French Canada

Canada's beginnings were French; and even now French is the language spoken by about one fifth of Canadians. Canada has two official languages - English and French. The St. Lawrence Valley was the heart of the French colony in North America up to the middle of the 18th century.

When the British gained control of Canada, about half of the French inhabitants moved south to the French colonies along the Mississippi River. But the St. Lawrence River, from Montreal to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, may still be called a French river.

Quebec is the home of the French Canadian nation, and Quebec City is the capital of the province. Quebec is Canada's largest province. More than a quarter of all the population of Canada lives in this province. Not all of the inhabitants of Quebec are French Canadians; ten per cent of them speak only English. There are French Canadians not only in the province of Quebec, they live and work in other provinces too.

Montreal, the main St. Lawrence port, in the second largest French city in the world - after Paris.

French Canada still keeps some of its old traditions, but it is a mistake to say that Quebec is very different from the rest of Canada; every year the difference becomes less.