Listed here are the monarchs who reigned over Canada, starting with the French colony of Canada, which subsequently became a British colony, followed by the British Dominion of Canada, and, finally, the present-day sovereign state of Canada. The date of the first claim by a monarch over Canada varies, with most sources giving the year as 1497, when John Cabot made landfall somewhere on the North American coast and claimed the land for England on behalf of King Henry VII. However, some sources, instead, put this date at 1535, when the word Canada was first used to refer to the French colony of Canada, which was founded in the name of King Francis I of France. Monarchical governance subsequently evolved under a continuous succession of French, British, and eventually uniquely Canadian sovereigns. Since the first claim by Henry VII, there have been 33 sovereigns of Canada, including two sets of co-sovereigns.