Former colonies and territories in Canada Former colonies , territories , boundaries , and claims in Canada prior to the current classification of provinces and territories . In North America , ethnographers commonly classify Aboriginals into ten ( six in Canada ) geographical regions with shared cultural traits and by related linguistic dialects . The colonization of Canada by Europeans began in the 10th century , when Norsemen explored and attempted to settle areas of the northeastern fringes of North America . Early permanent European settlements in what is now Canada included the late 16th and 17th century French colonies of Acadia and Canada ( New France ) , the English colonies of Newfoundland ( island ) and Rupert ' s Land , the Scottish colonies of Nova Scotia and Port Royal . France relinquished nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years ' War to the British Empire . Britain ' s imperial government over a century later then ceded the land to Canadian control in 1867 after . Since then , Canada ' s external borders have changed several times , and has grown from four initial provinces to ten provinces and three territories as of 1999 . Pre - colonization . Aboriginal societies . Aboriginal peoples in what is now Canada did not form state societies , instead they were organized into bands of a few families , grouped into larger tribe s and chieftainship s . In the absence of state structures , academics usually classify aboriginal people by their traditional " lifeway " ( or primary economic activity ) and region into " culture areas " , or by their language families . Some of these extended language family groups united into loose confederacies , such as the Ojibwa , who according to oral tradition formed the Council of Three Fires in 796 CE with the Odawa and the Potawatomi . The six tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy , was formed in 1142 CE according to their oral traditions . There was also the four or possibly five tribes of the Huron Confederacy , both in the Great Lakes region , or the four tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy in present day Alberta and neighbouring Montana . The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and peoples of the Northwest Plateau developed highly structured cultures from relatively dense populations . Some cultures in this region were very similar and share certain elements , such as the importance of fishing to their communities . European colonization . Norse settlement . While the Norse colonies in Greenland lasted for almost 500 years , the continental North American settlements were small and did not develop into permanent colonies . Vinland – Markland – Helluland are the names given to three lands possibly in Canada , discovered by Norsemen as described in the " Eiríks saga rauða " and " Grœnlendinga saga " . Portuguese claims . The Portuguese Crown claimed it had territorial rights in the Atlantic waters visited by explorer John Cabot in 1497 and 1498 . In 1498 to 1500 , the Portuguese mariner João Fernandes Lavrador visited the north Atlantic coast , accounting for the appearance of the name " Labrador " on topographical maps of the period . In 1501 and 1502 Miguel and Gaspar Corte - Real explored present day Newfoundland claiming the land in the name of Portuguese Empire . The extent and nature of Portuguese activity on the Canadian mainland during the 16th century remains unclear and controversial . New France . In 1534 , Jacques Cartier planted a cross in the Gaspé Peninsula and claimed the land in the name of Francis I of France . In 1600 , a trading post was established at Tadoussac , but only five of the sixteen settlers survived the winter and returned home that summer . In 1604 , a settlement was founded at Île - Saint - Croix on Baie Française ( Bay of Fund ) which was moved to Port - Royal in 1605 . It was abandoned in 1607 , reestablished in 1610 , and destroyed in 1613 , after which settlers moved to other nearby locations . British North America . British colonization of the Americas ( including colonization sponsored by both the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland before the 1707 Acts of Union which created the Kingdom of Great Britain ) began in the late 16th century and reached its peak when colonies had been established throughout the Americas . The Kingdom of Great Britain acquired the French colony of Acadia in 1713 and then Canada , New France . Great Britain also claimed the west coast of North America ; indirectly via ( from 1804 ) the North West Company and ( after 1821 ) Hudson ' s Bay Company licenses west of the Rocky Mountains , the Columbia and New Caledonia fur districts , most of which were jointly claimed by the United States , which called it the Oregon Country , from 1818 until the 49th parallel as the international boundary was extended west of the Rockies by the Oregon Treaty of 1846 . The Colony of Vancouver Island , founded in 1849 , and the Colony of British Columbia , founded in 1858 , were combined in 1866 with the name Colony of British Columbia until joining Confederation in 1871 . British Columbia also was expanded with the addition what had been the Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands and also most of the Stikine Territory , in 1863 , and upon joining with the addition of the Peace River Country , formerly part of the Northwest Territories . New Spain . Spanish colonizers had originally taken the lead in the Pacific Northwest coast , with the voyages of Juan José Pérez Hernández in 1774 and 1775 . This was in response to intelligence that the Russians had begun to explore the Pacific Coast of North America , which the Spanish considered part of New Spain . Russian America . In 1799 , Tsar Paul I proclaimed Russian title and established the Russian American Company ' s trade monopoly and rule in the North Pacific through the creation of Russian America . The stated southward limit of Russian claims was 51 degrees north latitude , roughly that of Cape Scott at the northern tip of Vancouver Island . Though no Russian settlements were established in what is now British Columbia , Russian trade and scientific expeditions frequented the North Coast . Intense tripartite negotiation led to treaties between Russia with the US and Britain in 1824 and 1825 , respectively , setting the new southward limit of Russian territories at 54 degrees , 40 minutes north latitude , corresponding with Cape Muzon at the southern tip of Dall Island , at the extreme southwest of what is today the Alaska Panhandle . Canadian territorial evolution . Canada became a semi - independent federated grouping of provinces and a dominion after the Constitution Act of 1867 ( formerly called the British North America Act , 1867 ) . Originally three provinces of British North America , New Brunswick , Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada ( which would become Ontario and Quebec ) united to form the new nation . Full independence came with the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and the Canada Act in 1982 . Since 1867 , Canada ' s external borders have changed several times , and has grown from four initial provinces to ten provinces and three territories as of 1999 . Alaska boundary dispute . The Alaska boundary dispute , simmering since the Alaska purchase of 1867 , became critical when gold was discovered in the Yukon during the late 1890s and Canada wanted its own Pacific port connected to the gold fields . Canada argued its historic boundary with Russian America included the Lynn Canal and the port of Skagway , both occupied by the U . S . , while the U . S . claimed the Atlin District and the lower Stikine and even Whitehorse . The dispute went to arbitration in 1903 , with the American claims largely upheld as the British delegate sided with the Americans to preserve the British interest in a close relationship with the U . S . Norwegian claim . Otto Sverdrup a Norwegian explorer claimed the Sverdrup Islands for Norway in 1898 , but the Norwegian government showed no interest in pursuing the claim until 1928 . On 11 November 1930 ( Remembrance Day ) after formal Canadian intervention , Norway recognized Canada ' s sovereignty over the islands . Danish claim . Hans Island is the smallest of three islands located in Kennedy Channel ; the others are Franklin Island and Crozier Island . The island is the traditional hunting grounds of the Inuit and is claimed by both Canada and Denmark . In 2007 , updates of satellite photos led Canada to recognize the international border as crossing through the middle of Hans Island , not to the east of the island as previously claimed . Northwest Passage . The Canadian government considers the Northwestern Passages part of Canadian Internal Waters , but the United States and various European countries maintain they are an international strait or transit passage , allowing free and unencumbered passage . Areas disputed by the United States . Although Canada and the United States share the longest non - militarized border between two countries , there is a long history of disputes about the border ' s demarcation . Proposed provinces and territories . Since Confederation in 1867 , there have been several proposals for new Canadian provinces and territories . The Constitution of Canada requires an amendment for the creation of a new province but the creation of a new territory requires only an act of Parliament ; therefore , it is easier legislatively to create a territory than a province .