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.
North America prior to colonization was occupied by a variety of
Aboriginal polities of different complextions, from small independent
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). 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. Early permanent European settlements in what is now Canada included the late 16th and 17th century French colonies of
Acadia and
Canada (New France), the English colonies of
Newfoundland (island) and
Rupert's Land, the Scottish colonies of Nova Scotia and
Port Royal.