The

province of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...

is divided into entities that deliver

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...

, along with other types of functional divisions.

Local municipalities

The primary level of local organization is the local municipality. This general term includes specific

types of municipalities in Quebec The following is a list of the types of local and supralocal territorial units in Quebec, including those used solely for statistical purposes, as defined by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy and compiled by the Ins ...

such as city or town, municipality, village, parish, township, and northern village. Municipal governments are authorities that are elected locally to provide services that are best managed locally. Revenue for services is mostly raised via

property taxes A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inherit ...

and other local sources. They are created by the province under the Cities and Towns Act and the Municipal Code of Québec. Municipalities have power over

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...

and emergency,

municipal court City court or municipal court is a court of law with jurisdiction limited to a city or other municipality. It typically addresses "violations of city ordinances and may also have jurisdiction over minor criminal cases...and over certain civil ca ...

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...

, sewage, and rubbish collection. Shared powers with the province include housing, roads, police, recreation and culture, parks, and urban planning. Quebec has a multi-tier system, with a layer of government between the municipality and the province, for example

urban agglomeration An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

regional county municipality The term regional county municipality or RCM (''french: municipalité régionale de comté, MRC'') is used in Quebec, Canada to refer to one of 87 county-like political entities. In some older English translations they were called county r ...

, or metropolitan community.

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly ac ...

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional cou ...

, Saguenay, Lévis,

Métis-sur-Mer Métis-sur-Mer is a city in the La Mitis Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 587 in the Canada 2016 Census. Etymology The name "Métis" is said to come from a Mi'kmaq word me ...

and Grenville-sur-la-Rouge are divided into

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

s (boroughs), sub-municipal entities that have mayors and councillors. Elections are held across the province on the same day in every municipality every four years.

Agglomerations

Urban agglomerations (UA) are collections of municipalities with certain shared services, managed by the agglomeration council. The council is formed from elected officials from all of the municipalities, and votes are weighted according to the relative population of each municipality. Each agglomeration contains a "central municipality" which has extended powers; the mayor of the central municipality becomes the

ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

mayor of the agglomeration council. The UAs of Montréal, Québec, and Longueuil have each been delegated powers usually reserved for regional county municipalities. The urban agglomerations are: *

Urban agglomeration of Montreal Montreal is one of the administrative regions of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and a census division (CD), for both of which its geographical code is 66. Prior to the me ...

Urban agglomeration of Quebec City The urban agglomeration of Quebec City (french: agglomération urbaine de Québec) is an urban agglomeration in Quebec. It may also be referred to as the urban agglomeration of the city of Québec. It consists of: * Quebec City (Central municipali ...

Urban agglomeration of Longueuil The urban agglomeration of Longueuil was created on January 1, 2006 as a result of the de-amalgamation process brought upon by the Charest government. It encompasses all the boroughs that were merged into the previous city of Longueuil and sti ...

Urban agglomeration of Mont-Laurier The Urban agglomeration of Mont-Laurier is an urban agglomeration in Quebec that consists of: *the city of Mont-Laurier *the municipality of Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles History As part of the 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec, the Ci ...

Urban agglomeration of La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...

Urban agglomeration of Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine The Urban agglomeration of Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine is an urban agglomeration in Quebec that consists of: *the municipality of Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine *the municipality of Grosse-Île History As part of the 2000–2006 municipal reorganizatio ...

Urban agglomeration of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts The Urban agglomeration of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is an urban agglomeration in Quebec that consists of: *the city of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts *the municipality of Ivry-sur-le-Lac History As part of the 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebe ...

Urban agglomeration of Mont-Tremblant The Urban agglomeration of Mont-Tremblant is an urban agglomeration in Quebec that consists of the city of Mont-Tremblant and the municipality of Lac-Tremblant-Nord. History As part of the 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec, the city o ...

