9 Surprisingly Fun Facts about the Quebec Parliament Building

Quebec Parliament Building

After we started our Visit all US Capitols Quest, we figured we might as well do a similar quest in Canada, our Northern neighbors. So here are some interesting tidbits we learned on our first stop in Canada, the Quebec Parliament Building in Quebec City. In addition to learning more about the Quebec National Assembly on our tour, we also went whale watching from Quebec City. Grab a cup of tea and enjoy all these fun facts!

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Fun Facts about the Quebec Parliament Building

Because the Canadian Legislature is derived from the British one, you will see a lot of references to the Queen in these fun facts, but let’s start with the architect and his ambitious plans.

The Building: Je me souviens

In 1876, Étienne-Paschal Taché, the assistant commissioner of Crown lands for Quebec, started the design for a new parliament building. Although he was not formally trained, but instead learned from books, he was a good architect.

The parliament building is 171 feet in height, has three towers and is home to the Parliament of Quebec. The front of the building shows Quebec’s coat-of-arms and motto, Je me souviens (“I remember”).

Taché also wanted to pay homage to the diversity of the Quebecois people by erecting statues in niches on the front. Surprisingly for that day and age, he even included two large sculptures to the First Nations who had welcomed the European immigrants.

In 1877, construction started and took almost 10 years (and five times the amount budgeted). The building is atop Parliament Hill in Quebec City, close to Old Quebec, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The parliament building is also called L’Hôtel du Parlement.

So What Does The Queen Have To Do With It?

For some people it may come as a surprise that Canada still is a monarchy. Especially in Quebec, where French is the official language. The French language is a leftover from when France controlled a lot of Canada, which they lost in the French and Indian War and subsequently the Treaty of Paris in 1763.

More than a century later, on July 1st 1867, England united three of its colonies, Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, into the Dominion of Canada. This established Canada as a mostly independent country, even if still connected to the Commonwealth. Every year on July 1st, Canadians celebrate Canada Day.

Technically Canada didn’t become fully independent until1982, and even now they are still part of the Commonwealth realm with Elizabeth II as head of state.

Two Royal Facts: Currently, Queen Elizabeth II owns almost 90% of Canada. Also, all navy ship names start with HMCS for Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship.

2024 update: By now everybody should be aware that Queen Elizabeth passed away after a 70 years reign. Now the UK is headed by King Charles III.

The Blue Hall FKA Green Room

The legislature of the province of Quebec, Canada has two elements: the Queen of Canada, with the lieutenant governor of Quebec as her representative, and the National Assembly of Quebec.

When the province of Quebec was created, they had two chambers, like the United Kingdom. The lower chamber was called the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. The upper chamber named the Legislative Council of Quebec. Both chambers met in the Quebec Parliament building.

In 1968 they got rid of the Legislative Council and now there is only one chamber in the Quebec National Assembly, which meets in this Blue Hall.

Interesting fact: Taché designed this hall with the traditional British parliament’s face-to-face seating pattern. Very elaborate decorations like murals, a throne, and many references to the British lion can be found throughout.

MNAs (Members of the National Assembly) are elected to the National Assembly after general elections. Whichever party got the most seats chooses the premier of Quebec. The premier acts as Quebec’s head of government, while the Queen acts as its head of state.

The blue hall used to be green and therefore called the Green Room. In 1978 they started televising debates and blue looked better on screen so they redid the whole room in blue.

The Red Hall Repurposed

When the Legislative Council still existed, they would meet in this Red Room. Taché chose the color red to symbolize their link to the British Crown: red for royalty.

The Red Hall is an almost perfect symmetry of the Blue Hall. Either can be reached by a central staircase. Both rooms feature an overhanging gallery to watch the proceedings and debates. The Red Hall does not have the ceiling mural that you can find in the Blue Hall.

At one end of both the chambers is a throne crowned with a wood-sculpted coat of arms that recalls Quebec’s close ties to the British monarchy.

Now that the Legislative Council doesn’t exist anymore, parliamentary committees use this room. Also there are other times when they use this room for official functions.

