Canada's history
Chapter 3 of 10 in the official guide, Discover Canada (“Canada's History”). This summary is ours: it does not replace the guide.
This is the longest chapter of the guide, and the one with the most questions. Above all, remember the dates that made the country.
Explorers and colonies
- Around the year 1000: Vikings reach Newfoundland, at L'Anse aux Meadows.
- 1497: John Cabot maps Canada's Atlantic shore.
- 1534 to 1542: Jacques Cartier makes three voyages. The name “Canada” likely comes from the Iroquoian word “kanata”, “village”.
- 1604: the first French settlements in Acadia. 1608: Samuel de Champlain founds Quebec City.
- 1670: the Hudson's Bay Company gets exclusive trading rights around Hudson Bay.
From New France to Canada
- 1759: the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. The British win, ending France's empire in America.
- 1774: the Quebec Act guarantees religious freedom for Catholics and restores French civil law.
- After the American Revolution, thousands of Loyalists settle in Canada.
- 1791: the Constitutional Act creates Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec).
- 1812 to 1814: the Americans invade Canada and are pushed back. In 1813, Laura Secord walks about 30 km to warn British troops.
- 1848 and 1849: responsible government comes to Nova Scotia, then to the Province of Canada, with Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine and Robert Baldwin.
Confederation and after
- July 1, 1867: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick form the Dominion of Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald is the first Prime Minister.
- 1869 and 1885: Louis Riel leads two Métis uprisings. He is considered the founder of Manitoba.
- 1885: the Canadian Pacific Railway links East and West.
- 1914 to 1918: the First World War. In April 1917, Canadians capture Vimy Ridge.
- 1916: Manitoba becomes the first province to give women the vote; most Canadian women vote in federal elections from 1918.
- 1939 to 1945: the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, Canadians land on Juno Beach, in Normandy.
4 free questions to test yourself
Who was Canada's first Prime Minister?
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A. Sir John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald, one of the Fathers of Confederation, became Canada's first Prime Minister in 1867.
When did Confederation take place?
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B. July 1, 1867 The Dominion of Canada was born on July 1, 1867. This is why July 1 is Canada Day.
Which provinces formed Canada in 1867?
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C. Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick In 1867, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick united to form the Dominion of Canada.
What happened at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, in Quebec City, in 1759?
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A. The British defeated the French, marking the end of France's empire in America In 1759, the British defeated the French at the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City. Both commanders, General Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm, were killed. The battle marked the end of France's empire in America.