400 Years of History

Souvenir Leaflet

Celebrating Our Past, Building Our Future

Québec City, the only Canadian city declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrates the 400th anniversary of its founding, which also marks the founding of Canada. Few cities in North America can boast such a rich past and promising future. People from all over Canada and around the world will gather to celebrate 400 years of history, 400 years of culture, and 400 years of encounters. They will be welcomed as distinguished guests, with all the warmth and hospitality that Québec City's residents are famous for.

Québec City has been at the forefront of a unique adventure, one that helped establish the modern and dynamic Canada we know today—strong in its linguistic duality and cultural diversity. The celebration of Québec City's 400th anniversary is an opportunity to enjoy the diverse and rich heritage we share. The Huron Wendat Nation will act as host nation of the celebrations. Canadians from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia will celebrate in harmony and pride.

Come celebrate with us!

To learn more about Québec City and the involvement of the Government of Canada in the 400th anniversary celebrations, call 1 800 O-Canada or visit www.quebec400.gc.ca.

A Meeting Of All Peoples

Looking at the St. Lawrence River from atop Dufferin Terrace, we can see why this location was called Kebec, “where the river narrows” in Aboriginal language. Passing the lush landscape of Île d'Orléans, the banks of this great river taper in a spectacular fashion. Not far from there 400 years ago stood the village of Stadacone. Samuel de Champlain, Father of New France, chose this site to establish a simple trading post where 16 settlers would stay the winter. Thus began the fur trade with the help of Algonquin nomads and later the Huron Wendat Nation. Québec City was born.

The year 1608 is historically important for all of Canada. It is from this date that we truly started to become what we are today. From the era of New France to the Canada of today, millions of immigrants have passed through this natural port of entry to Canada: from 1815 to 1941, more than four million immigrants landed here to build a country full of promise.

The survival of French in North America over the past four centuries was not by accident. The 400th anniversary of the founding of Québec City reminds us that French was the founding language of Canada. From Saint-Boniface to Percé and Caraquet, French is still spoken today in Canada because of the courage, perseverance, and creativity of generations of Francophones whose old-world values and hopes took root and prospered in the new world.

Between Tradition And Modernity

Québec City is indeed steeped in history. It was here in 1880 that Calixa Lavallée composed the melody for “O Canada,” with French lyrics by Justice Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The English lyrics were penned in 1908 by Robert Stanley Weir. Québec City is also the site of North America's oldest hospital (Hôtel-Dieu de Québec, 1646), oldest newspaper (The Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph, 1764), oldest commercial district (Petit Champlain), and the first Anglican Church outside of Great Britain (Holy Trinity, 1804). It is also home to Canada's first university (Université Laval, 1852), oldest symphony orchestra (Orchestre symphonique de Québec, 1902), and the very first international theatre festival in Canada (Carrefour international de théâtre de Québec, 1991).

In 2008, Québec City will confidently embrace the future. With the active involvement of the Government of Canada, building and architectural projects are underway to ensure that the city is even more beautiful and welcoming. At the heart of the festivities is Espace 400^e, a large plaza to welcome the thousands of performances, events, workshops, and discussion groups scheduled to take place throughout 2008. The Government of Canada has also undertaken a series of projects designed to create more public space close to the river in order to emphasize the city's importance as a seaport and allow the public to regain access to the riverbanks. This will have a positive and lasting influence, as seen by the remarkable transformation of the National Battlefields Park, which includes the Plains of Abraham: one hundred and eight hectares of meadows and small valleys invaded daily by thousands of residents and visitors alike, bestowed 100 years ago by the Government of Canada to commemorate the city's 300th anniversary. Today, this park is to Québec City what Central Park is to New York or Hyde Park is to London: its place of introspection, its pulse, its heart.

It's Our History

Today, with just one look, visitors can see that Québec City is unique: it is the only fortified city in Canada and North America's only fortified city north of the Rio Grande. The city's walls reveal with each stone a heritage that is both French and English. Starting in 1745, the French engineer Chaussegros de Lery drew up plans and carried out work along the western side. A century later, Lord Dufferin, the third Governor General of Canada, decided to preserve and enhance the fortifications by building the Saint-Louis and Kent Gates; Québec City would later name its magnificent terrace after him. Without knowing it, Lord Dufferin was responsible for Canada's first heritage development site by contributing to Québec City's placement on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in 1985.

The imposing profile of the Château Frontenac serves as a reminder that Canada's great railroad adventure also started here. Through the determination of William Van Horne, President of Canadian Pacific, his vision of building “the most talked about hotel in the world” was carried out. He was right. No other hotel was more photographed throughout the 20th century. Its castle style—towers and turrets, dormer windows, chimneys and roofs with steep slopes—is famous across Canada and has been duplicated from here to the Rockies. The Banff Springs Hotel recaptures the same architecture, which unites the Loire “châteaux” style with that of a Scottish manor.

It was at the Château Frontenac that, during World War II, Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King twice welcomed the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill and the American President, Franklin D. Roosevelt to prepare for the Normandy landings and coordinate post-war strategies. In the footsteps of these illustrious figures, may your next visit to Québec City give you fresh insight into our history and new ways to see our future.

The celebration of Québec City is a celebration of Canada and all Canadians!