There is no question that greed created Canada.....and  Mexico, the Congo, Australia, French Guiana,  Algeria.....the list goes on and on.  The French were as imperialist as the rest.  Exploration?  Sure, to find more furs to trade at a tiny fraction of their value.

None of it was romantic or philanthropic.  It was an exercise in subjugation and theft by France, Britain, Belgium, Holland, and others.