National parks of Quebec

National parks of QuebecGrands-Jardins National Park in First parkMont-Tremblant National Park, 1895Smallest parkMiguasha National Park, 0.62 km2Largest parkTursujuq National Park, 26,121 km2Number of parks28Total area42,765.57 km2Governing bodiesSociété des établissements de plein air du Québec Nunavik Parks

The national parks of Quebec, Canada, are provincial parks created by the government of Quebec to protect territories representative of natural regions of the province or sites of exceptional character, while making them accessible to the public for education and/or recreation. As of 2023, there are 28 such parks in Quebec, which protect an area of , or about 2.8% of the territory of the province.Based on Quebec's de facto total area of . All but four parks are administered by the Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (Sépaq). Those four are administered by Nunavik Parks. In addition, Sépaq jointly administers a National Marine Conservation Area with Parks Canada as part of the country's national park system.

Despite the name "national park", the parks on this list are provincial parks, and are not part of Canada's national park system.

History

The first provincial park in Quebec was created on January 12, 1895: Parc de la Montagne-Tremblante was the third provincial park in the country, after Algonquin and Rondeau, both in Ontario, created in 1893 and 1894, respectively.

In order to reinforce the protection in its parks and to respect the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature for protected areas, the government legislated in 1977 with the Parks Act. This divided the parks into two categories: conservation parks, favouring the protection of the natural territory, and recreation parks, which allowed the installation of intensive recreation equipment.

It was from 1999 that the Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (Sépaq) was given the mandate to manage all the parks in Quebec. In 2001, the government changed the status of recreation and conservation parks to one status, that of national parks. The official purpose of the change was to strengthen the conservation component of parks, but it was also a political expression of aspiring Quebec nationalism (see Québécois nation motion. The name change resulted, and continues to result, in confusion for the public.

Area The size of Quebec's national parks varies depending on whether they are located in southern Quebec, which is densely populated, or in northern Quebec, which is very sparsely populated. Parks in southern Quebec are generally smaller than northern ones.

0 at : 11 parks 100 at : 8 parks 500 at : 3 parks 1000 at : 3 parks and more: 1 park

Zoning To meet the conservation objective, a zoning system has been put in place. One of the functions of zoning is to distinguish areas of great fragility and those with good support capacity. The zonings are: Reception and service area Ambience zone Preservation area Extreme preservation area The 'welcome and service area' is, as the name suggests, usually where visitors enter the park. Restrictions on development are less severe than in other areas. This is why there is reception, campsites with services, play areas, sanitary blocks.

The "ambience zone" is the region of a park where it is possible to practice sports which allow the discovery of nature while having a low impact on the environment, such as hiking or snowshoeing. Generally, the facilities are smaller than in the service area.

The 'preservation zone' has a limited support and regeneration capacity and often shelters particular, rare or fragile plant and animal species. The use of the territory is reduced and strongly supervised. Apart from a belvedere, the amenities are non-existent.

The preservation zone 'extreme' is prohibited to all traffic and development. To get there, you must have an authorization from the park director and have a scientific purpose. There are often rare species there that are sensitive to disturbance.

The protection of certain fragile or exceptional ecosystems is done through strict regulations. Logging, mining, petroleum and energy exploitation as well as hunting and trapping are strictly prohibited. On the other hand, the practice of outdoor sports such as mountain walking, snowshoeing, canoeing or biking are accepted and fall within the mandate of discovering the parks. Several other natural environment interpretation activities are offered and the many naturalist guides present are there to answer your questions. Since 1999, the management of the activities and services of these environments has been entrusted to the Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (SÉPAQ). In addition, the parks north of the 55th parallel are managed by the Kativik Regional Government.

In 2001, Quebec's parks became national parks. The designation 'national' indicates that the parks comply with standards established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). According to IUCN, a national park is a protected area managed primarily for the protection of ecosystem and for recreational purposes.

