Man painting a house on route 368, Chemin Royal, in Saint-Jean-de-l'Îe-d'Orléans on the Île d'Orléans (Island of Orleans) Quebec, Canada. The island located in the Saint Lawrence River about 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) east of downtown Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The 190 square kilometers (73 sq mi) island was one of the first in the province to be colonized by the French in 1641 and been called the “cradle of French civilization in America.” The island attracts over 600, 000 visitors a year and according to a 2016 census the permanent population is over 7, 000. In 1970 the Quebec Government designated the island a historic conservation area under the Loi sur les Biens Culturels (Cultural Property Act) and under the Loi sur la Protection du Territoire Agricole (Agricultural Land Preservation Act) 90 percent of the island’s land area is set aside for agriculture.
