Quebec A Quiet Revolution

The French Influence in Quebec In the 1530s Jacques Cartier a French explorer, sailed up the St. Lawrence River near today’s Quebec City. Cartier and later explorers gave other places French names. Montreal, for instance, is French for “Mount Royal” Cartier claimed the region Quebec for France. But England also claimed the region. They fought over it and in 1763 the territory went to the British Francophones, people who speak French as their first language, make up the majority of Quebec's population.

Quebec: A Distinct Society Within Canada Francophones who wanted independence were called separatists. They wanted Quebec to separate, or break away, from Canada. Separatists formed a political party, which won control of the Quebec provincial legislature in This peaceful change in Quebec’s government is called the Quiet Revolution. French became the official language, to be used in education, government, and commerce. Immigrants were required to learn French.

Ontario: A Thriving Economy

The Industrial Heartland of Canada Ontario in not only the wealthiest province in Canada, it also has the largest population. Ontario is a center of manufacturing, service industries, and agriculture with almost half of Canada’s industrial workers employed in the province.

Cities of Ontario Ottawa is the national capital of Canada. It lies on the Ottawa River, which forms the border between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Toronto is Ontario’s capital and is Canada's largest city. It is the commercial, cultural, and financial center of Canada.

The Golden Horseshoe The sprawling metropolitan area that includes Toronto is the center of Ontario’s richest manufacturing region. The area, known as the Golden Horseshoe, follows the curve of the western shore of Lake Ontario. Most of Ontario’s automobile plants are located here in the cities that cluster around the lakeshores.

Resources and Trade Ontario is rich in natural resources such as timber, minerals, and fertile soils. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has greatly expanded trade between Canadian provinces such as Ontario and their neighbor to the south, the United States. Ontario is Canada’s leading producer of fruits and vegetables, as well as eggs and poultry products. The rocky ground of the Canadian Shield in the central and northern regions of Ontario contains a variety of minerals. Nickel is the most important metal produced. Ontario mines provide a large percentage of the world’s nickel. Copper is second as well as zinc, gold, uranium, iron ore, and silver. They also have natural gas, petroleum, sand and gravel. Limestone, marble, and granite mined in Ontario are used in buildings around the world.