Former colonies and territories in Canada

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A number of states and polities formerly claimed colonies and territories in Canada prior to the evolution of the current provinces and territories under the federal system.^[1] North America prior to colonization was occupied by a variety of indigenous groups consisting of band societies typical of the sparsely populated North, to loose confederacies made up of numerous hunting bands from a variety of ethnic groups (Plains region), to more structured confederacies of sedentary farming villages (Great Lakes region), to stratified hereditary structures centred on a fishing economy (Plateau and Pacific Coast regions).^[2] The colonization of Canada by Europeans began in the 10th century, when Norsemen explored and, ultimately unsuccessfully, attempted to settle areas of the northeastern fringes of North America.^[3] Early permanent European settlements in what is now Canada included the late 16th and 17th century French colonies of Acadia and Canada (New France),^[4] the English colonies of Newfoundland (island) and Rupert's Land,^[5] the Scottish colonies of Nova Scotia and Port Royal.^[6]

France lost nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War to the British Empire.^[7] Britain's imperial government over a century later then ceded the land to Canadian control in 1867 after confederation.^[8] Since then, Canada's external borders have changed several times, and had grown from four initial provinces to ten provinces and three territories by 1999.^[9]