* Urban agglomeration of Cookshire-Eaton *

Urban agglomeration of Rivière-Rouge The Urban agglomeration of Riviére-Rouge is an urban agglomeration in Quebec that consists of: *the city of Rivière-Rouge *the municipality of La Macaza History As part of the 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec, the City of Rivièr ...

* Urban agglomeration of Sainte-Marguerite–Estérel Urban agglomerations came into effect after the

2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec The 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec resulted in large-scale amalgamation of smaller municipalities in Quebec into larger cities. It was undertaken by one administration, and modified and partially undone by its successor. The fir ...

, which saw the provincial government merging municipalities in large cities against the wishes of many of the municipalities, themselves.

Supralocal organizations

Regional county municipalities

Regional county municipalities coordinate among neighbouring municipalities on services. There are 86 in total. Most municipalities belong to an RCM. None of the municipalities in the

are in an RCM. Other municipalities have certain powers usually reserved for RCMs, including Québec, Saguenay,

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

, Longueuil, Lévis,

Shawinigan Shawinigan () is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,349 as of the 2016 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) an ...

, Laval, Mirabel,

Rouyn-Noranda Rouyn-Noranda ( 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada. The city of Rouyn-Noranda is a coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census d ...

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's Na ...

, Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine and La Tuque. RCMs have responsibility for territorial planning, realty assessment, waste management, emergency planning, local economic development and employment assistance as well as local financing of the local development centre or CLD. The powers of the RCM are exercised by the RCM council. It is composed of the mayors of each of the member municipalities and possibly other elected municipal officials as well as a warden. Depending on the RCM, a warden can either be appointed by the council (in which case the warden must be one of the mayors) or elected by universal suffrage (in which case they cannot hold any other elective office). The voting strength of each municipality on the council is determined in part by its population, but a formula is used to prevent a small number of large municipalities from making decisions unilaterally. Unorganized territories are

unincorporated areas An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

that are not part of any municipality. Municipal authority is exercised the MRC or equivalent to which they belong.

Nord-du-Québec

The Nord-du-Québec is divided into three territories each equivalent to a regional municipality: * The

Kativik Regional Government The Kativik Regional Government (french: Administration régionale Kativik, KGR) encompasses most of the Nunavik region of Quebec. Nunavik is the northern half of the Nord-du-Québec administrative region and includes all the territory north of ...

offers regional services to 14 northern villages and associated

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...

reserved lands as well as the

Naskapi The Naskapi (Nascapi, Naskapee, Nascapee) are an Indigenous people of the Subarctic native to the historical country St'aschinuw (ᒋᑦ ᐊᔅᒋᓄᐤ, meaning 'our nclusiveland'), which is located in northern Quebec and Labrador, neighb ...

village municipality of Kawawachikamach. The Cree village

Whapmagoostui Whapmagoostui ( cr, ᐙᐱᒫᑯᔥᑐᐃ/Wâpimâkuštui, "place of the beluga") is the northernmost Cree village in Quebec, Canada, located at the mouth of the Great Whale River (french: Grande Rivière de la Baleine) on the coast of Hudson B ...

, on the eastern shore of

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

, is an enclave and does not participate in the Kativik Regional Government. *

Jamésie Jamésie is a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) of Nord-du-Québec, Canada. Its geographical code is 991 and together with Kativik TE and Eeyou Istchee TE it forms the administrative région and census division (CD) ...

: the four towns of Jamésie are not covered by a regional government, and supply their own services. It surrounds but does not administer the towns of

Chibougamau Chibougamau () is the largest town in Nord-du-Québec, central Quebec, Canada. Located on Lake Gilman it has a population of 7,504 people (2016 Canadian Census). Chibougamau is surrounded by, but not part of, the local municipality of Eeyou Istc ...

, Chapais,

Lebel-sur-Quévillon Lebel-sur-Quévillon is a city in the Canadian province of Quebec, located on Route 113 in the Jamésie region. It is located approximately 88 kilometres north of Senneterre and approximately 200 kilometres southwest of Chibougamau. It is surroun ...

