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History of Canada

Canada was formed in 1867 as a federal dominion of four provinces.. 4 eras, 1534 to today.

New France, 1534–1763 Draft, not yet reviewed

New France was the territory colonized by France in mainland North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 under the Treaty of Paris. In the 16th century, the lands were used primarily to extract natural resources, such as furs, through trade with the various indigenous peoples. In 1754, New France's population consisted of 10,000 Acadians, 55,000 Canadiens, and about 4,000 settlers in upper and lower Louisiana; 69,000 in total. The British expelled the Acadians in the Great Upheaval from 1755 to 1764.

Seat of power: Quebec City

Rulers

British North America, 1783–1907 Draft, not yet reviewed

British North America comprised the British Empire's colonial territories in North America from 1783 to 1907, not including the Caribbean. The term British North America was initially used following the subsequent 1783 Treaty of Paris, which concluded the American Revolutionary War and confirmed the independence of Great Britain's Thirteen Colonies that formed the United States of America. The term British North America came to be used more consistently in connection with the provinces that would eventually form Canada, following the Report on the Affairs of British North America (1839), called the Durham Report. The Dominion of Canada was formed under the British North America Act, 1867.

Seat of power: Quebec City

Province of Canada, 1841–1867 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Province of Canada was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. The Act of Union 1840 merged the Colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada by abolishing their separate parliaments and replacing them with a single one. For the first seven years, the government was led by an appointed governor general accountable only to the British government. Responsible government was not achieved until the second LaFontaine-Baldwin ministry in 1849, when Governor General James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, agreed that the cabinet would be formed by the largest party in the Legislative Assembly.

Seat of power: Quebec City

Rulers

Canada, 1867 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

Canada was formed in 1867 as a federal dominion of four provinces through the union of three British North American colonies. More provinces and territories were added, resulting in the displacement of Indigenous populations, along with a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. Increased sovereignty was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster, 1931, and culminated in the Canada Act 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition.

Seat of power: Ottawa

Rulers

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.