Claim: Canada was colonized by Europeans.

British North America refers to the former territories of the British Empire in mainland North America . The term was first used informally in 1783 , but it was uncommon before the Report on the Affairs of British North America -LRB- 1839 -RRB- , called the Durham Report . These territories today form modern-day Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States . British colonization of North America -LRB- including colonization by both the English and the Scots -RRB- , began in 1607 in Jamestown , Virginia and reached its peak when colonies had been established throughout the Americas .