Quebec is a province.
By the arrangements of the Canadian federation , Canada 's monarchy operates in Quebec as the core of the province 's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy and constitution . Quebec . ogvkwᵻˈbɛk ] or [ kəˈbɛk ] Québec [ kebɛk ] ) is the second-most populous province of Canada and the only one to have a predominantly French-speaking population , with French as the sole provincial official language . Quebec is Canada 's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division ; only the territory of Nunavut is larger . The climate around the major cities is four-season continental with cold and snowy winters combined with warm to hot humid summers , but further north long winter seasons dominate and as a result the northern areas of the province are marked by tundra conditions . While the province 's substantial natural resources have long been the mainstay of its economy , sectors of the knowledge economy such as aerospace , information and communication technologies , biotechnology , and the pharmaceutical industry also play leading roles .