French Canada
Because it has represented different realities at different points in time, the term
French Canada can be interpreted in different ways. Chronologically they are:
1. The historical homeland of the French Canadian people, the St Lawrence river valley, which was called
le Canada in the time of New France. Later, this Canada was renamed the
Province of Quebec (1763),
Lower Canada (1791),
Canada East (1840), and finally the Province of Quebec (1867) again.
2. All the communities where
French Canadians have settled in North America. In this interpretation, Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan,
Hawkesbury, Ontario,
Montreal, Quebec, Manchester, New England,
Burlington, Vermont are part of French Canada, but Ivujuvik, Quebec,
Westmount, Quebec, or
Stanstead, Quebec are not. These French Canadian communities were called "Little Canadas" in the United States.
3. All the Canadian communities where there is a significant concentration of
French-Canadians, that is, Canadian citizens who speak French. In that sense, it is
Quebec, parts of
New Brunswick, Northern
Ontario, and Saint-Boniface, Manitoba.
These Canadian Francophones refer to themselves as
Québécois in
Quebec,
Acadiens in the
Canadian maritimes,
Fransaskois in
Saskatchewan,
Franco-Manitobains in
Manitoba,
Franco-Ontariens in
Ontario,
Franco-Albertain in
Alberta and
Franco-Colombiens in
British Columbia. With the exception of the
Acadians who have a different history altogether, most Franco-Canadians originated from Quebec.
Category:Canadian culture
