Montreal

But it was with the arrival of Samuel de Champlain, 70 years later, that the settlement became the permanent trading and strategic centre of what was then called New France. Although French colonists were the first Europeans to explore much of North America, New France was conquered by the British 150 years later, although their fierce historic attachment to Quebec remained.

Separated by culture, language and class for two centuries, the English and French nonetheless co-existed in Montreal, sometimes uneasily, for many decades before the mid 1950s, when a "Quiet Revolution" slowly, but permanently, gave French-speaking Canadians their due place in a society which they had initially founded and in which they had historically remained a majority.

Despite the vastness of Quebec and its many distinctive regions, Montreal remains the cultural and economic heart of the province; the place where French-Canadians and Canadians of other ethnic origins mingle in a vibrant urban setting—a truly cosmopolitan city, and a city like no other.

Often cited as one of the best places in North America to live, Montreal is well known for its architecture, cultural festivals, fine dining, nightclubs and overall "joie de vivre". Montreal is the gateway to the Canadian interior and hugely important to commercial and human transportation, thus remaining the primary link between Inuit and the world beyond.