Canada }} French Canadians express their cultural or ancestral roots using a number of different terms. In the 2021 census, French-speaking Canadians identified their ethnicity, in order of prevalence, most often as
Canadian,
French,
Québécois, French Canadian, and
Acadian. All of these except for French were grouped together by Jantzen (2006) as "French New World" ancestries because they originate in Canada. Jantzen (2006) distinguishes the English
Canadian, meaning "someone whose family has been in Canada for multiple generations", and the French
Canadien, used to refer to descendants of the original settlers of New France in the 17th and 18th centuries. "Canadien" was used to refer to the French-speaking residents of New France beginning in the last half of the 17th century. The English-speaking residents who arrived later from Great Britain were called "Anglais". This usage continued until
Canadian Confederation in 1867. Confederation united several former British colonies into the Dominion of Canada, and from that time forward, the word "Canadian" has been used to describe both English-speaking and French-speaking citizens, wherever they live in the country. Those reporting "French New World" ancestries overwhelmingly had ancestors that went back at least four generations in Canada. Fourth generation Canadiens and Québécois showed considerable attachment to their ethno-cultural group, with 70% and 61%, respectively, reporting a strong sense of belonging. The generational profile and strength of identity of French New World ancestries contrast with those of British or Canadian ancestries, which represent the largest ethnic identities in Canada. Although deeply rooted Canadians express a deep attachment to their ethnic identity, most English-speaking Canadians of British or Canadian ancestry generally cannot trace their ancestry as far back in Canada as French speakers. As a result, their identification with their ethnicity is weaker: for example, only 50% of third generation "Canadians" strongly identify as such, bringing down the overall average. The survey report notes that 80% of Canadians whose families had been in Canada for three or more generations reported "Canadian and provincial or regional ethnic identities". These identities include French New World ancestries such as "Québécois" (37% of Quebec population) and
Acadian (6% of Atlantic provinces).
Quebec Since the 1960s, French Canadians in Quebec have generally used
Québécois (masculine) or
Québécoise (feminine) to express their cultural and national identity, rather than
Canadien français and
Canadienne française. Francophones who self-identify as Québécois and do not have French-Canadian ancestry may not identify as "French Canadian" (
Canadien or
Canadien français); however, by extension, though the term "French Canadian" may refer to natives of the province of Quebec or other parts of French Canada of foreign descent. Those who do have French or French-Canadian ancestry, but who support
Quebec sovereignty, often find
Canadien français to be archaic or even pejorative. This is a reflection of the strong social, cultural, and political ties that most Quebecers of French-Canadian origin, who constitute a majority of
francophone Quebecers, maintain within Quebec. It has given Québécois an ambiguous meaning which has often played out in
political issues, as all public institutions attached to the
Government of Quebec refer to all Quebec citizens, regardless of their language or their cultural heritage, as Québécois. Academic analysis of French Canadian culture has often focused on the degree to which the Quiet Revolution, particularly the shift in the social and cultural identity of the Québécois following the
Estates General of French Canada of 1966 to 1969, did or did not create a "rupture" between the Québécois and other francophones elsewhere in Canada.
Elsewhere in Canada The emphasis on the French language and Quebec autonomy means that French speakers across Canada may now self-identify as
québécois(e),
acadien(ne), or
Franco-canadien(ne), or as provincial linguistic minorities such as
Franco-manitobain(e),
Franco-ontarien(ne) or
fransaskois(e). Education, health and social services are provided by provincial institutions, so that provincial identities are often used to identify French-language institutions: •
Franco-Newfoundlanders, province of
Newfoundland and Labrador, also known as Terre-Neuvien(ne) •
Franco-Ontarians, province of
Ontario, also referred to as Ontarien(ne) •
Franco-Manitobans, province of
Manitoba, also referred to as Manitobain(e) •
Fransaskois, province of
Saskatchewan, also referred to Saskois(e) •
Franco-Albertans, province of
Alberta, also referred to Albertain(e) •
Franco-Columbians, province of
British Columbia mostly live in the
Vancouver metro area; also referred to as Franco-Colombien(ne) •
Franco-Yukonnais, territory of
Yukon, also referred to as Yukonais(e) •
Franco-Ténois, territory of
Northwest Territories, also referred to as Ténois(e) •
Franco-Nunavois, territory of
Nunavut, also referred to as Nunavois(e)
Acadians residing in the provinces of
New Brunswick,
Prince Edward Island and
Nova Scotia represent a distinct ethnic
French-speaking culture. This group's culture and history evolved separately from the French Canadian culture, at a time when the Maritime Provinces were
not part of what was referred to as Canada, and are consequently considered a distinct culture from French Canadians.
Brayons in
Madawaska County,
New Brunswick and
Aroostook County,
Maine may be identified with either the Acadians or the Québécois, or considered a distinct group in their own right, by different sources. French Canadians outside Quebec are more likely to self-identify as "French Canadian". Identification with provincial groupings varies from province to province, with Franco-Ontarians, for example, using their provincial label far more frequently than Franco-Columbians do. Few identify
only with the provincial groupings, explicitly rejecting "French Canadian" as an identity label. A population genetics ancestry study claims that for those French Canadians who trace their ancestry to the French founder population, a significant percentage, 53-78% have at least one indigenous ancestor.
United States of
French Americans in the
United States () During the mid-18th century, French Canadian explorers and colonists colonized other parts of North America in what are today
Louisiana (called
Louisianais),
Mississippi,
Missouri,
Illinois,
Wisconsin,
Indiana,
Ohio, far northern
New York and the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan as well as around
Detroit. They also founded such cities as
New Orleans and
St. Louis and villages in the
Mississippi Valley. French Canadians later emigrated in large numbers from Canada to the
United States between the 1840s and the 1930s in search of economic opportunities in border communities and industrialized portions of
New England. French-Canadian communities in the United States remain along the
Quebec border in
Maine,
Vermont, and
New Hampshire, as well as further south in
Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, and
Connecticut. There is also a significant community of French Canadians in
South Florida, particularly
Hollywood, Florida, especially during the winter months. The wealth of Catholic churches named after
St. Louis throughout New England is indicative of the French immigration to the area. They came to identify as
Franco-American, especially those who were born American. Distinctions between French Canadian, natives of France, and other New World French identities is more blurred in the U.S. than in Canada; however, those who identify as French Canadian or Franco American generally do not regard themselves as French. Rather, they identify culturally, historically, and ethnically with the culture that originated in Quebec that is differentiated from French culture. In ''L'Avenir du français aux États-Unis'',
Calvin Veltman and
Benoît Lacroix found that since the French language has been so widely abandoned in the United States, the term "French Canadian" has taken on an ethnic rather than linguistic meaning. French Canadian identities are influenced by historical events that inform regional cultures. For example, in New England, the relatively recent immigration (19th/20th centuries) is informed by experiences of language oppression and an identification with certain occupations, such as the mill workers. In the Great Lakes, many French Canadians also identify as
Métis and trace their ancestry to the earliest
voyageurs and
settlers; many also have ancestry dating to the lumber era and often a mixture of the two groups. The main Franco-American regional identities are: • French Canadians: • French Canadians of the Great Lakes (including
Muskrat French) •
New England French • Creoles: •
Missouri French (and other people of French ancestry in the former
Illinois Country) •
Louisiana Creoles (who speak
Colonial French) •
Cajuns == Culture ==