About Quebec
Located in the northeast of the North American continent, Canada’s largest province covers an area of 1,667,926 km2 (643,819 sq. mi.). It is twice the size of Texas and seven times the size of the United Kingdom.
Québec’s immense territory stretches for nearly 2,000 km (1,250 miles) from north to south, and 1,500 km (930 miles) from east to west. It extends from the fertile St. Lawrence Lowlands bordering four US states (New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine), to the vast expanse of Baffin Island and the northern boreal seas. Québec borders Ontario on the west and New Brunswick on the east.
One of the world’s major rivers, the St. Lawrence also shapes the topography of Québec’s southern regions. Its fertile plain stretches between the Canadian Shield to the north and the Appalachian Mountains to the south. Québec’s Laurentians are some of the oldest mountains on the planet.
Climate: Québec’s southernmost climate is marked by seasonal extremes of temperature. A rigorous snowy winter, with an average annual snowfall of over 3 meters (10 feet), gives way to an exhilarating spring and a hot summer, extinguished by a crisp and flamboyant autumn. But through all the thermometer’s ups and downs, the hospitality and conviviality of the nearly 7.5 million people living in Quebec is legendary.
Language: French is the official language in Quebec. Some 83 per cent of the population speaks French at home, while 11 per cent speaks English, and 6 per cent speaks another language. Half of the labor force speaks a third language and most of the 11 Aboriginal nations speak their Native languages and use French or English as a second language.
Education: At this point in history when the global village is growing at an ever-increasing rate, opening up to other cultures and learning about other countries is an essential element of civic education. Within this context, increasing student mobility and international student programs with a particular emphasis on language learning has become a priority of the Quebec government; educational institutions are being encouraged in their efforts to globalize.
Quebec has an excellent education system and some of the highest enrollment and graduation rates among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Quebec also offers excellent programs at junior colleges called CEGEP’s. These ”Colleges d’enseignement general et professionnel” offer two year general and three year professional programs, in your choice of French or English.
