Early Interactions in Canada By byando 1400 The first Indigenous peoples migrate to lands now known as Canada. They are thought to be ancestors of Indigenous nations that exist today 14 000 BCE 1401 The first Norse Viking explorers arrive at Canada’s east coast (Newfoundland), making a Early 1000s short-lived settlement called Vinland. Early 1000s 1497 Explorer John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) claims land in Newfoundland for England. 1534 French explorer Jacques Cartier arrives in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and claims the region for France. He is friendly and trades with Mi’kmaq people. 1603 Samuel de Champlain arrives in eastern Canada. Wendat people help him develop a map. 1608 French explorer Samuel de Champlain establishes a permanent settlement called Québec, which becomes the capital of New France. Period: 1609 to 1701 First Nations and the French sign the Great Peace of Montreal to end the decades long Beaver Wars for control over the fur trade 1610 Coureurs de bois begin to trade with First Nations peoples in eastern Canada. 1670 The Hudson's Bay Company is chartered by the English Crown, giving it a monopoly on fur trading in the Hudson Bay region. 1713 France and England sign the Treaty of Utrecht peace agreement. New France becomes mostly under the rule of England.