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'Canada' was the name of the French colony that once stretched along the St. Lawrence River; the other colonies of New France were Acadia, Louisiana and Newfoundland. Canada, the most developed colony of New France, was divided in three districts named ''Québec'', ''Trois-Rivières'', and ''Montréal''. Each district had its own government. The governor of ''Québec'' was also the governor general of Canada and all of New France.
Because the capital of Canada (Quebec City) was also the capital of New France, and because of the level of development of Canada compared to the other colonies, the terms "Canada" and "New France" were often used interchangeably. After the Treaty of Paris of 1763, when France ceded Canada to Great Britain, the colony was renamed the Province of Quebec.
In 1740, a survey of the population of the St. Lawrence River valley counted about 44,000 colonists, the majority born in Canada. Of those, 18,000 lived under the government of ''Québec'', 4,000 under the government of ''Trois-Rivières'' and 22,000 under the government of ''Montréal''. The population was mostly rural, cities having populations of 4600 for ''Québec'', 378 for ''Trois-Rivières'' and 4200 for ''Montréal''.
Dependent upon Canada were the ''Pays d'en Haut'' (upper countries), a vast territory north and west of Montreal, covering the whole of the Great Lakes and stretching as far into the North American continent as the French had explored. North of the Great Lakes, a mission, ''Sainte-Marie'' among the Hurons, was established in 1639. Following the destruction of the Huron homeland in 1649, the French destroyed the mission themselves and left the area. In what are today Ontario and the western prairies, various trading posts and forts were built such as Fort ''Kaministiquia'' (1679), Fort Frontenac (1673), Fort St. Pierre (1731), Fort St. Charles (1732) and Fort ''Rouillé'' (1750).
The only French settlements in the ''Pays d'en Haut'' were located south of the Great Lakes, around the Fort ''Pontchartrain du Détroit'' (1701), Fort ''Michilimackinac'' (1715), Fort ''de Chartres'' (1720) and Fort ''Ticonderoga'' (1755). That part of the ''Pays d'en Haut'', named the ''Pays des Illinois'' (Illinois countries), was eventually annexed to Louisiana around 1717.
Today, the ''Les Pays-d'en-Haut'' is a regional county municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec.
In ways such as law, customs and the cultural aspects of the population, the modern successor of Canada is the province of Quebec, which can create confusion with the current Canadian federation of the same name, or the historical Province of Canada. Also, distinction from english Canada has been historically important for Quebecers, notably since the advent of contemporary Quebec nationalism in the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. For these reason, nowadays, Quebecers often use the term "New France" when referring to Canada, New France.

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See also

References

★ New France circa 1740, The Atlas of Canada

See also

★ Canada's name

★ Quebec

★ New France

★ Timeline of Quebec history

★ History of Quebec

★ History of New France

★ Monarchs of Canadian territories