Have
your parents or grandparents ever told you the story of how your
family first moved to Canada? People who come to Canada from another
country are called immigrants. Everyone in Canada, except for Aboriginals,
comes from an immigrant family.
Aboriginals
were the first people to live in Canada. They were not all alike.
Aboriginals spoke many different languages and lived all over Canada.
They survived through hunting, agriculture, and by trading with
other Aboriginal communities. Then, in the 1500s (more than 400
years ago) Europeans began to visit Canada. At first they were just
interested in Canada's abundant resources of furs, fish, and lumber.
Soon they developed permanent communities and began to populate
Canada. These were Canada's first immigrants.
The
two largest European immigrant groups were the English and the French.
Other settlers came from countries like Spain, Portugal, Holland,
and Russia. These diverse origins explain why Canada is known as
a nation of immigrants. Chances are that your family was once an
immigrant family. Ask your parents to tell you your family's immigration
story.
Each
group had its own language and customs. With all these different
people trying to live together, there was often confusion and conflict.
Throughout Canada 's history, large and powerful groups have not
always treated small groups fairly. Groups with strong differences
have had a hard time understanding each other.
Canada
today is a mixture of many different nations, languages, and religions.
Each group of people has contributed in a unique way to Canadian
history and its way of life. Even though there were many different
groups, the English settlers had the most power. That influenced
the shape of Canadian life.
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