Canada. Vikings from northern Europe
arrived in what is now Newfoundland in
about 1000 AD. The Vikings did not
stay in Canada, however.
In 1497 the Italian explorer John Cabot
landed in eastern Canada. Others soon
followed. In 1534 a French explorer,
Jacques Cartier, entered the Gulf of
Saint Lawrence in what is now Quebec.
He claimed the area for France.
New France
In 1608 Samuel de Champlain founded
the city of Quebec, France’s first permanent
Canadian colony. The French soon
set up more settlements in the region,
which they called New France.
Meanwhile, the British also became
interested in the region. In 1670 the
English started Hudson’s Bay Company,
which built trading posts around Hudson
Bay. Over the next century Great
Britain and France fought wars over the
land. After defeating France in the
French and IndianWar in 1763, Britain
took control of Canada. They made
New France into the colony of Quebec.
British North America
By the late 1700s Britain ruled the lands
that would become the provinces of
about
1000 1497 1605 1763 1867 1982 1999
Vikings arrive
in what is now
Newfoundland.
John Cabot
explores the
eastern coast of
Canada.
Samuel de
Champlain
founds a
French colony
in Nova Scotia.
Great Britain
gains control of
New France.
New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia,
Ontario, and
Quebec form
the Dominion
of Canada.
Canada
gains full
independence
from Great
Britain.
Nunavut
becomes
Canada’s third
territory.
T I M E L I N E
People eat outside at a restaurant in Montreal,
in the Canadian province of Quebec.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Canada 25
Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island,
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec.
Britain divided Quebec into Upper
and Lower Canada in 1791.
In the mid-1800s people began to call
for a union of these colonies. In 1867
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and
Upper and Lower Canada (now the
provinces of Ontario and Quebec)
formed the Dominion of Canada. Canada
now had its own federal government,
although Britain kept some
control.
Westward Expansion
The population of Canada increased
quickly during the 1800s. As settlers
moved westward, new provinces and
territories were created. Many native
peoples lost their land and moved to
reserves.
The provinces of Prince Edward Island,
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and
British Columbia, as well as Yukon and
the Northwest Territories, joined the
country by the 1930s. The province of
Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949.
Independence
In 1982 the British Parliament granted
Canada control over its constitution.
This made Canada an independent
country though it kept ties to Britain.
Beginning in the 1960s many French
Canadians in Quebec called for separation
from Canada. They wanted to create
a French-speaking nation. In 1995
the people of Quebec narrowly voted
against separating from Canada. Some
French Canadians continued to call for
separation, however.
In the 1990s many native people asked
the Canadian government to return
their land to them. Canada responded
by creating Nunavut, a self-governing
homeland for the Inuit, in 1999. The
new territory was formed from the eastern
part of the Northwest Territories.
..More to explore
Cabot, John • Cartier, Jacques
• Champlain, Samuel de • Eskimo
• Great Lakes • Hudson Bay • Ottawa
Prime Ministers of Canada
Name Political Party Term
John Macdonald Liberal-Conservative 1867–73
Alexander Mackenzie Liberal 1873–78
John Macdonald Conservative 1878–91
John Abbott Conservative 1891–92
John Thompson Conservative 1892–94
Mackenzie Bowell Conservative 1894–96
Charles Tupper Conservative 1896
Wilfrid Laurier Liberal 1896–1911
Robert Borden Conservative 1911–20
Arthur Meighen Conservative 1920–21
Mackenzie King Liberal 1921–26
Arthur Meighen Conservative 1926
Mackenzie King Liberal 1926–30
Richard Bennett Conservative 1930–35
Mackenzie King Liberal 1935–48
Louis Saint Laurent Liberal 1948–57
John Diefenbaker Progressive Conservative 1957–63
Lester Pearson Liberal 1963–68
Pierre Trudeau Liberal 1968–79
Joseph Clark Progressive Conservative 1979–80
Pierre Trudeau Liberal 1980–84
John Turner Liberal 1984
Brian Mulroney Progressive Conservative 1984–93
Kim Campbell Progressive Conservative 1993
Jean Chretien Liberal 1993–2003
Paul Martin Liberal 2003–06
Stephen Harper Conservative 2006–
26 Canada BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Canada Day
Canada Day is the national holiday of
Canada. It is celebrated on July 1. On
that day in 1867 Canada became a
country.
In 1867 four of Great Britain’s North
American colonies joined together as a
new country. It was called the Dominion
of Canada. In 1879 a law made July
1 a holiday called Dominion Day.
Canada gained complete independence
from Great Britain in 1982. In the same
year Canada changed the holiday’s name
to Canada Day.
Canadians celebrate Canada Day with
parades, barbecues, picnics, and displays
of fireworks. They also sing the national
anthem, “O Canada.” The most important
celebration takes place in the area of
Parliament Hill, in Canada’s capital city
of Ottawa. Members of Canada’s
national police force, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, do horse riding
tricks. Part of the Royal Canadian Air
Force puts on an air show.
#More to explore
