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QUEBEC - Prime Minister Stephen Harper praised Quebec City as the country's most beautiful city on Thursday as he and a slew of other dignitaries celebrated the historic town's 400th birthday.

Enlarge Photo

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Governor General Michaelle Jean and her husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, left to right, listen to proceedings.

Harper, Premier Jean Charest, Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon were just some of the politicians to give brief speeches at a ceremony marking Samuel de Champlain's arrival on July 3, 1608.

"1608 is a historical date for you, for the province of Quebec and for all of Canada because July 3, 1608 - exactly 400 years ago today - really marks the beginning of what we have become today," Harper told those assembled.

"Fellow Canadians, I may have grown up in Toronto, I may have decided to live in Calgary with my family, and I may work in Ottawa, but they say all Canadians must have two cities in his or her heart: their own and Quebec City.

"Because it is the most beautiful city in Canada, the most charming - a city that radiates 'joie de vivre'."

Harper also made reference in his speech to the "Quebecois nation."

"The seeds planted here 400 years ago today have blossomed into a magnificent city, a strong and proud Quebecois nation, and a great Canadian country, strong and free. What an amazing legacy."

The speeches were followed by a parade of soldiers and police officers dressed in various military garb from different historical periods.

A few dozen antiwar protesters voiced their opposition to Canada's mission in Afghanistan but no trouble or arrests were reported.

The rest of the country also got into the party as bells rang out in hundreds of Canadian towns and cities.

In Regina, chimes rang out from churches and other locations across the city. The bells rang 11 times at 11 a.m. ET and were followed by 400 seconds of joyful bells wishing Quebec City a happy anniversary.

Some activities that were to follow the speeches and the parade in Quebec City were cancelled because of persistent rain.

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Facts about figures about Quebec City, which turned 400 on Thursday

QUEBEC - Quebec City officially celebrated its 400th birthday on Thursday. Some facts and figures about the city, which was founded by Samuel de Champlain on July 3, 1608:

Founded:(at) By Samuel de Champlain on July 3, 1608.

Some landmarks:(at) Chateau-Frontenac Hotel, Plains of Abraham, Musee de la Civilisation, Citadelle and the Dufferin Terrace.

Population:(at) 491,142 (2006 census).

Tourism:(at) City is known for its winter carnival.

Historic events:(at)

Battle of the Plains of Abraham (1759), when British troops led by James Wolfe defeated the French under Louis-Joseph de Montcalm.

War conference (1943) included U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King.

Another war conference (1944) was attended by Churchill and Roosevelt.

Movie:(at) - Alfred Hitchcock filmed "I Confess" in Quebec City. The movie, released in 1953, stars Montgomery Clift as Michael Logan, a priest who is charged in a killing after he takes the real murderer's confession.