Former colonies, territories, boundaries, and claims in Canada prior to the current classification of provinces and territories.[1] In North America, ethnographers commonly classify Aboriginals into ten (six in Canada) geographical regions with shared cultural traits and by related linguistic dialects.[2] The colonization of Canada by Europeans began in the 10th century, when Norsemen explored and attempted to settle areas of the northeastern fringes of North America.[3] Early permanent European settlements in what is now Canada included the late 16th and 17th century French colonies of Acadia and Canada (New France),[4] the English colonies of Newfoundland (island) and Rupert's Land,[5] the Scottish colonies of Nova Scotia and Port Royal.[6] France relinquished nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War to the British Empire.[7] Britain's imperial government over a century later then ceded the land to Canadian control in 1867 after .[8] Since then, Canada's external borders have changed several times, and has grown from four initial provinces to ten provinces and three territories as of 1999.[9]
Pre-colonization[]
Aboriginal societies[]

Pre-Columbian distribution of North American language families
Aboriginal peoples in what is now Canada did not form state societies, instead they were organized into bands of a few families, grouped into larger tribes and chieftainships. In the absence of state structures, academics usually classify aboriginal people by their traditional "lifeway" (or primary economic activity) and region into "culture areas", or by their language families.[10] Some of these extended language family groups united into loose confederacies, such as the Ojibwa, who according to oral tradition formed the Council of Three Fires in 796 CE with the Odawa and the Potawatomi.[11] The six tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy, was formed in 1142 CE according to their oral traditions.[12][13] There was also the four or possibly five tribes of the Huron Confederacy,[14] both in the Great Lakes region, or the four tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy in present day Alberta and neighbouring Montana.[15] The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and peoples of the Northwest Plateau developed highly structured cultures from relatively dense populations. Some cultures in this region were very similar and share certain elements, such as the importance of fishing to their communities.[16]
- Arctic cultural area – (Eskimo–Aleut languages)
- Subarctic culture area – (Na-Dene languages – Algic languages)
- Eastern Woodlands (Northeast) cultural area – (Algic languages and Iroquoian languages)
- Plains cultural area – (Siouan–Catawban languages)
- Northwest Plateau cultural area – (Salishan languages)
- Northwest Coast cultural area – (Penutian languages, Tsimshianic languages and Wakashan languages)
European colonization[]
Norse settlement[]
While the Norse colonies in Greenland lasted for almost 500 years, the continental North American settlements were small and did not develop into permanent colonies.[17] Vinland – Markland – Helluland are the names given to three lands possibly in Canada, discovered by Norsemen as described in the Eiríks saga rauða[18] and Grœnlendinga saga.[19]
- L'Anse aux Meadows – settlement (10?[20])
Portuguese claims[]
The Portuguese Crown claimed it had territorial rights in the Atlantic waters visited by explorer John Cabot in 1497 and 1498.[21] In 1498 to 1500, the Portuguese mariner João Fernandes Lavrador visited the north Atlantic coast, accounting for the appearance of the name "Labrador" on topographical maps of the period.[22] In 1501 and 1502 Miguel and Gaspar Corte-Real explored present day Newfoundland claiming the land in the name of Portuguese Empire.[23] The extent and nature of Portuguese activity on the Canadian mainland during the 16th century remains unclear and controversial.[23][24]
New France[]

Map of North America in 1750, before the French and Indian War, the North American theater of the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War (1756 to 1763). – possessions of Britain (pink), France (blue), and Spain (orange) –
In 1534, Jacques Cartier planted a cross in the Gaspé Peninsula and claimed the land in the name of Francis I of France.[25] In 1600, a trading post was established at Tadoussac, but only five of the sixteen settlers survived the winter and returned home that summer.[25] In 1604, a settlement was founded at Île-Saint-Croix on Baie Française (Bay of Fund) which was moved to Port-Royal in 1605.[25] It was abandoned in 1607, reestablished in 1610, and destroyed in 1613, after which settlers moved to other nearby locations.[25]
- New France – (1534 to 1763) - List of French forts in North America
- Acadia – (1604 to 1713)
- Canada (New France) – (1608 to 1763)
- Isle St-Jean – (PEI)
- Île Royale – (Cape Breton Island)
- Terre Neuve (Newfoundland) – (1610)
- Illinois Country (prior to 1717)
British North America[]
