[11] French explorations continued west "unto the Countreys of Canada, Hochelaga, and Saguenay"[12] before any permanent settlements were established.

In 1600 a permanent trading post and habitation was established at Tadoussac at the confluence of the Saguenay and Saint Lawrence rivers.

[13][14] The other four colonies within New France were Hudson's Bay to the north, Acadia and Newfoundland to the east, and Louisiana far to the south.

[16][failed verification] The Seven Years' War of 1756–1763 saw Great Britain defeat the French and their allies, and take possession of Canada.

[17] In the 240 years between Verrazano's voyage of exploration in 1524 and the Conquest of New France in 1763, the French marked the North American continent in many ways.

Whether it was through by land distribution and clearing, the establishment of villages and towns, deploying a network of roads and paths or developing the territory with various constructions, the French colonists transformed and adapted the environments according to their needs.

Then 1603–1673, in which, due to westward expansion and conflicts with Great Britain, the Canada territory was now composed of the coasts of the Saint Lawrence River, of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and of the Great Lakes, as well as southern Ontario and northern New England.

The Domaine du roy, established in 1652, was a vast region of New France, which stretched north from the St. Lawrence River to Hudson Bay.

Francophone populations in the Maritime provinces, however, are more likely to be descended from the settlers of the French colony of Acadia.