Top 5 Interesting Facts About Quebec

Canada has some of the best natural beauty in the world. Beautiful rivers and lakes, green forests, and tall and impressive mountains are all that make Canada so beautiful and a very popular tourist attraction. Canada is divided into provinces, with each one of them being beautiful in its own way, Quebec being the largest of them. The province of Quebec is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Located in the eastern part of Canada, with its beautiful and historic city streets, captivating nature, and vast amounts of natural resources, it is a big tourist destination. Quebec has a rich and long history that is really worth learning about. But there are many facts about Quebec that some of you may or may not know. Let’s look at some of the most interesting facts about this amazing place.

1. Quebec is Massive

Quebec encompasses a large portion of Canada's land area, in fact, it is the largest province in Canada by area and also the second largest by population. To put the size of Quebec into context, it is 51 times the size of Belgium and 3 times the size of France and it is a province. It is pretty amazing to think that a province is bigger than so many countries and a few times the size of some. Most of the population of Quebec lives in the cities making a big portion of the province uninhabited with a low population density.

2. Quebec was Almost an Independent Nation

Back in 1995, a referendum was held that wasn’t held by Canadian government officials and the voting only took place in Quebec. The referendum was won by those who voted for the No option. Nowadays the question of Quebec’s independence isn’t very strong, but the people of Quebec don’t call themselves Canadian and have an official flag of Quebec that can be seen throughout the city. Then in 2006, a motion was passed that named Quebec a nation within Canada, but it was only symbolic in nature.

3. French Speaking

The province of Quebec is French speaking with French being the official language. In 1997, French became the official language of Quebec after a law was passed that made French the only official language in Quebec. After that, everything from education, to the economy, and trade had to be in the French language. A lot of the most famous franchises in the world have their names written in French in Quebec. Some villages also received French names after the law was passed.

4. Lakes and Rivers

When you hear that 10% of Quebec’s territory is made up of water from lakes and rivers, it is obvious there are a lot of them but the official number of them is much more surprising than you might think. In fact, there are more than 500 000 lakes in Quebec, which is half a million. It really is impressive, and pretty hard to imagine. On top of that, there are over 4500 rivers in Quebec. Because of this, you can imagine how popular water sports and activities are, with canoeing being one of the most popular. It is safe to say that Quebec isn’t missing water as a natural resource.

5. Maple Syrup Production

We all know that Canada is famous for its Maple syrup, in fact, the leaf on the Canadian flag is a maple leaf. At the end of the Winter, the production of Maple syrup starts, this requires water to be drawn from the sugar maples. This sugar type is one that can only be found in North America, making it pretty special. After the sugar water is drawn, it is then boiled into the sweet syrup that we all know and love. To make 1 liter of Maple syrup, 40 liters of sugar water from maples is needed. Quebec produces almost 90% of the Maple syrup sold in the world.

There you have 5 of the most interesting facts about the beautiful and amazing Canadian province of Quebec. This place is a truly impressive and real sight to see, and it is definitely worth a visit. Whether you enjoy skiing, water sports, hockey, or hiking you can find it all in Quebec.