British colonization of the Americas (including colonization sponsored by both the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland before the 1707 Acts of Union which created the Kingdom of Great Britain) began in the late 16th century and reached its peak when colonies had been established throughout the Americas. The Kingdom of Great Britain acquired the French colony of Acadia in 1713 and then Canada, New France.[26] Great Britain also claimed the west coast of North America; indirectly via (from 1804) the North West Company and (after 1821) Hudson's Bay Company licenses west of the Rocky Mountains, the Columbia and New Caledonia fur districts, most of which were jointly claimed by the United States, which called it the Oregon Country, from 1818 until the 49th parallel as the international boundary was extended west of the Rockies by the Oregon Treaty of 1846.[26] The Colony of Vancouver Island, founded in 1849, and the Colony of British Columbia, founded in 1858, were combined in 1866 with the name Colony of British Columbia until joining Confederation in 1871.[26] British Columbia also was expanded with the addition what had been the Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands and also most of the Stikine Territory, in 1863, and upon joining with the addition of the Peace River Country, formerly part of the Northwest Territories.[26]

Animated map of North Americas territorial evolution from 1750 to 2008
- British America (Colonial America) – (1607 to 1783) - List of Hudson's Bay Company trading posts
- St. John's, Newfoundland (from 1583 English)
- Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland (from 1610 English)
- Renews, Newfoundland – (from 1615 English)
- Nova Scotia – (1621-2 Scottish)
- Cape Breton – (1625 Scottish)
- Saint John, New Brunswick (from 1631 English)
- Port Royal Colony – (1629 to 1632 Scottish)
- Rupert's Land – (1670 to 1870)
- Nova Scotia – (from 1710)
- Prince Edward Island – (from 1763)
- Cape Breton – (1763–1820)
- Province of Quebec – (1763 to 1791)
- British North America – (1783 to 1907)
- North-Western Territory – (1783 to 1870)
- New Brunswick – (1784)
- The Canadas • (Lower Canada and Upper Canada) – (1791 to 1841)
- Columbia District – (1793 to 1846) – (also referred to as Oregon Country)
- New Caledonia – (1808 to 1858)
- Red River Colony – (1812)
- Province of Canada – (1841 to 1867)
- Colony of Vancouver Island – (1849 to 1866)
- Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands – (1853 to 1863)
- Colony of British Columbia – (1858 to 1866, aka the Mainland Colony)
- Stickeen Territories – (1862)
- Colony of British Columbia – (1866 to 1871)
- Dominion of Newfoundland – (1907 to 1949)
New Spain[]
Spanish colonizers had originally taken the lead in the Pacific Northwest coast, with the voyages of Juan José Pérez Hernández in 1774 and 1775.[27] This was in response to intelligence that the Russians had begun to explore the Pacific Coast of North America, which the Spanish considered part of New Spain.[28]
- Santa Cruz de Nuca and Fort San Miguel at Nootka Sound – (1789 to 1795) The first colony in British Columbia and the only Spanish settlement in what is now Canada.[29]
Russian America[]
In 1799, Tsar Paul I proclaimed Russian title and established the Russian American Company's trade monopoly and rule in the North Pacific through the creation of Russian America.[30] The stated southward limit of Russian claims was 51 degrees north latitude, roughly that of Cape Scott at the northern tip of Vancouver Island.[31] Though no Russian settlements were established in what is now British Columbia, Russian trade and scientific expeditions frequented the North Coast. Intense tripartite negotiation led to treaties between Russia with the US and Britain in 1824 and 1825, respectively, setting the new southward limit of Russian territories at 54 degrees, 40 minutes north latitude, corresponding with Cape Muzon at the southern tip of Dall Island, at the extreme southwest of what is today the Alaska Panhandle.[32][33]
Canadian territorial evolution[]

Animation of the evolution of the borders and names of Canada's provinces and territories
Canada became a semi-independent federated grouping of provinces and a dominion after the Constitution Act of 1867 (formerly called the British North America Act, 1867).[9] Originally three provinces of British North America, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada (which would become Ontario and Quebec) united to form the new nation.[9] Full independence came with the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and the Canada Act in 1982. Since 1867, Canada's external borders have changed several times, and has grown from four initial provinces to ten provinces and three territories as of 1999.[9]
- District of Keewatin – (1876 to 1905)
- Districts of the Northwest Territories – (1882–1905) For much of the Northwest Territories early history it was divided into several districts for ease of administration.[34]
- District of Ungava - (1895 to 1920) Covered the northern portion of what is today Quebec, the interior of Labrador, and the offshore islands to the west and north of Quebec, which are now part of Nunavut.[35]
Alaska boundary dispute[]
