Quebec giants
The family of giants is spread over many continents. Distant cousins can be found in South America, Africa and
The family of giants is spread over many continents. Distant cousins can be found in South America, Africa and
Champlain
Grand Cru
Belle Gueule
Louis Ango de Maizerets
Monique Purelaine
Marie Victoire
The Great Spirit of the Nations
Nicolas dit Noble Cœur
Émeline and Louis
Captain Vaillant
Monsieur du Talion
Champlain 
The Champlain Giant is the largest of the Québec giants! Standing 6m tall, it takes two people to carry him.
Above all else, Champlain is a cartographer and throughout his whole life he burns with the desire to find a passage through which to cross the continent from coast to coast. His skirt draws its inspiration from one of Champlain’s many maps, with his illustrations and writing carefully reproduced like a timeline, highlighting some of the historic events witnessed by Québec City. Finally, Champlain is represented in bronze, symbolic of the numerous statues erected in his honour, underscoring the role he plays in the country’s collective memory.
Grand Cru
The "Grand Cru" giant has acquired wisdom and maturity. He is a true connoisseur, having benefited from the excellent advice of the SAQ. Sensitive, competent, with a streak of humour... balance is everything when it comes to making a Grand Cru!
He has a light body, his dress made up of vegetables recalling the variety of products on offer at the SAQ. His texture is composed of natural fibres, combining flexibility and rigidity.
His is a happy marriage of spicy aromas and the scent of fruits and vegetables. His perfume evokes childhood memories, encouraging us to join the dance and follow him for the parade.
His colours respect natural hues, moving from golden yellow with a hint of green, to a purple-blue shade of ruby, while conserving intensity and harmony.
Belle Gueule
The “Belle Gueule" Giant joined the event in 2006. A friendly monk, he is the latest addition to the family. He spends his days brewing beer, with his body language revealing the care he puts into his craft.
Louis Ango de Maizerets
This giant was designed and created in the image of Louis Ango de Maizerets. He was supervisor at the Québec Seminary when the institution purchased part of the Notre-Dame-des-Anges seigniory in 1705. 5m tall, he played an important role in the history of the Domaine de Maizerets.
Monique Purelaine
The giant from the Limoilou part of town symbolizes its history and culture: a young mother in her 30s representing the generations of working-class people who came to live in the area at start of the century.
Pregnant, this giant carries the future of a part of Québec City within her. She is represented by way of a housewife to highlight her role and importance, as well as the responsibility of so many women, married to working men, through whom everything began.
Monique Purelaine also symbolizes the cultural aspect of Limoilou through her apron, inspired by the work and the colours of the artist Pellan. This piece of clothing is made up of a mosaic of historical symbols representing different facets of this area of town that has always been rich in diversity.
Marie Victoire
Marie-Victoire symbolizes all the women of New France - the grandmother, the mother, the wife, the daugther - who contributed to the demographic development of the new territory. Even though she symbolizes both past and present, the child she is holding in her arms gives us a glimpse of the future as the colony continues to evolve towards prosperity.
The Great Spirit of the Nations
The Great Spirit of the Nations proudly represents Amerindian cultures, paying tribute to the First Nations, the country's first inhabitants. The character of a woman underlines the matriarchal predominance in such cultures.
The Great Spirit of the Nations proudly represents Amerindian cultures, paying tribute to the First Nations, the country's first inhabitants. The character of a woman underlines the matriarchal predominance in such cultures. The clothing of the Great Spirit of the Nations refers to many symbols precious to the Amerindian cultures: circles, the four elements (water, land, air and fire), the concepts of life and death (marked at the same time by the presence of spirits and by things that have belonged to the deceased such as his weapons, tobacco, etc.)
Nicolas dit Noble Cœur
The Nicolas dit Noble Cœur giant is a tribute to the soldiers of the Carignan-Sallières Regiment. It was the first regiment in New France and many of its soldiers decided to remain in the colony, becoming lords of the New World's seigniories. Symbolically, we could consider Nicolas dit Noble Cœur and Marie-Victoire to be the colony's mother and father. The Nicolas dit Noble Cœur giant is a tribute to the soldiers of the Carignan-Sallières Regiment. It was the first regiment in New France and many of its soldiers decided to remain in the colony, becoming lords of the
Émeline et Louis
Émeline and Louis, the first giants created by the SAQ New France Festival, make a fine couple. They were created in partnership with Louisiana and inspired by the two legendary Acadian characters Évangéline and Gabriel, whose story is told so memorably in Henry Longfellow's epic poem Evangeline.
Émeline and Louis, the first giants created by the SAQ New France Festival, make a fine couple. They were created in partnership with Louisiana and inspired by the two legendary Acadian characters Évangéline and Gabriel, whose story is told so memorably in Henry Longfellow's epic poem Evangeline. Separated during the Deportation of 1755, they symbolize an eternal but impossible love, a love that not even death can put an end to. Separately, each giant is a symbol in itself: Émeline, with her embroidery in her hands, symbolises the patience and fidelity of love, and the purity of the virgin. Louis resembles an oak tree, the same type of tree where, according to the legend, Évangeline finds Gabriel again. Louis typifies the strength and longevity of love, a symbol of immortality.
Captaine Vaillant
Captain Vaillant represents the father of the New France explorers and typifies the exploring spirit. His head is made of a globe on which you can see a ship; he holds a telescope. His robe is made of multiple parchments related to various subjects. They look like the notebooks of the great explorers, whose sketches and notes allowed them to transmit and store many observations about the fauna and flora of the New World.
Monsieur du Talion
Monsieur du Talion is an allegory of the judicial system as applied in New France and a direct reference to the famous Law of Retaliation (Loi du Talion). He symbolizes the hangman, in front of whom, all too frequently, many criminal affairs were settled.
Monsieur du Talion is an allegory of the judicial system as applied in New France and a direct reference to the famous Law of Retaliation (Loi du Talion). He symbolizes the hangman, in front of whom, all too frequently, many criminal affairs were settled. At the time, justice still relied upon questioning and torture, considering a person guilty until they could prove their innoncence. With no shortage of people who had been found guilty to be punished, hangmen, recruited from among those sentenced to death, represented the arm of the exemplary justice. Monsieur du Talion, wearing many instruments of torture, is a tribute to those who were forced to torture prisoners. The upper part of his body is carved out of stone, indicating the unshakable nature of the task he is to carry out.
