In 1604, where did French explorers Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain establish the first European settlement north of Florida?

In 1604, the French explorers Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain led an expedition that established the first European settlement north of Florida at St. Croix Island. This event placed a permanent French foothold in what is now the Maritime region of Canada and began a French colonial presence that would shape the cultural landscape of eastern Canada for centuries to come. The choice of a small island setting reflected the cautious approach of early French explorers, who used it as a base from which to chart the surrounding coastline and rivers.

The colonists who followed in the wake of this 1604 expedition became known as the Acadians. The official guide explains that the Acadians are the descendants of French colonists who began settling in what are now the Maritime provinces in 1604. Over the following decades they built farms, fisheries and small communities, developed a distinct dialect and cultural identity, and forged deep ties to the land surrounding the Bay of Fundy. Their society grew steadily into one of the earliest enduring European settlements in northern North America.

Between 1755 and 1763, during the war between Britain and France, more than two-thirds of the Acadians were deported from their homeland. This traumatic episode is remembered as the Great Upheaval. The official guide notes that despite this ordeal, the Acadians survived and maintained their unique identity, and that today Acadian culture is flourishing and is a lively part of French-speaking Canada — a story that traces directly back to the 1604 landing at St. Croix Island.

The 1604 founding at St. Croix Island matters on the citizenship test because it marks the beginning of one of Canada's three founding peoples — the French — alongside the Aboriginal and British heritages. The guide states that to understand what it means to be Canadian, it is important to know about our three founding peoples: Aboriginal, French and British. The descendants of those 1604 colonists, the Acadians, remain a vibrant part of French-speaking Canada today. Modern Canada is home to roughly seven million Francophones, and New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province — a direct living legacy of that early Maritime settlement. The federal government is required by law to provide services throughout Canada in English and French, reflecting the lasting influence of that first French foothold north of Florida.