Québécois people
Québécois (also known as Quebecers or Quebeckers in English) are people associated with Quebec. The term is most often used in reference to either descendants of the French settlers in Quebec or people of any ethnicity who live and trace their origins in the province of Quebec.
For other meanings, see Québécois (disambiguation).Self-identification as Québécois became dominant starting in the 1960s; prior to this, the francophone people of Quebec mostly identified themselves as French Canadians and as Canadiens before anglophones started identifying as Canadians as well.[1] A majority in the House of Commons of Canada in 2006 approved a motion tabled by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, which stated that the Québécois are a nation within a united Canada.[2] Harper later elaborated that the motion's definition of Québécois relies on personal decisions to self-identify as Québécois, and therefore is a personal choice.[3]
Québécois in census and ethnographic studies[edit]
The Québécois self-identify as an ethnic group in both the English and French versions of the Canadian census and in demographic studies of ethnicity in Canada.
In the 2016 census, 74,575 chose Québécois as one of multiple responses with 119,985 choosing it as a single response (194,555 as a combined response).[42]
In the 2001 Census of Canada, 98,670 Canadians, or just over 1% of the population of Quebec identified "Québécois" as their ethnicity, ranking "Québécois" as the 37th most common response.[43] These results were based on a question on residents in each household in Canada: "To which ethnic or cultural group(s) did this person's ancestors belong?", along with a list of sample choices[44] ("Québécois" did not appear among the various sample choices).[45] The ethnicity "Canadien" or Canadian, did appear as an example on the questionnaire, and was selected by 4.9 million people or 68.2% of the Quebec population.[46]
In the more detailed Ethnic Diversity Survey,
Québécois was the most common ethnic identity in Quebec, reported by 37% of
Quebec's population aged 15 years and older, either as their only identity or alongside
other identities.[47][48] The survey, based on interviews, asked the following questions: "1) I would now like to ask you about your ethnic ancestry, heritage or background. What were the ethnic or cultural origins of your ancestors? 2) In addition to "Canadian", what were the other ethnic or cultural origins of your ancestors on first coming to North America?"[49] This survey did not list possible choices of ancestry and permitted multiple answers.[50]
In census ethnic surveys, French-speaking Canadians identify their ethnicity most often as French, Canadien, Québécois, or French Canadian, with the latter three referred to by Jantzen (2005) as "French New World" ancestries because they originate in Canada.[51] Jantzen (2005) distinguishes the English Canadian, meaning "someone whose family has been in Canada for multiple generations", and the French Canadien, used to refer to descendants of the original settlers of New France in the 17th and 18th centuries.[52]
Those reporting "French New World" ancestries overwhelmingly had ancestors that went back at least 4 generations in Canada: specifically, 90% of Québécois traced their ancestry back this far.[53] Fourth generation Canadiens and Québécois showed considerable attachment to their ethno-cultural group, with 70% and 61% respectively reporting a strong sense of belonging.[54]
The generational profile and strength of identity of French New World ancestries contrast with those of British or Canadian ancestries, which represent the largest ethnic identities in Canada.[55] Although deeply rooted Canadians express a deep attachment to their ethnic identity, most English-speaking Canadians of British ancestry generally cannot trace their ancestry as far back in Canada as French-speakers.[56] As a result, their identification with their ethnicity is weaker tending to have a more broad based cultural identification: for example, only 50% of third generation "Canadians" strongly identify as such, bringing down the overall average.[57] The survey report notes that 80% of Canadians whose families had been in Canada for three or more generations reported "Canadian and provincial or regional ethnic identities". These identities include "Québécois" (37% of Quebec population), "Acadian" (6% of Atlantic provinces) and "Newfoundlander" (38% of Newfoundland and Labrador).[58]
French expressions employing "Québécois" often appear in both French and English.