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French Canada is a term to distinguish the French-speaking population of Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 from English Canada
English Canada

English Canada is a term used to describe one of the following:# English Canadians, a term usually meaning English Canadian Canadians, as opposed to French Canadian Canadian....
.

use it has represented different realities at different points in time, the term French Canada can be interpreted in different ways. Roughly chronologically they are:

lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m1005028",this)' onMouseout='hide("m1005028")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Canada%2c_New_France">Canada, New France
Canada, New France

Canada was the name of the French colonization of the Americas that once stretched along the Saint Lawrence River; the other colonies of New France were Acadia, Louisiana and Colony of Newfoundland....
, was the historic homeland of the French Canadian people, the St. Lawrence River valley, in the time of New France
New France

The Viceroyalty of New France was the area French colonization of the Americas by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River, by Jacques Cartier in 1534, to the cession of New France to Spain and Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763....
.






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French Canada is a term to distinguish the French-speaking population of Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 from English Canada
English Canada

English Canada is a term used to describe one of the following:# English Canadians, a term usually meaning English Canadian Canadians, as opposed to French Canadian Canadian....
.

Definition

Because it has represented different realities at different points in time, the term French Canada can be interpreted in different ways. Roughly chronologically they are:

le Canada

Canada, New France
Canada, New France

Canada was the name of the French colonization of the Americas that once stretched along the Saint Lawrence River; the other colonies of New France were Acadia, Louisiana and Colony of Newfoundland....
, was the historic homeland of the French Canadian people, the St. Lawrence River valley, in the time of New France
New France

The Viceroyalty of New France was the area French colonization of the Americas by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River, by Jacques Cartier in 1534, to the cession of New France to Spain and Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763....
. It corresponds to the southern part of modern Quebec
Quebec

Quebec , in French language, Qu?bec , is a Provinces and territories of Canada in the Central Canada and Eastern Canada regions of Canada....
 excluding the Eastern Townships
Eastern Townships

The Eastern Townships is a historical region in south-eastern Quebec, lying between the former Seigneurial system of New France south of the Saint Lawrence River and the United States border....
. Later, it was renamed the Province of Quebec
Province of Quebec (1763-1791)

The Province of Quebec was a colony in North America created by Kingdom of Great Britain after the Seven Years' War. Great Britain acquired Canada, New France by the Treaty of Paris when King Louis XV of France of France and his advisors chose to keep the territory of Guadeloupe for its valuable sugar crops instead of New France....
 (1763), Lower Canada
Lower Canada

The Province of Lower Canada was a British colonization of the Americas on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence ....
 (1791), Canada East
Canada East

Canada East was the eastern portion of the United Province of Canada. It consisted of the southern portion of the modern-day Canada Province of Quebec, and was primarily a French language region....
 (1840), and finally the Province of Quebec (1867) again.

Canadian settlements

All the communities where French Canadian
French Canadian

French Canadian refers to a nation or ethnic group of French people Kinship and Descent that originated in Canada, New France during the period of French colonization of the Americas beginning in the 17th century....
s have settled in North America may be interpreted as French Canada. In this interpretation; Ottawa, Ontario; Falher, Alberta
Falher, Alberta

Falher is a town in the Peace River Country area of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the Smoky River No. 130, Alberta, along Alberta Highway 49....
; Bonnyville, Alberta
Bonnyville, Alberta

Bonnyville, Alberta is a town situated in East-central Alberta between the city of Cold Lake, Alberta and the smaller town of St. Paul, Alberta....
; Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan
Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan

Gravelbourg is a small town in south central Saskatchewan. Historically francophone, it is now multicultural. It is located just west of the Wood River at the junction of provincial Highways 43 and 58, approximately 125 kilometres from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, and the United States border....
; St. Boniface, Manitoba; Hawkesbury, Ontario
Hawkesbury, Ontario

Hawkesbury is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, on the Ottawa River, near the Quebec-Ontario border.It lies on the south shore of the Ottawa River about halfway between downtown Ottawa and downtown Montreal in Prescott and Russell United Counties, Ontario....
; Montreal, Quebec; Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire

Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the largest city of northern New England, an area composed of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine....
; Burlington, Vermont
Burlington, Vermont

Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County, Vermont. With a population of 38,889 at the 2000 United States Census, the city is the core of one of the nation's smaller metropolitan areas, and is also the smallest U.S....
 are part of French Canada, while Pontiac
Pontiac, Quebec

Pontiac is a municipality in western Quebec, Canada, in Collines-de-l'Outaouais County, Quebec on the Rivi?re des Outaouais . It should not be confused with the Pontiac Regional County Municipality, Quebec, which borders Pontiac ....
, Stanstead, and most First Nations
First Nations

First Nations is a term of ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor M?tis people....
 in Quebec are not. French Canadian communities in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 were called "Little Canada
Little Canada

Little Canada is a name for any of the various communities where French Canadians congregated upon emigrating to the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries....
s".

Francophones

Francophone
Francophone

The adjective francophone means French language-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
 Canadians represent those areas with large concentrations of French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 speaking peoples. In this sense, Quebec, parts of New Brunswick
New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only Constitution of Canada bilingual province in the federation. The provincial capital is Fredericton....
, Eastern Ontario
Eastern Ontario

Eastern Ontario is the region of the Canada province of Ontario which lies in a wedge-shaped area between the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River Rivers....
, Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario

Northern Ontario is the part of the province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing.Northern Ontario has a land area of 802,000 km? and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains less than 7% of the population....
, Southern Manitoba
Manitoba

Manitoba is a prairie provinces in Canada, which has an area of 647,797 square kilometres and a population of 1,207,959 , with more than half located within the Winnipeg Capital Region ....
, and smaller communities elsewhere fall under this category.

This can also represent the collection of all francophones in Canada, whether or not they live in communities with significant francophone populations. "Francophone" here may mean those who speak French natively, or it may alternatively include those allophones
Allophone (Quebec)

In Quebec, an allophone is a resident, usually an immigrant, whose mother tongue or home language is neither English language nor French language....
 in Canada who, in various ways, are associated with French Canadian society more closely than with English Canadian society.

These Canadian francophones refer to themselves as Québécois
Québécois

The French language word 'Qu?b?cois' I would now like to ask you about your ethnic ancestry, heritage or background. What were the ethnic or cultural origins of your ancestors? 2) In addition to "Canadian", what were the other ethnic or cultural origins of your ancestors on first coming to North America?" This survey did not list possibl...
 in Quebec, Acadiens
Acadian

The Acadians are the descendants of the seventeenth-century France French colonial empires who settled in Acadia . Although today most of the Acadians and Qu?b?cois are francophone Canadians, Acadia was founded in a geographically separate region from Quebec leading to their two distinct cultures....
 in Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada

File:Atlantic Canada.svgAtlantic Canada, also known as the Atlantic provinces, is the List of regions of Canada of Canada comprising four Provinces and territories of Canada located on the Atlantic Ocean: the three Maritimes ? New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island ? and Newfoundland and Labrador....
, Fransaskois
Fransaskois

Fransaskois are francophones or French Canadians living in the Prairie provinces province of Saskatchewan. The term franco-saskatchewanian may also be used on occasion, although in practice it is rare due to its length and unwieldiness....
 in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie provinces in Canada, which has an area of 588,276.09 square kilometres and a population of 1,015,895 , mostly living in the southern half of the province....
, Franco-Manitobains
Franco-Manitoban

Franco-Manitobans are a community of French Canadians or French language-speaking people living in Manitoba. The community is centred primarily in Saint Boniface, Manitoba, an area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, although there are smaller numbers of Franco-Manitobans living throughout the province as well....
 in Manitoba
Manitoba

Manitoba is a prairie provinces in Canada, which has an area of 647,797 square kilometres and a population of 1,207,959 , with more than half located within the Winnipeg Capital Region ....
, Franco-Ontarien
Franco-Ontarian

Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canada Provinces of Canada of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....
s in Ontario
Ontario

Ontario is a Provinces and territories of Canada located in the Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area....
, Franco-Albertain
Franco-Albertan

The Franco-Albertans are an extended community of French Canadians or French language-speaking people living in Alberta. They are centred in the Bonnie Doon area of Edmonton, and there are tens of thousands of Franco-Albertans living in communities such as Legal, Alberta north of Edmonton, Bonnyville, Alberta, Plamondon, Alberta, and St....
s in Alberta
Alberta

Alberta is one of Canada Canadian Prairies Provinces and territories of Canada. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S....
, Franco-Colombiens
Franco-Columbian

Franco-Columbians or Franco-Colombiens are French Canadians or French speaking Canada living in the Pacific province of British Columbia....
 in British Columbia
British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
, Franco-Terreneuvians in Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is a Provinces and territories of Canada of Canada, on the country's Atlantic Ocean coast in northeastern North America....
, Franco-Yukonais in the Yukon
Yukon

Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada three Territories of Canada. It was named after the Yukon River, Yukon meaning "Great River" in Gwich?in language....
 and Franco-Ténois
Franco-Tenois

Franco-T?nois, originating from the acronym TNO of the French term for the Northwest Territories of Canada refers to the wide-spread community of francophones that reside in the Northwest Territories....
 in the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories are a provinces and territories of Canada of Canada.Located in northern Canada, it borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south....
 and Nunavut
Nunavut

Nunavut is the largest and newest Provinces and territories of Canada of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999 via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993....
. With the exception of the Acadians who have a different history altogether, most French Canadians trace their origins to Quebec, although there are numerous more recent immigrants from various francophone communities around the world (e.g. Haitians
Haitian immigration to the United States and Canada

Haitian immigrants certainly constitute a very visible segment of contemporary American society. This visibility is due to the fact that they have been steadily migrating in significant numbers to the United States since the late 1950s?early 1960s, soon after Fran?ois Duvalier became president of Haiti....
).