Quebec's Administrative and Tourist Regions

Concept sheet | Geography

To access the rest of the unit, consult the Tools in Geography concept sheet.

​​​​​The province of Quebec’s territory is divided in different ways.

Examples

Administrative Divisions

Divisions used to organize and manage Quebec's territory

 

Electoral Divisions

Divisions used in elections

  • Provincial electoral divisions

  • Federal electoral divisions

Ecological Divisions

Divisions enabling study and intervention in different biomes

  • Natural regions

  • Natural provinces

School Divisions

Divisions that manage a group of educational premises

  • French-language school service centres

  • English school boards

Tourism Division

Divisions for the development of tourism

 

Census Divisions

Divisions for consistency with other provinces and territories for Statistics Canada

  • Areas of dissemination

  • Census divisions

​​​​​This concept sheet focuses on two of these divisions:

  • administrative regions

  • tourist regions

Be careful!

The names of the divisions can sometimes be confusing since the same name can be used to designate both the tourist region and the administrative region.

Examples
  • Estrie (administrative region) and the Eastern Townships (tourist region) have exactly the same territorial division, but do not have the same name.

  • Bas-Saint-Laurent is the name given to the administrative region and the tourist region, but the territorial division is not the same.

Administrative Regions

An administrative region makes it possible to manage the activities of the different ministries and other public agencies[1]. Quebec is divided into 17 administrative regions. Each of these regions is subdivided into regional county municipalities (RCM).

Example

The Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation (MAPAQ) has a regional branch for each of Quebec's administrative regions. Each region having its own characteristics, these branches can better address the realities of that region.

Tourist Regions

According to the Quebec government, a tourist region is a division of Quebec’s territory by the Ministère du Tourisme. The purpose of these divisions is to support the development of tourism and promote the attractions of the regions[1]. Quebec is divided into 20 tourist regions.

Example

The Association Touristique Régionale (ATR) of Charlevoix aims to develop the region's tourism industry in partnership with its various member companies and organizations.

See Also

For more information, please consult the following concept sheets.

To access the rest of the unit, consult the Tools in Geography concept sheet.

References