Besides household duties, some women participated in the fur trade, the major source of cash in New France. They worked at home alongside their husbands or fathers as merchants, clerks and provisioners. Some were widows who took over their husband's roles. A handful were active entrepreneurs in their own right.

Based on this passage, the economy of new france was based on what? Let's think fast. Stream of consciousness:
To answer this question, we should know that: Besides household duties, some women participated in the fur trade, the major source of cash in New France. So the final answer is the fur trade.