Quebec

American  

[kwi-bek, ki-] / kwɪˈbɛk, kɪ- /

noun

1. Formerly Lower Canada.  a province in eastern Canada. 594,860 sq. mi. (1,540,685 sq. km).

2. a seaport in and the capital of this province, on the St. Lawrence: capital of New France from 1663 to 1759, when it was taken by the English; wartime conferences 1943, 1944.

3. a word used in communications to represent the letter Q.

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Quebec British  

/ kə-, kwɪˈbɛk, kɛ- /

noun

1.  PQ.  a province of E Canada: the largest Canadian province; a French colony from 1608 to 1763, when it passed to Britain; lying mostly on the Canadian Shield, it has vast areas of forest and extensive tundra and is populated mostly in the plain around the St Lawrence River. Capital: Quebec. Pop: 7 542 760 (2004 est). Area: 1 540 680 sq km (594 860 sq miles)

2. a port in E Canada, capital of the province of Quebec, situated on the St Lawrence River: founded in 1608 by Champlain; scene of the battle of the Plains of Abraham (1759), by which the British won Canada from the French. Pop: 169 076 (2001)

3. communications a code word for the letter q

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Quebec Cultural  

1. Province in eastern Canada, bordered to the east by Newfoundland, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean); to the southeast by New Brunswick and several states of the United States; to the southwest by Ontario; to the west by Ontario and Hudson Bay; and to the north by islands of the Northwest Territories. Its capital is Quebec City, and its largest city is Montreal.

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Discover More

It is Canada's largest province in area and second largest in population, after Ontario.

With French as its official language, Quebec has experienced tensions between its majority French and minority English cultures.

A French colony from 1663 to 1759, Quebec was then lost to the British.

Example Sentences

The Liberals swept three special elections to fill vacancies in Canada’s Parliament, with sizable victories in two races in Toronto and pulling out a win in Quebec in a usually French-speaking nationalist stronghold.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

That’s where Vachon, a small-town farm boy from French-speaking Quebec, came in.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

Rousseau was under pressure to resign from politicians and many others in French-speaking Quebec, where the airline is based.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

One of the pilots who died, Antoine Forest, was from French-speaking Quebec.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

Why, Maine extends northward almost to the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and its upper border is perhaps a hundred miles north of Quebec.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck