when did the first french settlers come to canada
French Canadians The first permanent European settlements in Canada were at Port Royal in 1605 and Quebec City in 1608 as fur trading posts. The territories of New France were Canada, Acadia (later renamed Nova Scotia), and Louisiana. The inhabitants of Canada called themselves the Canadiens, and came mostly from northwestern France.[29] The early inhabitants of Acadia, or Acadiens, came mostly but not exclusively from the Southwestern region of France. Canadien explorers and fur traders would come to be known as coureurs des bois, while those who settled on farms in Canada would come to be known as habitants. Many French Canadians are the descendants of the King's Daughters of this era. Many also are the descendants of mixed French and Algonquin marriages.
French Canadians French Canadians (also referred to as Franco-Canadians or Canadiens; French: Canadien(ne)s franÃ§ais(es)) are an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to French colonists who settled in Canada from the 17th century onward. Today, French Canadians constitute the main French-speaking population in Canada, accounting for about 22 per cent of the country's total population. The majority of French Canadians reside in Quebec, where they constitute the majority of the province's population, although French Canadian and francophone minority communities exist in all other Canadian provinces and territories as well.[2]