Flowing between Anticosti Island and the Labrador Peninsula in Quebec, Canada, it is one of the two outlets of the Saint Lawrence River into its estuary, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The other is the Honguedo Strait on the south side of Anticosti Island.
The Jacques Cartier Strait is approximately 35 kilometres wide at its narrowest point.
Jacques Cartier Strait is named for the French explorer Jacques Cartier.