Here are 39 Kickass and Interesting Facts About Quebec.
1-5 Interesting Facts About Quebec
1. Quebec banned ads for toys and fast food aimed at children under 13, resulting in lowered childhood obesity rates. – Source
2. Before Vermont became a state they tried to become part of Quebec, but Quebec refused so Vermont joined the United States instead. – Source
3. A man was fined $9.4 million and sentenced to 8 years in jail for stealing 3,000 tonnes of maple syrup which cost $18.7 million from Quebec reserve in 2012. – Source
4. The surrounding regions of Quebec are “missing” gravity. This area has the lowest gravity on Earth. – Source
5. Quebec “unofficially” got rid of Slavery in 1798, 35 years before it was abolished because the Chief of Justice couldn’t find any laws to punish an escaped slave named Charlotte who refused to return to her master- so he set her free. Other slaves found out and started doing the same thing. – Source
6-10 Interesting Facts About Quebec
6. In 1963, the Quebec government bought out all the private power companies and nationalized electricity. Today, 96% of Quebec’s power is from hydroelectricity, and it has some of the cheapest electricity rates in North America while earning billions in revenue. – Source
7. Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! in Quebec, Canada, is the only town in the world with two exclamation points in its name. – Source
8. Beginning in the 1940s through the 1960s, the Quebec government collaborated with the Catholic Church to falsely certify 20,000 “orphaned” children as mentally ill and confine them to psychiatric institutions. The orphans were then subjected to medical experimentation and sexual abuse. – Source
9. In Francophone Quebec stop signs have “Arrêt” written on them although “Stop” is a valid word in French and France itself uses “Stop” on stop signs. – Source
10. The Canadian province of Quebec is responsible for 75% of the world’s maple syrup production. – Source
11-15 Interesting Facts About Quebec
11. Canada built a reservoir within the remnant of an ancient eroded meteor crater. Visible from space, it is known as “The Eye of Quebec”. – Source
12. The level of violent crime and homicides in Quebec is far lower than almost all other large cities in Canada or the USA. For twenty months, between November 1st, 2006 and July 14th, 2008, the city of Québec reported no homicide on its territory. – Source
13. A massive ice storm in Quebec in 1998 helped scientists to understand “epigenetic inheritance”: stress on pregnant moms during the prolonged power outage led to changes in infants’ DNA that is linked to illnesses later in life. The research program was named Project Ice Storm. – Source
14. Every winter, Quebec City builds an ice castle and often uses it to imprison people who are judged too glum for the holiday season. – Source
15. Quebec language police once tried to ban the word “pasta” for not being French. – Source
16-20 Interesting Facts About Quebec
16. In 1690, during the Battle of Quebec, the Governor-General of New France, Louis de Buade de Frontenac, was delivered a summons of surrender by the English. Asked for a written response, he declared “I have no reply to make to your general other than from the mouths of my cannons and muskets.” – Source
17. In Quebec, Canada, there is a fast food poutine restaurant where your poutine’s price decreases with negative temperatures in winter. – Source
18. Before Quebec mandated winter tires in 2008, they found that 10% of cars on all-seasons accounted for 33-38% of winter accidents. – Source
19. In Quebec, it actually is illegal to drive with the interior light on in your car. – Source
20. The Hôtel de Glace is a hotel in Quebec City that is made entirely of snow and ice. Each year, it is reconstructed over the course of a month with a different theme. – Source
