French Canadians
Canadiens français | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 4,995,040 in Canada (by ancestry) 14.5% of the total Canadian population (2016) c. 10.56 million (French-speaking Canadians) 29.1% of the total Canadian population (2021) 1,998,012 in the United States (2020) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Canada: majority in Quebec, large minority in New Brunswick, small minorities in Northern Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Alberta and Manitoba. United States: small French Canadian American minorities in New England, New York, Michigan and Louisiana. | |
| Languages | |
| Canadian French, Canadian English, Franglais, | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Catholic, minority Protestant | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Québécois, other French, Acadians, French Louisianians, Métis, Brayons, Breton Canadians, Norman Canadians, Basque Canadians, German Canadians, Belgian Canadians, Old Stock Canadians |
| Part of a series of articles on the |
| French people |
|---|
French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the province of Quebec.
During the 17th century, French settlers originating mainly from the west and north of France settled Canada. It is from them that the French Canadian ethnicity was born. During the 17th to 18th centuries, French Canadians expanded across North America and colonized various regions, cities, and towns. As a result, people of French Canadian descent can be found across North America. Between 1840 and 1930, many French Canadians emigrated to New England, an event known as the Grande Hémorragie.