Area Map Quick Facts Location and Land

History and People Economy Government

Quebec: Economy

The development of agriculture in Québec goes back to the early 18th century, with the arrival and settlement of 4,000 French colonists. Today Québec's economy is highly industrialized and diversified. The province has abundant natural resources and energy, along with well-developed agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors. Québec's business sector produces a wide variety of products for export, such as air traffic control equipment, software, subway trains, helicopters, compact disks, air purifiers and toys. Montreal, the province's commercial capital, has developed competitive industries in space and aeronautics, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, energy and transportation and finance.

Québec exports 40 percent of its total production, mainly from the forest industry (printing, lumber and paper), mining (aluminum and iron ore) and transportation equipment manufacturing. Québec also exports electricity, engineering know-how, electronic products and telecommunications equipment. International exports now account for 20 percent of the province's gross domestic product.