Discover Canada study notes: Who We Are

This chapter describes the people of Canada: the three founding peoples, the two official languages, and the many cultures that make up the country today. Here are the main ideas in simple English.

What this chapter is about

This chapter describes the people of Canada, starting with the three founding peoples: Aboriginal, French and British.

Canada's identity

Canada is known around the world as a strong and free country. It has the oldest continuous constitutional tradition in the world and is the only constitutional monarchy in North America. The phrase "Peace, Order, and Good Government" comes from the British North America Act of 1867, Canada's first constitutional document. Canadians value ordered liberty, enterprise, hard work and fair play.

Aboriginal peoples

The ancestors of Aboriginal peoples are believed to have come from Asia many thousands of years ago, long before Europeans arrived. Their cultures were based on beliefs about their relationship with the Creator, with nature and with each other.

Aboriginal and treaty rights are protected in the Constitution. Territorial rights were first guaranteed by the Royal Proclamation of 1763, made by King George III, which set the basis for treaties. These treaties were not always fully respected.

From the 1800s until the 1980s, the federal government sent many Aboriginal children to residential schools to make them adopt mainstream culture. Students suffered, some were abused, and their languages and customs were mostly forbidden. In 2008, Ottawa formally apologized to former students. Today Aboriginal communities show renewed pride and success in areas such as agriculture, the environment, business and the arts.

Three distinct groups

• First Nations (about 65%): the term came into use in the 1970s. ("Indian" refers to Aboriginal people who are not Inuit or Métis.) About half live on reserve land in about 600 communities; the other half live off reserve, mostly in cities.
• Métis (about 30%): a distinct people of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry. Most live in the Prairie provinces. They come from French and English backgrounds and speak their own language, Michif.
• Inuit (about 4%): the name means "the people" in the Inuktitut language. They live in small communities across the Arctic and know how to survive in a very harsh environment.

English and French

Much of Canadian society comes from English-speaking and French-speaking Christian civilizations brought from Europe. English and French are Canada's two official languages, and federal law says federal government services must be available in both across Canada.

• The guide counts 18 million Anglophones (first language English) and 7 million Francophones (first language French). Most Francophones live in Quebec; about one million live in Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba.
• New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province.
• Acadians are descendants of French colonists who began settling in the Maritime provinces in 1604. Between 1755 and 1763, during war between Britain and France, more than two-thirds of them were deported. This is called the "Great Upheaval". Acadian culture survived and is strong today.
• Quebecers are mostly French-speaking and descend mainly from about 8,500 French settlers of the 1600s and 1700s. In 2006, the House of Commons recognized that Quebecers form a nation within a united Canada.
• About one million Anglo-Quebecers have a heritage of about 250 years in Quebec.
• English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish settlers shaped English-speaking Canada. English speakers are generally called English Canadians.

Unity in diversity

John Buchan (Lord Tweedsmuir), a popular Governor General from 1935 to 1940, said that immigrant groups should keep their own identity and traditions, learn from each other, and also share a new loyalty to Canada.

Becoming Canadian and diversity today

Some newcomers come from places with war or conflict. These experiences do not justify bringing violence, extremism or hatred to Canada. Newcomers are expected to accept democratic values such as the rule of law.

Most Canadians were born in Canada, but Canada is often called a "land of immigrants" because millions of newcomers helped build it over 200 years. Since the 1970s, most immigrants have come from Asian countries. In Vancouver and Toronto, Chinese languages are the second most spoken at home after English.

Most Canadians are Christian; the largest group is Catholic, followed by Protestant churches. Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and other communities are growing, as is the number of people with no religion. Gay and lesbian Canadians have full legal protection, including civil marriage. Many Black Canadians descend from Black Loyalists and others who came from America in the 1780s.

Key facts to remember

• Three founding peoples: Aboriginal, French and British.
• Canada is the only constitutional monarchy in North America.
• "Peace, Order, and Good Government": from the British North America Act, 1867.
• Royal Proclamation of 1763 (King George III) first guaranteed Aboriginal territorial rights.
• Residential schools: 1800s to 1980s; formal apology in 2008.
• Aboriginal groups: First Nations ~65%, Métis ~30%, Inuit ~4%.
• Inuit means "the people" in Inuktitut; Métis speak Michif.
• Official languages: English and French; New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province.
• Acadians: settled from 1604; Great Upheaval 1755–1763.
• House of Commons recognized Quebecers as a nation within a united Canada in 2006.
• John Buchan, Governor General 1935–1940, spoke of unity in diversity.
• Since the 1970s, most immigrants have come from Asia.