Canada

Where the name comes from

Canada comes from St Lawrence Iroquoian kanata, “village” or “settlement”, heard by Jacques Cartier in 1535 and later used for the whole territory.

First people

First Nations, Inuit and Métis histories go back thousands of years before Europeans arrived.¹

Known for

Canada is the world’s second-largest country and is known for hockey, maple syrup and the Rocky Mountains.²

Outside contact

France founded Quebec in 1608, and Britain took over New France in 1763, which is why English and French are Canada’s equal official languages under the Official Languages Act of 1969.³

The modern country

Confederation in 1867, full law-making power in 1931 and control of the constitution in 1982 were steps to full sovereignty.¹