The Alaska boundary dispute, simmering since the Alaska purchase of 1867, became critical when gold was discovered in the Yukon during the late 1890s and Canada wanted its own Pacific port connected to the gold fields.[36] Canada argued its historic boundary with Russian America included the Lynn Canal and the port of Skagway, both occupied by the U.S.,[36] while the U.S. claimed the Atlin District and the lower Stikine and even Whitehorse. The dispute went to arbitration in 1903, with the American claims largely upheld as the British delegate sided with the Americans to preserve the British interest in a close relationship with the U.S.[37]
Norwegian claim[]
Otto Sverdrup a Norwegian explorer claimed the Sverdrup Islands for Norway in 1898, but the Norwegian government showed no interest in pursuing the claim until 1928.[38] On 11 November 1930 (Remembrance Day) after formal Canadian intervention, Norway recognized Canada's sovereignty over the islands.[39]
- Sverdrup Islands – (1898–1930)
Danish claim[]

Map showing the 1973 agreed delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Greenland and Canada as defined by the Canadian Hydrographic Service
Hans Island is the smallest of three islands located in Kennedy Channel; the others are Franklin Island and Crozier Island.[40] The island is the traditional hunting grounds of the Inuit and is claimed by both Canada and Denmark.[40] In 2007, updates of satellite photos led Canada to recognize the international border as crossing through the middle of Hans Island, not to the east of the island as previously claimed.[41]
- Hans Island – (1933–present)
Northwest Passage[]
The Canadian government considers the Northwestern Passages part of Canadian Internal Waters,[42] but the United States and various European countries maintain they are an international strait or transit passage, allowing free and unencumbered passage.[43]
Areas disputed by the United States[]
Although Canada and the United States share the longest non-militarized border between two countries, there is a long history of disputes about the border's demarcation.[44]
Proposed provinces and territories[]
Since Confederation in 1867, there have been several proposals for new Canadian provinces and territories. The Constitution of Canada requires an amendment for the creation of a new province[45] but the creation of a new territory requires only an act of Parliament;[46] therefore, it is easier legislatively to create a territory than a province.
See also[]
- Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial – Newfoundland purchased the ground in 1921
- Canadian National Vimy Memorial – considered on Canadian territory since 1922
- Heritage Minutes
- List of North American cities by year of foundation
References[]
- ↑ "Eras". Canada History. 2009. http://canadahistory.com/sections/Eras/eras.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
- ↑ "Culture Areas Index". the Canadian Museum of Civilization. http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/ethno/etb0170e.shtml. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
- ↑ Reeves, Arthur Middleton (2009). The Norse Discovery of America. Bibliophileċċ. p. 191.
- ↑ "French Colonies". Ashley Araiza, Cevera Clark, & Donielle Wolfe. Harlingen School District. 2009. http://www.harlingen.isd.tenet.edu/coakhist/coloniz.html. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
- ↑ "List of Former British Dominions Colonies, Protectorates Protected and Associated States Mandated and Trust Territories". Flags of the World. 2009. http://flagspot.net/flags/gb-colon.html#list. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
- ↑ "Scots". The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2008. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0007222. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
- ↑ "The Seven Years' War in Canada". The Quebec History Encyclopedia (Marianopolis College). 2005. http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/QuebecHistory/encyclopedia/SevenYearsWar-FrenchandIndianWar-TheWaroftheConquest.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
- ↑ "Canadian Confederation". Library and Archives Canada. 2005. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-5000-e.html. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Territorial Evolution, 1867 to 1999". Natural Resources Canada. 2010. http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/auth/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution/1867-1999. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
- ↑ William C. Sturtevant (1978). Handbook of North American Indians. Government Printing Office. pp. 1–. GGKEY:0GTLW81WTLJ. http://books.google.com/books?id=PHXIeG6JyKEC&pg=PA1. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- ↑ "Background 1: Ojibwa history". Department of Science and Technology Studies · The Center for Cultural Design. 2003. http://csdt.rpi.edu/na/arcs/background1.html. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
- ↑ Johansen, Bruce (1995). "Dating the Iroquois Confederacy". pp. 62–63. http://www.ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/DatingIC.html. Retrieved 2010-08-36.
