Politics of Quebec

The politics of Quebec are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces, namely a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The capital of Quebec is Quebec City, where the Lieutenant Governor, Premier, the legislature, and cabinet reside.

The unicameral legislature — the National Assembly of Quebec — has 125 members. Government is conducted based on the Westminster model.

Political system

The British-type parliamentarism based on the Westminster system was introduced in the Province of Lower Canada in 1791. The diagram at right represents the political system of Québec since the 1968 reform. Prior to this reform, the Parliament of Québec was bicameral.

Lieutenant Governor

Premier

Quebec

Quebec (ⁱ/kwᵻˈbɛk/ or /kəˈbɛk/; French: Québec [kebɛk]) is the second-most populous province in Canada. It is the only Canadian province that has a predominantly French-speaking population, and the only one to have French as its sole provincial official language.

Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario, James Bay, and Hudson Bay; to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay; to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; it is bordered on the south by the province of New Brunswick and the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.

Quebec is Canada's second most populous province, after Ontario. Most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. Approximately half of Quebec residents live in the Greater Montreal Area, including the Island of Montreal. English-speaking communities and English-language institutions are concentrated in the west of the island of Montreal but are also significantly present in the Outaouais, Eastern Townships, and Gaspé regions. The Nord-du-Québec region, occupying the northern half of the province, is sparsely populated and inhabited primarily by Aboriginal peoples. The climate around the major cities is four-season continental with cold and snowy winters combined with warm to hot humid summers, but further north long winter seasons dominate and as a result the northern areas of the province are marked by tundra conditions. Even in central Quebec at comparatively southerly latitudes winters are very severe in inland areas.

Quebec Liberal Party

The Quebec Liberal Party (French: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a federalist provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955.

The party has traditionally supported a form of Quebec federalism that supports Quebec remaining within the Canadian federation while also supporting reforms that would allow Quebec substantial autonomy. While the party has been described as centre-right in the context of Canadian politics, the party believes in a strong role for government in the economy and supports socially liberal policies. Also the party has had a prominent social-democratic faction within it that was historically prominent in the party during the Quiet Revolution.

The Quebec Liberals have always been associated with the colour red; each of their main opponents in different eras have been generally associated with the colour blue.

History

Pre-Confederation

The Liberal Party is descended from:

The National

The National may refer to:

News media:

Other:

See also

Government of Quebec

The Government of Quebec (in French, and officially, Le Gouvernement du Québec) refers to the provincial government of the province of Quebec. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867.

In modern Canadian use, the term "government" refers broadly to the cabinet of the day, elected from the National Assembly of Quebec and the non-political staff within each provincial department or agency – that is, the civil and public services.

The province of Quebec, like all Canadian provinces, is governed by a unicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Quebec, which operates in the Westminster system of government. The political party that wins the largest number of seats in the legislature normally forms the government, and the party's leader becomes premier of the province, i.e., the head of the government.

Lieutenant Governor of Quebec

The functions of the sovereign, Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, and known in Quebec as the Queen in Right of Quebec, are exercised by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor is appointed by the Governor General of Canada on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada, in consultation with the Premier of Quebec.