Montreal (Listeni/?m?ntri?'?l/;[7]), officially Montréal (French pronunciation: [m?~?eal]), is the most populous municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec and the 2nd-most populous in Canada as a whole. Originally called Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary,"[8] it is believed to be named after Mount Royal, though there is some debate about this. The city has a distinct four-season continental climate, with warm-to-hot summers and cold, snowy winters.[9] is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the world after Paris.[14][15][16][17]