Question: who was the british monarch when canada became a country
Answer: The date of the first claim by a monarch over Canada varies , with most sources giving the year as 1497 , when John Cabot made landfall somewhere on the North American coast ( likely either modern - day Newfoundland or Nova Scotia ) , and claimed the land for England on behalf of King Henry VII . However , some sources instead put this date at 1534 when the word `` Canada '' was first used to refer to the French colony of Canada , which was founded in the name of King Francis I.