Explorers from Europe reached Canada in the late 1400s, looking for a quicker way to China. They soon discovered that this was not the Far East, but it was a land with a lot of valuable resources.

At this time, the powerful European countries were trying to increase their wealth by taking over lands that they "found" and claiming them as their own. This was called imperialism. The lands that a country claimed became known as colonies. Canada was a British colony (it was under Britain's control) for over 100 years.
 
In the 1500s, Europeans began to take resources from Canada. The east coast of Canada had huge amounts of fish, especially cod fish. There were also a large number of whales. Whales were very important because their oil was used for many things, such as lamp oil and soap.

The next thing that Europeans were interested in was fur. Fishermen began to trade with Indigenous peoples. The fishermen would exchange things like woolen blankets, iron knives, and cooking pots for fur, especially beaver pelts. Beaver pelts were used in Europe to make hats. Soon, fur traders arrived in Canada and began to set up trading posts. France and England set up fur trading companies. The two biggest were The Northwest Company (French) and The Hudson Bay Company (British).

One more resource became important to Europe after the fur trade began. This resource was timber. Canada had huge forests with very large trees that were perfect for making wooden sailing ships. By the middle of the 1800s, about 150 years ago, one of every three ships in the British navy was built in Canada.

At first, Indigenous peoples became important trading partners and provided essential help and guidance to European traders, trappers, and settlers.

 
However, they faced many challenges due to their contact with Europeans.

1. Europeans brought many diseases, and many Indigenous people died.

2. The way of life for Indigenous peoples changed as they settled in permanent communities near the trading posts.

3. Indigenous peoples began to rely on goods they traded with the Europeans.

4. Hunting methods changed as Indigenous people began to use rifles.

In the 1800s, the roles of Indigenous peoples as traders and guides began to disappear and the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples changed significantly. 

   The number of settlers coming to Canada was increasing and so was their power. As they dominated the land, so did they come to dominate its original inhabitants.