Canada : Quebec

Canada's largest province, situated in the east of the country.
The only Canadian province where French is the official language

Responsible for selecting its own immigrants, welcoming about 45 000 each year.
 

Advantages of living in Quebec

 A safe environment in north America

 A vibrant culture, the meeting point of European and American tendencies

 An affordable cost of living, proportional to the the average salary

 Good public health and education systems.

 The French-speaking society eases integration of French-speaking immigrants whilst offering a new but accessible cultural experience to other immigrants

 High standard of living

 A welcoming society with strong values centred around liberty, quality and tolerance

 Statistics

Geography:

Situated in the north-eastern area of North America, Quebec covers an area of 1 667 441 km2 roughly equivalent to the combined land mass of Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. Quebec lies between the Arctic Ocean in the north, the USA and New Brunswick to the south, NewFoundland, Labrador and the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Ontario to the west. It is the largest of the Canadian provinces.

Population:

7 598 146 inhabitants, of which 3 750 120 men and 3 848 026 women

 Life expectancy at birth:

 77,2 years for men, 82,4 for women

 Average age:

 38,4 (men); 40,8 (women)

 Language:

 French (official)

Mother tongues: French (80,9%), English (7,8 %), other (10%)

 Religions:

No religion (5,6%); Roman Catholic (83%); Protestant (4,7%); Orthodox Christian (1,4%); Muslim (1,5%); Jewish (1,3%); Buddhist (0,6%); Hindu (0,3%); Sikh (0,1%)

Capital:

Québec

Administrative regions (17):

Bas Saint-Laurent; Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean; Capitale-Nationale; Mauricie; Estrie; Montréal; Outaouais; Abitibi-Témiscamingue; Côte-Nord; Nord-du-Québec; Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine; Chaudière-Appalaches; Laval; Lanaudière; Laurentides; Montérégie; Centre-du-Québec

 Political system:

Three tiers: federal, provincial, municipal.

 GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $29,400 (2002 .est)

 Unemployment rate:

8,5%