List of regions of Quebec

Côte-NordNord-du-QuébecLavalMontréalMontérégieCentre-du-QuébecEstrieChaudière-AppalachesBas-Saint-LaurentGaspésie–Îles-de-la-MadeleineSaguenay–Lac-Saint-JeanCapitale-NationaleMauricieLanaudièreLaurentidesOutaouaisAbitibi-Témiscamingue
The seventeen administrative regions of Quebec.

The province of Quebec, Canada, is officially divided into 17 administrative regions. Traditionally (and unofficially), it is divided into around twenty regions. They have no government of their own, but rather serve primarily to organize the provision of provincial government services, most significantly the allocation of regional economic development funding. As of the 2021 Canadian census, the population of Quebec was 8,501,833, the land area was 1,298,599.75 km2 (501,392.17 sq mi) and the population density was 6.54 inhabitants per square kilometre (16.9/sq mi).[1]

Function

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Administrative regions are used to organize the delivery of provincial government services. They were also the basis of organization for regional conferences of elected officers (French: conférences régionales des élus, CRÉ), with the exception of the Montérégie and Nord-du-Québec regions, which each had three CRÉs or equivalent bodies. In the Nord-du-Québec region, the Kativik Regional Government and Cree Regional Authority, in addition to their other functions, played the role of a CRÉ. The subregions of Montérégie and Nord-du-Québec had their own regional conference of elected officers (CRÉ).

Administrative regions

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Along with the administrative regions, municipalities with 20,000-plus populations in the 2021 Census are also indicated, with those 50,000 or more shown in bold print.

Code Region Population
Canada 2021 Census[2]
Land area Density
(pop. per km2)
Major cities
01 Bas-Saint-Laurent 199,039 22,188.19 km2 (8,566.91 sq mi) 9.0 Rimouski, Rivière-du-Loup
02 Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean 275,552 95,542.70 km2 (36,889.24 sq mi) 2.9 Alma, Saguenay
03 Capitale-Nationale 757,950 18,684.78 km2 (7,214.23 sq mi) 40.6 Quebec City
04 Mauricie 273,055 35,475.80 km2 (13,697.28 sq mi) 7.7 Shawinigan, Trois-Rivières
05 Estrie 337,701 10,197.88 km2 (3,937.42 sq mi) 33.1 Granby, Magog, Sherbrooke
06 Montréal[a] 2,004,265 498.29 km2 (192.39 sq mi) 4,022.3 Côte-Saint-Luc, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Mont-Royal, Montreal, Pointe-Claire
07 Outaouais 405,158 30,457.52 km2 (11,759.71 sq mi) 13.3 Gatineau
08 Abitibi-Témiscamingue 147,082 57,325.74 km2 (22,133.59 sq mi) 2.6 Rouyn-Noranda, Val-d'Or
09 Côte-Nord 88,525 234,442.27 km2 (90,518.67 sq mi) 0.4 Baie-Comeau, Sept-Îles
10 Nord-du-Québec 45,740 707,306.52 km2 (273,092.57 sq mi) 0.1
11 Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine 89,342 20,271.24 km2 (7,826.77 sq mi) 4.4
12 Chaudière-Appalaches 433,312 15,071.51 km2 (5,819.14 sq mi) 28.8 Lévis, Saint-Georges, Thetford-Mines
13 Laval[b] 438,366 246.13 km2 (95.03 sq mi) 1,781.0 Laval
14 Lanaudière 528,598 12,300.62 km2 (4,749.30 sq mi) 43.0 Joliette, L'Assomption, Mascouche, Repentigny, Saint-Lin-Laurentides, Terrebonne
15 Laurentides 636,083 20,557.42 km2 (7,937.26 sq mi) 30.9 Blainville, Boisbriand, Mirabel, Saint-Eustache, Saint-Jérôme, Sainte-Thérèse
16 Montérégie 1,591,620 11,111.82 km2 (4,290.30 sq mi) 143.2 Beloeil, Boucherville, Brossard, Candiac, Chambly, Châteauguay, La Prairie, Longueuil, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Saint-Constant, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Lambert, Saint-Lazare, Sainte-Julie, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Sorel-Tracy, Varennes, Vaudreuil-Dorion
17 Centre-du-Québec 250,445 6,921.32 km2 (2,672.34 sq mi) 36.2 Drummondville, Victoriaville
Total 8,501,833 1,298,599.75 km2 (501,392.17 sq mi) 6.5


  • Mauricie–Bois-Francs was split in 1997 to create Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec administrative regions (note, the notion of Mauricie as a traditional region long predates this)
  • In January 2000, Québec administrative region was renamed Capitale-Nationale.

Historical and traditional names

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Quebec has a number of regions that go by historical and traditional names. Often, they have similar but distinct French and English names.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Coextensive with the urban agglomeration of the same name
  2. ^ Coextensive with the equivalent territory and municipality of the same name

References

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  1. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-02-09). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories". www150.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  2. ^ "Population and Dwelling Count Highlight Tables, 2021 Census - Economic regions". 2021 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. 2017-02-06. Retrieved 7 May 2016.