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1500
First Occupants Arrival
The First Occupants arrived by the Bering Strait Land Bridge -
Period: 1500 to
First Occupants
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1534
Jacques Cartier 1st voyage
The king of France funded Jacques Cartier's first voyage to claim new land and territory, find precious resources and evangelize. Instead, he found something more precious in the long run for France; codfish. -
1535
Jacques Cartier 2nd voyage
Jacques Cartier returns because of the cod fish he found in Newfoundland. For his second voyage, he came down the St. Laurence river and discovered Hochelaga and Stadacona. He also made contact with First Nations. -
Settlement of Québec
Samuel de Champlain officially founded the settlement of Québec in 1608. He chose this area in particular because of the narrowing of the river, the easy access to the St. Laurence and the ocean and because it was a good trading point with the Inuits and the Algonquins. -
Period: to
French Regime
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The Company of 100 Associates
In 1627, the king of France granted the company of 100 associates the fur trade monopoly. They had the exclusive rights to exploit fur. However, in exchange they must help bring settlers to colonize the territory and protect them. The Company fails because they invest all of their profits into the fur trade rather than putting it into bringing over settlers. Also, there was a threat of attacks from British at sea so there was minimal population growth, therefore, in 1663, the King took it away. -
Settlement of Trois-Rivières
Sieur de Laviolette founded this second settlement. It allowed furriers to communicate with each other and it prevented Iroquois from intercepting the trades. -
Foundation of Ville-Marie
Paul de Comedy de Maisonneuve founded Ville-Marie with the assistance of Jeanne Mance. It was created in order to help with the evangelization of the First nations to catholicism. -
Intendant Jean Talon's immigration policies
Jean Talon was now in charge of the settlement of New France. He increased the population by offering money and free land to the 'Thirty-six Months' (Men who were hired for a 3 year period to learn a profession). Also, a troop of soldiers (Carignan Salières) was brought in to establish peace with the Iroquois. Lastly, soon after, the King sent the Filles du Roy (Often orphans) to New France in order increase the female population and to get these women married. -
Intendant Jean Talon's birth incentives
Jean Talon also enforced birth incentives to encourage population growth:
1. A financial reward for married men at the age of 20 or younger/ married women at 16 or younger.
2. A large financial reward to fathers with 10 children or more.
3. A tax on fathers who had single sons that were 20 or over/ daughters that were 16 or over. -
Period: to
British Rule
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British Takeover
At the end of the 7 years war, France and Great Britain signed the treaty of Paris in 1763. As a result, there was a change in government that stopped French immigration and lead to the departure of more than 2000 individuals from New France, These people were the wealthier ones who could afford to leave, such as administrators, officers, traders and seigneurs. Although, the majority of people stayed in the colony and had to live under British Rule. -
Loyalists
In 1783, the 13 colonies officially declared their independence from British Control. Although, around 15-20% of people remained loyal to the king of England and chose to come to British North America. 46000 loyalists came and mainly settled in the great lakes area and in the eastern townships. The loyalists settling in the colony helped increase the English population from 1% to 10%. -
Constitutional act
With the arrival of the loyalist, the constitution divided the province of Quebec in two, Upper and Lower Canada. Each Canada had its own religions, laws and land division. The anglophones settled in Upper Canada and the francophones settled in Lower Canada. -
Demography of Québec
From 1814-1861, the population of Quebec tripled due to natural growth. After the constitutional act, the population of Quebec was roughly 160 000 people and it jumped to approximately 660 000 people after the Act of Union. -
Emigration to the United States
Starting in 1830, there was a rural exodus by the French Canadiens because the rural areas started to overpopulate. As a result, many of them moved to urban areas like Lac St-Jean or Saguenay, although around 30 000 left for industrialized cities in the US (Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode island) -
Act of Union
The French Canadian rebel group (patriots) wanted better representation for french speaking people but they lost to the English speaking Canadiens.This Act united Upper and Lower Canada into one. It also helped in the assimilation of the French population due to the fact that by making one Canada, the French became a minority. -
The Great Famine
In 1845-1852, the Irish lost their main food source (potato) because of a disease that them not good to eat. As a result, 1 million Irish died and another million emigrated to British North America. When they first arrived, they went to a place called Gross-île to prevent the spread of disease in British North America. Many of the immigrants settled in the St. Lawrence valley and Upper Canada. -
Immigration policies
From 1867 to 1885, 3.4 million people lived in the Dominion of Canada. More than 1 million of these people were French Canadians (represented 30% of the population). Quebec became its own province and favoured French immigrants that practiced the Catholic religion. -
Period: to
Contemporary
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John A Macdonald's National Policy
In 1876, Prime Minister John A Macdonald implemented his National Policy, which was to settle the west of the Dominion through immigration by building a railroad. -
Baby Boom
The return of troops and economic prosperity after the second world war resulted in the growth of the population. During this time, the fertility rate was 3.84 children per woman. -
Immigration Act (1952)
The criteria that would be used to allow or deny the immigrant's entry into Canada was documented in this immigration act. British subjects, French citizens, residents of the U.S as well as Asians that already had family in Canada were prioritized. -
The Quiet Revolution
After the Bay Boom, women wanted jobs of their own and no longer wanted to have as many children. In addition, contraception was introduced. As a result, the birth rate declined. -
Immigration act (1976)
In 1976, the Immigration Act was changed to encourage population growth in Canada. Other objectives included:
- Enrich cultural heritage
- Facilitate family reunions
- Facilitate the adaptation of new residents into society
- Selection with non-discriminatory criteria
- Maintain a humanitarian attitude towards refugees -
Bill 101
Bill 101 was enacted in order to protect the French language in Quebec. This bill made it so immigrant children had to go to French school. -
Quebec Government policies after 1980
The Quebec Government created policies after 1980 to help increase the population growth in the province. The policies included:
- Office de garde a l’enfance
- Tax breaks for having children
- CPE’s
- QPIP (QC parental insurance plan) -
Aging Population
Baby Boomers are getting older, which impacts the society of Quebec. Healthcare costs go up, the mandatory age of retirement was abolished, pension plans will suffer and the government must also supply the population with more infrastructures like hospitals and residences.
