The Algonquin called it Kebec, which in their language meant "the place where the river narrows." Samuel de Champlain saw it as a place full of promise. Today, we know it as the historical walled city of Québec, and the 400th anniversary of its founding will be celebrated with a joint issue between Canada Post and France's La Poste.

When Champlain and his associates travelled up the St. Lawrence River in 1608, after five long years of struggling to survive in Acadia, they were looking for a place to call home closer to the fur trade. They came upon Kebec and, nestled under the bluffs of Cap Diamant, they built a sturdy Habitation, designed to last. The tip of the Cap Diamant promontory was a strategic point that allowed them to keep watch over the St. Lawrence and control traffic on the river. The dwelling they built served as a residence, a fort and a storage place for food and furs. Within a year, Amerindians were visiting regularly and trading furs for European goods. In 1615, the colony also became a staging ground for missionaries. But even Champlain could hardly have imagined that his settlement would be the cradle of French civilization in North America and home to the French in Canada for another four hundred years.