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New France was a French colony in North America. By the early 1740s, France controlled what is known today as the Maritime provinces, much of modern-day Ontario and Quebec, and the Hudson Bay region. The territory also stretched from today’s Northeastern United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Quebec City was the center of culture, society and economics. The French living in New France created a distinct culture. The French population of New France were known as habitants. Many habitants had a better life in New France than peasants in France. That said, not many people from France wanted to emigrate to New France. Most people in France thought New France was too cold and very dangerous. Because there was little immigration, New France had a very small population. In 1763, approximately 70,000 French colonists lived in New France. (See Population Settlement of New France.) This small population made New France weak. It was one of the most important reasons why New France was taken over by Britain in 1763.

(This article is a plain-language summary of New France. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, New France.)

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham took place on 13 September 1759. The Plains of Abraham are in Quebec City. It was fought between the French and their Indigenous allies against the British. The British won. Losing the battle was a major defeat for the French. Soon after, France lost all of Quebec. In 1763, France gave all of Canada to Britain. The era of New France was over. Until Confederation in 1867, Britain would control the colonies that became Canada. (See Confederation (Plain-Language Summary).)

(This article is a plain-language summary of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, Battle of the Plains of Abraham.)

Fort Carillon was built in 1755 on the orders of the governor of New France, Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil. Situated at the junction of Lake George and Lake Champlain, the fort was intended to reinforce France's military presence in an area contested by the British colonies. In 1759, Fort Carillon was abandoned by the French and renamed Fort Ticonderoga by the British. (See Seven Years’ War.)

The earliest European visitors were Étienne BRÛLÉ and Samuel de CHAMPLAIN, developing links between New France and the HURON.

It is one of the oldest settlements in North America: on 24 July 1534, Jacques Cartier took possession of Canada on behalf of the king of France and placed a cross at this location, which very soon became a fishing port and supply centre for New France.

For generations, Hebron, one of Nunatsiavut’s (see Labrador Inuit and Newfoundland and Labrador) most culturally important and significant sites, was an important meeting place for the Inuit, as well as a primary hunting and fishing area. In the early 1800s, Moravian missionaries chose the site to establish their fourth and northernmost mission in Labrador, officially opening the mission in 1830 (although missions were later established farther north, at Ramah in 1871 and Killinek in 1905). For more than 130 years, Hebron was a thriving community where an average of 200 to 250 Inuit lived. In 1959, without consultation with the Inuit, the community was closed, forcing all Inuit to relocate. Declared a National Historic Site in 1976 by the federal government, the Hebron Mission has been undergoing major restoration since 2004.

Nunavik, the portion of land within the province of Quebec located north of the 55th parallel, covers approximately 500,000 km² (representing more than one-third of Quebec’s territory). For approximately 4,000 years, Indigenous people have inhabited Nunavik, including Inuit who have made the region their homeland. Today, over 13,000 people live in Nunavik’s 14 villages spread along the Ungava Bay, Hudson Strait and Eastern Hudson Bay coasts.

Nunatsiavut (meaning “our beautiful land” in Inuktitut) is the homeland of the Labrador Inuit (Labradormiut). The territory covers 72,520km² of land and 44,030km² of sea in the northern part of the Labrador Peninsula. On 1 December 2005, the Labrador Inuit celebrated the creation of the Nunatsiavut Government, their own regional government within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Labradormiut became the first Inuit in Canada to achieve self-government. Of the approximately 6,500 beneficiaries, about 2,500 live within the settlement area in five communities: Rigolet, Postville, Makkovik, Hopedale (the legislative capital) and Nain (the administrative capital).

In 1771, Moravian missionaries were the first Europeans to settle in Labrador. Over a 133-year period, they established a series of eight missions along the coast which became the focus of religious, social and economic activities for the Inuit who gradually came to settle near the communities. Moravians had a huge impact on the life and culture of Labrador Inuit. What emerged was a unique culture rooted in Inuit traditions with indigenized European practices. The last Moravian missionary left Labrador in 2005, but the Moravian church, its customs and traditions are still very much alive in Labrador.

Percé's history is as old as that of NEW FRANCE. Jacques CARTIER arrived there in 1534, and European fishermen used the bay as a haven in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Chicoutimi was an important staging point on the route that 17th-century Indigenous hunters took to sell their furs in Tadoussac, and in 1676 New France authorities built a trading post here.

Maison Saint-Gabriel is a museum and historic site that openedin 1966. This 300-year-old building, located in Montréal’s Pointe-Sainte-Charles district, is one of the finest examples of the traditional architecture of New France.

The St. Lawrence River is a grand river and estuary, which together with the Great Lakes forms a hydrographic system that penetrates 3,058 km into North America. The river proper, about 1,197 km long, issues from Lake Ontario, flows northeast past Montreal and Quebec City to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The route of early explorers and the main axis of New France, the St. Lawrence River figured prominently in Canada's early history, and it remains the focus of settlement for much of the province of Quebec. It is still the most important commercial waterway in Canada, as well as a source of electric power and natural beauty. (See also St Lawrence Lowland.)

The area was first settled in 1658, more than 20 years before the creation of the parish of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures. The name Saint-Augustin was supposedly given to the parish in honour of the governor of New France from 1663-1665, Augustin de Saffray de MÉZY.

In 1673, in order to develop the young colony of New France, Governor Louis de Buade de Frontenac gave large concessions of land to administrators, priests and high-ranking soldiers who became seigneurs. The seigneurie des Mille-Îles was created north of the river that bears the same name.

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham (13 September 1759), also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal moment in the Seven Years’ War and in the history of Canada. A British invasion force led by General James Wolfe defeated French troops under the Marquis de Montcalm, leading to the surrender of Quebec to the British. Both commanding officers died from wounds sustained during the battle. The French never recaptured Quebec and effectively lost control of New France in 1760. At the end of the war in 1763 France surrendered many of its colonial possessions — including Canada — to the British.

(This is the full-length entry about the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. For a plain-language summary, please see Battle of the Plains of Abraham (Plain-Language Summary).)

New Maryland includes a number of historic buildings, including the Anglican church and Victoria Hall. It was the site of the last fatal duel in the province in 1821.

Although New Richmond is today about 80% French-speaking, its history is steeped in cultural diversity.

New Glasgow, NS, incorporated as a town in 1875, population 9562 (2011c), 9455 (2006c). The Town of New Glasgow is located on the East River of Pictou 15 km southeast of Pictou.