<P> French interest in the New World began with Francis I of France , who in 1524 sponsored Giovanni da Verrazzano to navigate the region between Florida and Newfoundland in hopes of finding a route to the Pacific Ocean . Although the English had laid claims to it 1497 when John Cabot made landfall somewhere on the North American coast ( likely either modern - day Newfoundland or Nova Scotia ) and had claimed the land for England on behalf of King Henry VII , these claims were not exercised and England did not make any attempts at permanent colonization . For the French however , Jacques Cartier planted a cross in the Gaspé Peninsula in 1534 and claimed the land in the name of Francis I establishing a region called Canada the following summer . Permanent settlement attempts by Cartier at Charlesbourg - Royal in 1541 , at Sable Island in 1598 by Marquis de La Roche - Mesgouez , and at Tadoussac , Quebec in 1600 by François Gravé Du Pont had all eventually failed . Despite these initial failures , French fishing fleets sailed the Atlantic coast and into the St. Lawrence River , trading and making alliances with First Nations , as well as establishing fishing settlements such as in Percé in 1603 . As a result of France 's claim and activities in the colony of Canada , the name `` Canada '' was present on international maps denoting this colony within the St - Lawrence river region . </P>
<P> French interest in the New World began with Francis I of France , who in 1524 sponsored Giovanni da Verrazzano to navigate the region between Florida and Newfoundland in hopes of finding a route to the Pacific Ocean . Although the English had laid claims to it 1497 when John Cabot made landfall somewhere on the North American coast ( likely either modern - day Newfoundland or Nova Scotia ) and had claimed the land for England on behalf of King Henry VII , these claims were not exercised and England did not make any attempts at permanent colonization . For the French however , Jacques Cartier planted a cross in the Gaspé Peninsula in 1534 and claimed the land in the name of Francis I establishing a region called Canada the following summer . Permanent settlement attempts by Cartier at Charlesbourg - Royal in 1541 , at Sable Island in 1598 by Marquis de La Roche - Mesgouez , and at Tadoussac , Quebec in 1600 by François Gravé Du Pont had all eventually failed . Despite these initial failures , French fishing fleets sailed the Atlantic coast and into the St. Lawrence River , trading and making alliances with First Nations , as well as establishing fishing settlements such as in Percé in 1603 . As a result of France 's claim and activities in the colony of Canada , the name `` Canada '' was present on international maps denoting this colony within the St - Lawrence river region . </P>
where did the first settlers in canada come from
where did the first settlers in canada come from
French
French