, and

Matagami Matagami (, ) is a small town in Quebec, Canada. It is located north of Amos, on Matagami Lake, at the northern terminus of Route 109 and the start of the James Bay Road (French: ''Route de la Baie James''). It is enclaved within the local m ...

, as well as the unconstituted localities of Radisson, Valcanton, and

Villebois Villebois () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ain department The following is a list of the 393 communes of the Ain department of France. The communes cooperate in the followi ...

. * Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government, offers regional services to its nine

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations. In Canada, over 350,000 people are Cree o ...

village municipalities and their associated reserved lands. It an uncontiguous territory enclaved within Jamésie.

Metropolitan communities

Metropolitan communities have responsibility for areas of common interest to their constituent municipalities such as urban planning, economic development, promotion of international trade, artistic and cultural development, public transportation and waste management. Each CM also has specific areas of jurisdiction defined by the legislation governing it. There are two metropolitan communities or CMs in Quebec: * The Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal comprises 82 municipalities, encompassing four RCMs and parts of another six RCMs. The council is chaired by the mayor of Montreal. The CMM contains four RCMs and overlaps with six. * The Quebec City metropolitan community consists of the Agglomoration of Quebec (containing four municipalities which do not belong to an RCM, and the munipalities in the RCMs of L'Île-d'Orleans parts of La Côte-de-Beaupré and La Jacques-Cartier. The council is chaired by the mayor of Quebec City.

Other divisions of the province

Administrative regions

There are 17 administrative regions of Quebec. They have no government, but serve to organize the provision of provincial services. They are: * 01

Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent (Lower Saint-Lawrence), is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlanti ...

* 02

Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (, ) is a region in Quebec, Canada. It contains the Saguenay Fjord, the estuary of the Saguenay River, stretching through much of the region. It is also known as Sagamie in French, from the first part of "Saguenay" and t ...

* 03

Capitale-Nationale Capitale-Nationale (; en, National Capital region) is one of the 17 administrative regions of Quebec. It is anchored by the provincial capital, Quebec City, and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. It has a land area of 18,7 ...

* 04

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making it a prime tourist location. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km² (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

* 05

Estrie Estrie () is an administrative region of Quebec that comprises the Eastern Townships. ''Estrie'', a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of ''est'', "east". Originally settled by anglophones, today it is about 90 per cent francophone. Angl ...

* 06

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

* 07

Outaouais Outaouais (, ; also commonly called The Outaouais) is a region of western Quebec, Canada. It includes the city of Gatineau, the municipality of Val-des-Monts and the Papineau region. Geographically, it is located on the north side of the Ottaw ...

* 08

Abitibi-Témiscamingue Abitibi-Témiscamingue () is an administrative region located in western Québec, Canada, along the border with Ontario. It became part of the province in 1898. It has a land area of and its population was 146,717 people as of the 2016 Census. ...

* 09

Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (, ; ; land area ) is the second-largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec. It covers much of the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River estuary and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence past T ...

* 10 Nord-du-Québec * 11

Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine () is an administrative region of Quebec consisting of the Gaspé Peninsula (''Gaspésie'') and the Îles-de-la-Madeleine. It lies in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the eastern extreme of southern Quebec. The p ...

* 12

Chaudière-Appalaches Chaudière-Appalaches () is an administrative region in Quebec, Canada. It comprises most of what is historically known as the " Beauce" (french: La Beauce; compare with the electoral district of Beauce). It is named for the Chaudière River and ...

* 13 Laval * 14

Lanaudière Lanaudière (, ) is one of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada, situated immediately to the northeast of Montreal. It has a total population ( 2016 Census) of 494,796 inhabitants, an increase of 4.9% over the 2011 census. Geog ...

* 15

Laurentides The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 C ...

