French, however, there are some institutes of higher learning that only teach in French.
McGill University is one of the better-known institutions in Canada, ranking as the top university in the country and 24th on an international scale. As an English-language research university, McGill has an international students community that accounts for 24% of the total university body of 39 500 students.