Restaurant Le Parlementaire: Good Food!

Governing makes one hungry, as does touring the Quebec Parliament Building. Imagine our delight when we found out about the on-site restaurant!

The fancy Le Parlementaire restaurant has been open to the public since 1967. Before that, it was only available to members of the Quebec National Assembly and their guests. Here you can find affordable food in an exquisite decor. They source their food locally and much of the produce comes from the Parliament Gardens.

Since we had enjoyed restaurants in some US Capitols, we were happy to discover this gem and sample their offerings.

Suffragettes in Quebec

When we arrived at the Quebec Parliament building, we noticed four statues of women. We quickly found out that three were pioneers of the Quebec women’s suffrage movement. It took Quebec until 1940, long after all the other Canadian provinces, to grant women the right to vote. (Facts in contrast: in the USA this happened in 1920, in New Zealand in 1893)

Historically surprising, back in 1791, at the start of Canada’s parliamentary system, every land or property owner could vote, regardless of sex. Regretfully this right was taken away from women in 1849.

The fourth statue is Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain, who in 1961, was the first woman to sit in the Quebec National Assembly. While in office, she successfully spearheaded a bill which freed women from their husbands’ legal guardianship.

Sad fact: when Kirkland-Casgrain got elected, married women in Quebec were not allowed to open a bank account without written permission from their husband.

Parliament Garden with Busy Workers

After visiting the Quebec Parliament building, we explored their extensive gardens and learned interesting facts about the flowers and the bees.

Since 2013, they are keeping two hives of bees on the roof of a garden building, fertilizing a wide variety of plant species in the garden.

Also they boast an “urban agriculture garden” showing that you can grow food even in an urban environment. One of the big clients for the vegetables and herbs is right in the parliament building, the restaurant Le Parlementaire.

In addition there is a woodland garden and many annual and perennial flowers.

Productivity fact: In 2017, over 250,000 bees produced 385 lbs (175 kg) of urban honey.

Champlain

Because Samuel de Champlain was the founder of New France and Quebec City, the National Assembly building has an extensive stained glass window in his honor.

A Goat in the Parliament Building?

Technically, Batisse the goat is not in the building. He is the mascot of the Royal 22e Regiment, just a short walk from the National Assembly. In 1955, the Queen re-gifted him after she received him from the Shah of Persia.

Batisse has been assisting the changing of the guard since that time. No, it hasn’t been the same goat during all these years. They actually have about ten goats to share the duty of mascot-ting.

Stay tuned for more on Batisse once I write about the Citadelle de Quebec.

Parliament Building Tours

When we visited we joined a free tour of the Quebec Parliament Building. During this time of Covid-19, make sure to check whether they have resumed doing tours. Even if you can’t get into the building, the exterior and the gardens are worth visiting when you are in Quebec City.

Quebec Parliament Building Conclusion

Don’t miss out on visiting the Quebec Parliament building and find ot more about their National Assembly. Have you been to Quebec City and maybe even this Parliament building? Or have you visited other Parliament buildings? Please let us know in the comments.

Learn about US Capitols and State Houses

If you enjoyed this post, check out fun facts from state houses in the USA.

• Ten Surprising New Hampshire State House Facts New Hampshire people are cheapskates!
• Ten Surprising Vermont State House Facts Discover ancient fossils;
• The Maine State House With bells on;
• The Massachusetts State House Where the Boston Italian North End was born;
• The Old State House in Boston, site of the Boston Massacre.
• Connecticut Capitol Fun Facts Home of the so-called “Black Law”;
• Rhode Island State House: Ten Surprising Facts Discover its Dutch history;
• New York State Capitol. An expensive boondoggle;
• Alaska Capitol. Which animal guards it?
• Washington State Capitol. Women’s suffrage for the win!
• Breaking news: why Puerto Rico has a State House of its own!
• The US Virgin Islands have a Capitol Building in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Voted the state Capitol building with the best view!
• Get inspired by our Travel Quests and start your own!

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