Indigenous Peoples & First Contacts

Long before the first Europeans arrived, the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis had lived in the area of present-day Canada for at least 15,000 years. Over 600 different communities with dozens of language families — from the Haida on the Pacific coast (famous for their monumental totem poles) to the Cree in the prairies to the Inuit in the Arctic.

The first European visitors were Vikings: Around the year 1000, Leif Erikson landed at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland — the only confirmed Norse settlement in North America, 500 years before Columbus. The settlement was abandoned after a few years.

In 1497, the Italian navigator Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) reached Newfoundland on behalf of the English crown. In 1534, Jacques Cartier explored the Saint Lawrence River and claimed the land for France — he called it "Canada," derived from the Iroquois word "kanata" (village). In 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded Québec City — the first permanent French settlement in North America.