- ↑ Bruce Elliott Johansen; Mann, Barbara A. (2000). Encyclopedia of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-313-30880-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=zibNDBchPkMC&pg=PR14.
- ↑ Trigger, Bruce G (1987). The children of Aataentsic: a history of the Huron People to 1660. McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 156. ISBN 0-7735-0626-8. http://books.google.ca/books?id=T3NQ1lsaHs0C&pg=PA156&dq=Huron+Confederacy#v=onepage&q&f=true. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ↑ Proceedings of the Canadian Institute, Toronto, being a .... By Canadian Institute (1849–1914). p. 20 – Volumes 4–5 20. http://books.google.ca/books?id=tuIaAAAAYAAJ&dq=blackfoot%20confederacy&pg=RA1-PA20#v=onepage&q&f=true. Retrieved 2010-08-111.
- ↑ Bobbie Kalman (2007). A Visual Dictionary of Native Communities. Crabtree Publishing Company. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-7787-3505-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=nATJLxmO0QIC&pg=PA26.
- ↑ Magnus Magnusson; Hermann Palsson (1965). Graenlendinga saga. Penguin Books Limited. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-14-044154-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=m-4rb_GhQ5EC&pg=PA28.
- ↑ J. Sephton, (English, translation) (1880). "The Saga of Erik the Red". Icelandic Saga Database. http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ↑ "Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga". National Museum of Natural History, Arctic Studies Center- (Smithsonian Institution). 2008. http://www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/voyage/subset/markland/history.html. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ↑ Paul E. Johnson; James M. McPherson; Gary Gerstle (2007). Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, Compact. Cengage Learning. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-495-41101-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=4aNIeXqWz9YC&pg=PA6.
- ↑ Prowse D. W. (Daniel Woodley) (2009). The Discovery of Newfoundland by John Cabot in 1497. BiblioLife. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-113-54841-2.
- ↑ Bailey Bailey Wallys Diffie (1977). Foundations of the Portuguese Empire: 1415 - 1580. U of Minnesota Press. p. 464. ISBN 978-0-8166-0782-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=vtZtMBLJ7GgC&pg=PA464.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 "The Portuguese Explorers". Memorial University of Newfoundland. 2004. http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/portuguese.html. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
- ↑ Bill Rompkey (2005). Story of Labrador. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-7735-7121-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=JkwIotsOMUAC&pg=PA20.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Roger E. Riendeau (2007). A Brief History of Canada. Infobase Publishing. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-4381-0822-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=CFWy0EfzlX0C&pg=PA36.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 "Territorial Evolution of Canada, 1667 to 1873". Natural Resources Canada. 2010. http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/auth/english/maps/archives/4thedition/historical/083_84. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
- ↑ Jean Barman (1996). The West beyond the West: a history of British Columbia. University of Toronto Press. pp. 20–26. ISBN 978-0-8020-7185-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=_X_aK5pD5kgC&pg=PA20.
- ↑ María Luisa Rodríguez-Sala (2006). De San Blas hasta la Alta California: los viajes y diarios de Juan Joseph Pérez Hernández. UNAM. p. 35. ISBN 978-970-32-3474-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=zcjBYIPI9J8C&pg=PA35.
- ↑ John Eric Vining (2010). The Trans-Appalachian Wars, 1790-1818: Pathways to America's First Empire. Trafford Publishing. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-4269-7964-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=BtETowREbMAC&pg=PA143.
- ↑ A. Aleksei I. Miller; Alfred J. Reiber (2004). Imperial rule. Central European University Press. pp. 161–164. ISBN 978-963-9241-98-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=_8niIYSTqToC&pg=PA161.
