One of 10 provinces of Canada, located in the east of the country. In the south, it borders on the USA. It has the biggest area and the second largest population in the Canadian provinces. The province was established in 1867 with the signing of The British North America Act as an ethnic territorial autonomy for the French-speaking population. With the establishment of the province, the French-speaking population was provided with political representation on its territory, as well as opportunities for preserving their identity, culture, and language.
The titular ethnic group is Quebeckers (French-speaking Canadians), whose share in the population of the region reaches 80%. Anglophones make up about 10% of the population. There is only one official language in Quebec - French, whereas Canada has two official languages - English and French. The dominance of the regional language is also reflected in the education system: in accordance with The Charter of the French Language adopted in 1977, Quebec students are required to attend French schools. However, English schools also exist in the region but it is more of an exception than a rule.
In the second half of the twentieth century, there was a powerful movement to create an independent state in Quebec. Later it went into decline. On the modern ethnopolitical space of the region the debates about challenging the status of the province rise from time to time. All of them, however, do not receive broad public and political resonance. In 2014, the Parti québécois, in favor of initiating a referendum on independence, suffered a crushing defeat in the parliamentary elections and lost influence in the region. At present, the theme of Quebec independence is not a point of the debates in official speeches.