* 16

Montérégie Montérégie () is an administrative region in the southwest part of Quebec. It includes the cities of Boucherville, Brossard, Châteauguay, Longueuil, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Vaudreuil-Dorion. Th ...

* 17

Centre-du-Québec Centre-du-Québec (, ''Central Quebec'') is a region of Quebec, Canada. The main centres are Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Bécancour. It has a land area of and a 2016 Census population of 242,399 inhabitants. Description The Centre-du ...

Census areas

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...

divides the province into census divisions, designated places, population centres, and economic regions.

Health authorities

The Ministry of Health and Social Services serves 18 health regions.

Protected areas

* Federally-protected areas include Forillon National Park,

La Mauricie National Park La Mauricie National Park (french: Parc national de la Mauricie) is a national park located near Shawinigan in the Laurentian mountains, in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada. It covers in the southern Canadian Shield region bordering the S ...

Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve The Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve (french: Réserve de parc national de l'Archipel-de-Mingan) is a national park reserve located in the eastern area of Quebec, Canada, on the north shore of Gulf of St. Lawrence. It features the Mingan ...

, Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park, and the national historic site of Grosse-Île-et-le-Mémorial-des-Irlandais,

National Wildlife Area A National Wildlife Area is a conservation designation for a geographical region in Canada that restricts most human activities on that region. However, land use permits may be issued "for activities that are compatible with conservation". Suc ...

s, migratory bird sanctuaries, and

Gatineau Park Gatineau Park (french: Parc de la Gatineau) is a federal park located in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Administered by the National Capital Commission as part of the National Capital Region, Gatineau Park is a wedge of land extendin ...

. *Provincially-run areas include 24 provincial parks, ecological reserves, exceptional forest ecosystems, and biodiversity reserves. *Quebec has a natural

world heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

site,

Miguasha National Park Miguasha Provincial Park (French: ''Parc national de Miguasha'') is a protected area near Carleton-sur-Mer on the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec in Canada. Created in 1985 by the Government of Quebec, Miguasha was designated a World Heritage Site in ...

Reserves

There are federally-administrated

Indian reserves In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Ind ...

, as well as northern villages and Inuit reserved lands, and Cree and Naskapi territories.

Canadian Forces bases

Canadian Forces bases in the province include

CFB Valcartier Canadian Forces Base Valcartier (CFB Valcartier), now re-designated 2 Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier (2 CDSB Valcartier), is a Canadian Forces base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, north northwest of Quebe ...

, Proof and Experimental Test Establishment,

CFB Montreal Canadian Forces Base Montreal (also CFB Montreal or "Longue-Pointe" to members of 34 Brigade) is a Canadian Forces Base network located in Montreal, Quebec. Its official name is 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier, Detachment Montreal The ...

, and

CFB Bagotville Canadian Forces Base Bagotville , commonly referred to as CFB Bagotville, and also known as Bagotville Airport or Saguenay-Bagotville Airport, is a Canadian Forces base located west of Bagotville in the city of Saguenay. Located in the centre ...

Historical counties

Quebec was divided into

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

until the early 1980s when they were dissolved and the province was divided into

regional county municipalities The term regional county municipality or RCM (''french: municipalité régionale de comté, MRC'') is used in Quebec, Canada to refer to one of 87 county-like political entities. In some older English translations they were called county r ...

. The

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (french: Cantons de l'Est) is an historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest, to Drummondv ...

was an administrative region in southeastern Quebec. Since 1987, most of the area is within the administrative region

, and the term Eastern Townships is now used in tourist literature.

Judicial districts

The province is divided into 36 judicial districts.

References

External links

Union des municipalités du Québec
(Union of Quebec Municipalities)
Fédération québécoise des municipalités
(Federation of Quebec Municipalities) {{Subdivisions of Quebec, cities=yes, state=collapsed, regions=yes, counties=yes, region=10 Subdivisions of Quebec Local government in Quebec