The Bar of Quebec (Officially known by its French designation: Barreau du Québec) is the provincial law society for lawyers in Quebec, Canada. It was founded May 30, 1800 as the Bar of Lower Canada (Fr: Barreau du Bas-Canada).
It has it beginnings in 1693 when, as a Royal Province of the French colonial empire, Canadien lawyers first tried to obtain official recognition but were refused by Governor Louis de Buade de Frontenac who upheld the 1678 edict by the Sovereign Council that denied recognition of the legal profession.
For nearly a century, the Canadien lawyers would not be given recognition until after becoming British colonial subjects. In the new British Province of Quebec, in 1765 Governor James Murray authorized the creation of the "Community of Lawyers" (Communauté des avocats) which granted commissions to its members that allowed them to practice law in the triple capacity of lawyer, notary and land surveyor. The precursor to the present-day Bar of Quebec, the Community of Lawyers adopted the first-ever code of ethics and conduct.
The Bar of Quebec became an independent corporation in 1849 through the Act to incorporate the Bar of Lower Canada (11-12 Vict. [1849], c.46.) and was granted sole responsibility for admission to the study and practice of law.
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