Québécois (word)
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (8 263 600 in Québec (self-identified by ancestry, 2011 Census) c. 10,000,000) |
|
| Languages | |
|
Canadian French, English |
|
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Roman Catholic, minority Protestant | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| French, Québécois, Acadians, Cajun, Métis, French-speaking Quebecer, Franco-Ontarian, Franco-Manitoban, French American, French Haitian, Brayon |
Québécois (pronounced [kebekwa]; feminine: Québécoise (pronounced [kebekwaz]), Quebecois (fem.: Quebecoise), or Québecois (fem.: Québecoise) is a word used primarily to refer to a French-speaking native or inhabitant of the Canadian province of Quebec. It can refer to French spoken in Quebec. It may also be used, with an upper or lower case initial, as an adjective relating to Quebec, or to the French culture of Quebec. A resident or native of Quebec is usually referred to in English as a Quebecer or Quebecker. In French, Québécois or Québécoise usually refers to any native or resident of Quebec. Its use became more prominent in the 1960s as French Canadians from Quebec increasingly self-identified as Québécois.
The name "Quebec" comes from a Mi'kmaq word k'webeq meaning "where the waters get narrow" and originally referred to the area around Quebec City, where the Saint Lawrence River narrows to a cliff-lined gap. French explorer Samuel de Champlain chose this name in 1608 for the colonial outpost he would use as the administrative seat for the French colony of Canada and New France. The Province of Quebec was first founded as a British colony in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 after the Treaty of Paris formally transferred the French colony of New France to Britain after the Seven Years' War. Quebec City remained the capital. In 1774, Guy Carleton obtained from the British Government the Quebec Act, which gave Canadiens most of the territory they held before 1763; the right of religion; and their right of language and culture. The British Government did this to in order to keep their loyalty, in the face of a growing menace of independence from the 13 original British colonies.
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