History

The first wave of Europeans to arrive in Canada descended from Norse seafarers who had settled in Iceland and Greenland during the 9th and 10th centuries; the second influx of Europeans, led by the Italian navigator Giovanni Caboto (better known as John Cabot), had sought to reach Asia, in 1497. Over the next 100 years, rich fishing grounds attracted both English and French commercial interests to Newfoundland.

During the seventeenth century, the French increased trading with the New France Company. The creation of England’s Hudson’s Bay Company sparked a long period of rivalry, leading in the 1760s to the Anglo-French war; this ended with the surrender of the French Canadian capital, Québec, to the English forces. The Treaty of Paris, in 1763, handed all French territories in north-east America to the British. Just two decades later the British were ousted from their American colonies following defeat in the American War of Independence.

Eastern Canada was then settled by loyalists from the USA loyal to Britain. In 1791, Canada was divided between regions occupied by the English-speaking and the longer-established French-speaking community; this arrangement was unsuccessful and was replaced by a unified system. In the mid-19th century, Canada became a Dominion of the British Empire, with self-governance but the British monarch as Head of State. It promotes itself as a peaceful country, successfully uniting an astounding range of landscapes over an enormous territory.

From 1968 to 1984, politics were dominated by the charismatic figure of Pierre Trudeau. Brian Mulroney was elected in 1984, and the Québec issue became relevant once more. Indigenous peoples argue that traditional lands were forcibly taken from them by previous governments, but only minor gestures have been made towards tackling their grievances. A 1995 referendum in Québec resulted in an extremely narrow vote in favour of remaining part of Canada.