Canada: History

The territory now known as Canada was inhabited for thousands of years by hundreds of distinct First Nations, Inuit, and later Metis peoples, each with distinct languages, governance systems, and relationships to the land, from the Arctic to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

French and British colonization began in the 16th and 17th centuries, with New France ceded to Britain in 1763 following the Seven Years' War. The British North America Act of 1867 united several colonies into the Dominion of Canada, though full legislative independence from Britain was not achieved until the Statute of Westminster in 1931, and constitutional patriation was completed in 1982.

Canada developed into a bilingual, multicultural federation over the 20th century, marked by continued negotiation over Quebec's status within confederation, evolving Indigenous rights and land claims, and growing international engagement through organizations such as the Commonwealth, NATO, and the G7.