- Definition
An "habitant" was a French farmer who lived in Canada when it was a French colony.
A habitant cleared land along a river in New France to plant wheat and build a small wooden house for their family.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: A habitant was like one of the first farmers who moved to a new land to build a home and grow food.
Ask your child: What would you build first if you were a habitant?
Common mix-up: Kids might confuse habitants with explorers or soldiers. Habitants were the farming families who settled the land and built the first communities.
Examples
- Habitants used simple tools to grow vegetables like peas and corn to feed their families.
- A habitant family might trade extra crops with a neighbour for other goods.
habitant is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