List of national parks in Quebec

National park Image Area km² Constitution MRC Manager Aiguebelle 268.30 1985 Abitibi-Ouest Regional County Municipality and Rouyn-Noranda Sépaq Anticosti 571.80 2001 Minganie Regional County Municipality Sépaq Bic 33.20 1984 Rimouski-Neigette Regional County Municipality Sépaq Fjord-du-Saguenay 1983 Charlevoix-Est Regional County Municipality, La Haute-Côte-Nord Regional County Municipality and Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality Sépaq Frontenac 1987 Le Granit Regional County Municipality and Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality Sépaq GaspésieIs included in the IBA Monts Chic-Chocs 802.00 1981 La Haute-Gaspésie Regional County Municipality and Matane Regional County Municipality Sépaq Grands-JardinsCentral area of the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve and is part of the ZICO CharlevoixPark created following the split of Laurentides Wildlife Reserve 1981 Charlevoix Regional County Municipality Sépaq Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-MalbaieCentral area of the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve 2000 Charlevoix Regional County Municipality and Charlevoix-Est Regional County Municipality Sépaq Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-PercéIncludes the Île Bonaventure IBA and straddles the Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé National Park 5.80 1985 Le Rocher-Percé Regional County Municipality Sépaq Îles-de-Boucherville 8.14 1984 Longueuil Sépaq Jacques-Cartier 670.60 1981 La Jacques-Cartier Regional County Municipality and La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality Sépaq Kuururjuaq 2009 Kativik Nunavik Parks Lac-Témiscouata 176.50 2009 Témiscouata Regional County Municipality Sépaq MiguashaSite of World Heritage of Miguasha National Park 0.62 1985 Avignon Regional County Municipality Sépaq Mont-MéganticIncludes ZICO Mont Mégantic 1994 Le Haut-Saint-François Regional County Municipality and Le Granit Regional County Municipality Sépaq Mont-Orford 58.37 1979 Memphremagog Regional County Municipality Sépaq Mont-Saint-Bruno 8.84 1985 Longueuil Sépaq Mont-Tremblant 1981 Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality, Les Laurentides Regional County Municipality and Matawinie Regional County Municipality Sépaq Monts-Valin 153.60 1996 Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality Sépaq Oka 23.70 1990 Deux-Montagnes Regional County Municipality Sépaq Opémican 252.50 2013 Témiscamingue Regional County Municipality Sépaq Pingualuit 2004 Kativik Nunavik Parks PlaisanceIncludes the ZICO Réserve faunique de Plaisance 28.10 2002 Papineau Regional County Municipality Sépaq Pointe-Taillon 97.50 1985 Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality Sépaq Tursujuq 2013 Kativik Nunavik Parks Ulittaniujalik 2016 Kativik Nunavik Parks Yamaska 13.40 1983 La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality Sépaq

National park reserve In addition to the national parks, the ministry has also designated certain areas as national park reserves. Although they are protected areas, these territories do not have the same legal protection as that of the parks. They are located exclusively in Nord-du-Québec. In other parts of Quebec, the ministry prefers to designate similar areas as biodiversity reserves.

National park reserve Area km² Storage MRC Assinica 2011 Jamésie Baie-aux-Feuilles 2008 Kativik Collines-Ondulées 2008 Kativik Iluiliq Kativik Monts-de-Puvirnituq Kativik

National park projects Research will be carried out with a view to acquiring knowledge concerning two other projects in Nunavik, namely: from Cape Wolstenholme, from Baie-aux-Feuilles.

The creation of two parks is also being considered in boreal forest, in partnership with the Cree. These are national park projects: Nibiischii (formerly titled Albanel-Témiscamie-Otish), Assinica.

The Ministère de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks of Quebec) has also undertaken preliminary studies concerning other national park projects: Harrington-Harbour, Natashquan-Aguanus-Kenamu.

Public consultations were also held for the expansion of Mont-Orford National Park and Pointe-Taillon National Park.

See also Protected areas of Quebec List of protected areas of Quebec Zone d'exploitation contrôlée (Controlled Harvesting Zone) (ZEC)

References

National parks of Quebec

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