- ↑ "British North America circa 1823". Natural Resources Canada. http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/preconfederation/britishnorthamerica1823/2. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- ↑ Robert Greenhow; United States. Dept. of State; United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on the Oregon Territory (1840). Memoir, historical and political, on the northwest coast of North America, and the adjacent territories: illustrated by a map and a geographical view of those countries. Blair and Rives, printers. p. 189. http://books.google.com/books?id=r5ISAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA189.
- ↑ "The Plans for Russian Expansion in the New World and the North Pacific in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries". The European Association for American Studies. 2010. p. s-20. http://ejas.revues.org/7805. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- ↑ Carl Waldman; Molly Braun (2009). Atlas of the North American Indian. Infobase Publishing. p. 234. ISBN 978-1-4381-2671-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=P2HKD9PgC6wC&pg=PA234.
- ↑ Atlas of Canada. "Territorial evolution". http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution/1912/1. Retrieved September, 03 2013.
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 D.M.L. FARR (2009). "Alaska Boundary Dispute". The Canadian Encyclopedia. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000107. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
- ↑ Haglund, David G; Onea, Tudor (March 2008, Vol. 19 Issue 1). Victory without Triumph: Theodore Roosevelt, Honour, and the Alaska Panhandle Boundary Dispute. Diplomacy and Statecraft. pp. 20–41. Digital object identifier:10.1080/09592290801913692.
- ↑ William J. Mills (2003). Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-57607-422-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=PYdBH4dOOM4C&pg=PA129.
- ↑ Pierre Berton (2001). The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the North West Passage and the North Pole, 1818-1909. Doubleday Canada. p. 629. ISBN 978-0-385-65845-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=dSZNbf6z5jcC&pg=PA629.
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 Rongxing Guo (2006). Territorial Disputes and Resource Management: A Global Handbook. Nova Publishers. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-60021-445-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=z5Le627xQLgC&pg=PA134.
- ↑ "Arctic Sovereignty Policy Review". Carleton University School of Journalism & Communication. 2011. http://www4.carleton.ca/cifp/app/serve.php/1355.pdf. Retrieved 2012-01-01.
- ↑ "Canadian Jurisdiction – Transport Publication TP14202E". Transport Canada. 2009 Sections 1–9. http://www.tc.gc.ca/marinesafety%5CTP%5CTP14202%5Cinterpretation.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- ↑ Carnaghan, Matthew; Goody, Allison (2006). "Canadian Arctic Sovereignty". Library of Parliament (Political and Social Affairs Division). http://www2.parl.gc.ca/content/lop/researchpublications/prb0561-e.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- ↑ Donald Malcolm McRae; Gordon Ross Munro (1989). Canadian Oceans Policy : National Strategies and the New Law of the Sea. UBC Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-7748-0346-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=IFVH8zKQAzkC&pg=PA50.
- ↑ "Amendment by general procedure". Constitution Act, 1982. Department of Justice, Government of Canada. http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/9.html#anchorsc:7-bo-ga:l_V-se:42. Retrieved 17 March 2010. "An amendment to the Constitution of Canada in relation to the following matters may be made only in accordance with subsection 38(1)...notwithstanding any other law or practice, the establishment of new provinces."
- ↑ Norman L. Nicholson (1979). The boundaries of the Canadian Confederation. McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP. pp. 174–175. ISBN 978-0-7705-1742-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=Ek7cloNk3E8C&pg=PA174.
Further reading[]
- Derek Hayes (2006). Historical Atlas of Canada: Canada's History Illustrated with Original Maps. Douglas & McIntyre. ISBN 978-1-55365-077-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=KvtEUChw9uAC&pg=PP1.
- R. Cole Harris; Geoffrey J. Matthews (1987). Historical Atlas of Canada: From the beginning to 1800. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-2495-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=itsTLSnw8qgC&pg=PP1.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maps of the history of Canada. |
- Maps: 1667–1999 – Library and Archives Canada
- Territorial Evolution, 1670–2001 – Historical Atlas of Canada
The original article can be found at Former colonies and territories in Canada and the edit history here.