400th anniversary of Quebec City

Top: Banners representing the city's 400th anniversary. Bottom: Espace 400e, main location of celebrations.

Quebec City's 400th anniversary, celebrated in 2008, commemorated the founding of Quebec City in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain.[1] Quebec City is the oldest francophone city in North America.[2] Along with Acadia, the city represents the birthplace of French America.[3]

La Société du 400e de Québec, the organization responsible for planning the festivities, was chaired by Daniel Gélinas.[4]

Together, municipal, provincial and federal levels of the Canadian government invested approximately $155 million in the events and infrastructure created for the celebration.[5]

Celebrations took place all over the world. In Canada: Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Regina, Toronto, Ottawa, Gatineau, Montreal, Fredericton, Halifax, Charlottetown, St. John's, Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Iqaluit; in the United States: Washington, Jamestown, New York, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Lafayette, and Miami;[6] in Argentina: Cordoba,[6] in France: Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Reims, La Rochelle, and Brouage (the birthplace of Samuel de Champlain);[7] in Belgium: the Flemish Region, Brussels, Wallonia, and Namur;[8] in Italy: Turin, Rome, and Milan;[8] in the United Kingdom: London.[8]

  1. ^ Marsh, James H. (July 3, 2013). "Champlain and the Founding of Quebec". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada.
  2. ^ Cartier, Gwenaël (April 23, 2014). "City of Québec 1608–2008: 400 years of censuses". Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  3. ^ "Commission de la capitale nationale du Québec". Commission de la capitale nationale du Québec (in Canadian French). Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  4. ^ Lemieux, Julie (January 3, 2008). "Boulanger remplacé" – via Le Soleil (Quebec).
  5. ^ Boivin, Simone (September 27, 2006). "Le 400e dévoile son volet international" – via Le Soleil (Quebec).
  6. ^ a b "Ville de Québec.ca". Archived from the original on April 11, 2016.
  7. ^ "Ville de Québec – Le 400e en France". www.ville.quebec.qc.ca. Archived from the original on May 9, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c "Le 400e ailleurs en Europe". Archived from the original on April 11, 2016.