- Definition
New France was the name for the land in North America that France claimed and settled, starting in the 1500s until the British took it over in 1763.
The settlement that became Quebec City was one of the most important parts of New France.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: New France was like a group of people building a giant, permanent fort in a new land and claiming all the area around it for their home country.
Ask your child: Imagine you sailed to a new land. What would you build first?
Common mix-up: Kids might imagine this land was empty. The key idea is that New France was established in lands that were already home to many different Indigenous nations.
Examples
- The 'habitants' were the farmers who lived and worked on the land in New France.
- The fur trade, where colonists traded goods with Indigenous peoples for beaver pelts, was its main economic activity.
New France 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 ↗
