The first inhabitants of the region were diverse Siberian tribes, arrived through the Strait of Bering and the Inuit (Eskimos), natives of Asia. The first European contacts were through the arrival of the Vikings explorers but they did not remain for a long time, due especially to the aggressive natives that resided in the area.
The natural wealth of the region attracted the attention of the European, specially the British and French, who began to explore the country towards the sixteenth century.

While explorers like Cabot [E1][F1][I], Cartier [E1][F1][F2][I][S1] and Champlain [E1][E2][F1] were looking for a better route to China and India, by chance they landed on the east coast of North America. They never found the passage to Asia they were looking for, but they found a new land. Permanent French and British settlement began in the early 1600s and increased throughout the century.

In 1608 France established a colony in Quebec. Quebec, also known as New France [E1][E2][F1][I1][S1], became a French province in 1663. From 1670 on also English settlers established colonies. Not surprisingly, Britain and France soon became rivals in Canada, especially over the control of the fur trade with the Indians.

After the seven year war between France and the United Kingdom, France was forced to cede all its territories to Britain in 1763 (treaty of Paris) [E1][F1][S1] and the whole of Canada became under British control. The French speaking inhabitants found themselves under British rule, but they were allowed to maintain their civil laws, language and religion.

After the American War of Independence a large number of English speaking colonists, who wanted to remain loyal to the British Crown, left the United States and came up north to settle in Canada. A steady number of immigrants began top arrive from Britain and Ireland. Slowly, the land, began to be inhabited.

In 1849, the right of Canada to self-government was recognized.

By the British North America Act of 1867 [E1][F1] (a law passed by the British Parliament. The act enumerated the powers of the provincial legislatures and gave the residual powers to the dominion. This act was superseded by the Canada Act of 1982), the dominion of Canada was created through the confederation of Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.

Three years later the British government gave the new country the huge northern and western territories belonging to the Hudson Bay Company which became the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. British Columbia and Prince Edward Island joined the federation a few years later.

By the Statute of Westminster in 1931 [E1][F1] the British dominions, including Canada, were formally declared to be partner nations with Britain, “equal in status, in no way subordinate to each other,” and bound together only by allegiance to a common Crown.

Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province on March 31, 1949, following a plebiscite. Canada also included three territories—the Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories, and the newest territory, Nunavut. The Union was complete: Canada stretched from sea to sea.

Canada took part in the two world wars on the side of Britain and the United States. During the Second World War the country used all its resources to provide materials and munitions for the allies and this completed its transformation into a major industrial nation.

Queen Elizabeth II signed the Constitution Act (also called the Canada Act) in Ottawa on April 17, 1982 [F1][E1], thereby cutting the last legal tie between Canada and Britain. The constitution retains Queen Elizabeth as queen of Canada and keeps Canada's membership in the Commonwealth.