公元1000年左右，歐洲人首次踏足於加拿大。 紅鬍子埃裏剋曾在紐芬蘭島的蘭塞奧茲牧草地建立短暫的居住點。自北歐殖民者之後加拿大有一段時間沒有與歐洲接觸，直到1497年意大利人喬瓦尼·卡博托（John Cabot）為英格蘭探索加拿大大西洋沿岸。在16世紀早期，巴斯剋及葡萄牙海員在大西洋沿岸建立季節性的捕鯨及捕魚點。1534年，法國探險傢雅剋·卡蒂埃（Jacques Cartier）探索聖羅倫斯灣，並在7月24日以法國國王弗朗索瓦一世的名義占領了那片土地。
1583年，英國人漢弗萊·吉爾伯特爵士在如今紐芬蘭的聖約翰斯建立定居點，並宣稱這是英國在北美的第一塊殖民地。之後法國探險傢薩繆爾·德·尚普蘭分別在1605年於新斯科捨省的皇傢港和在1608年於魁北剋省魁北剋市建立北美最早的歐洲人永久定居點。在新法蘭西的範圍內，法裔加拿大人開始沿着聖勞倫斯河一帶擴張，阿卡迪亞人也開始在大西洋省份定居，而傳教士和皮毛商人開始探索五大湖、哈德遜灣及密西西比河流域一帶。後來在17世紀中葉，為了爭奪皮毛交易的控製權，阿爾岡金部落和易洛魁部落分別在英國、荷蘭和法國的支持下發生河狸戰爭。
1610年，英國在紐芬蘭島建立更多殖民地，不久之後十三殖民地也在南方成立。但在1689年至1763年北美洲爆發北美殖民地戰爭，而後來在北美洲所爆發的一連串戰爭更為七年戰爭鋪路。新斯科捨省因烏得勒支和約在1713年被割讓給英國，之後因巴黎和約法國被迫要割讓幾乎所有在北美洲的殖民地給英國。
在1763年頒布的皇傢宣言將魁北剋省分離於新法蘭西，並將布雷頓角島合併到新斯科捨，聖約翰斯島（即如今的愛德華王子島）更在1769年獨立成為單獨的殖民地。而為了避免魁北剋境內的法裔加拿大人不滿和懲罰十三個殖民地居民的反英活動，英國於1774年頒布魁北剋法案，將魁北剋地區延伸至五大湖和俄亥俄河，並在魁北剋地區重新確立法語、天主教信仰和法國市民法的地位。但這樣卻進一步助長十三殖民地居民的反英情緒。
1783年簽署的巴黎條約承認美國獨立，並將五大湖以南的地方割讓予美國。新不倫瑞剋從新斯科捨劃分出來成為皇室置地。為了安撫魁北剋境內的的英裔加拿大人，英國政府在1791年頒布新的憲法法案將魁北剋分為以英語作母語的上加拿大和以法語作母語的下加拿大兩部分，並賦予兩者各自的選舉立法權，上下加拿大分別演變成如今的安大略和魁北剋。
羅伯特·哈裏斯所畫的聯邦之父(1884)，這幅畫反應在1864年舉行的查洛頓會議
1812年戰爭，英國與美國交戰，加拿大成為主要戰場。戰爭結束之後，大量英國人和愛爾蘭人移民至加拿大。在1825年到1846年間，有626,628名歐洲移民進入加拿大。其中包括想逃離饑荒的愛爾蘭移民以及因高地清洗而逃走出來的蘇格蘭人。但是有四分之一至三分之一的移民在1891年前便死於傳染病。
出於對問責政府的渴求，加拿大人發動1837年起義。叛亂被平息之後到加調查的達勒姆勳爵建立一篇報告，《英屬北美事務分析》。報告建議把現任政府改為問責製政府，並支持同化法裔加拿大人，使其接受英國語言及文化。英國政府接納達勒姆勳爵在報告中的建議，並頒布1840年聯合法案，重新將上下加拿大合併成立加拿大省。 1849年，代表所有英屬北美的責任政府建立。1846年，英美簽定俄勒岡條約，確定美國和英屬北美在西部以北緯49度為界。這一條約解决長久以來英屬北美與美國的邊境爭端，也為英國建立溫哥華島殖民地和不列顛哥倫比亞殖民地鋪平道路。
It is believed that the first European to explore the east coast of Canada was Norse explorer Leif Erikson. In approximately 1000 AD, the Norse built a small encampment that only lasted a few years at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland. No further European exploration occurred until 1497, when Italian seafarer John Cabot explored and claimed Canada's Atlantic coast in the name of King Henry VII of England. In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the Gulf of Saint Lawrence where, on July 24, he planted a 10-metre (33 ft) cross bearing the words "Long Live the King of France" and took possession of the territory New France in the name of King Francis I. The early 16th century saw European mariners with navigational techniques pioneered by the Basque and Portuguese establish seasonal whaling and fishing outposts along the Atlantic coast. In general, early settlements during the Age of Discovery appear to have been short-lived due to a combination of the harsh climate, problems with navigating trade routes and competing outputs in Scandinavia.
In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, by the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I, founded St. John's, Newfoundland, as the first North American English colony. French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in 1603 and established the first permanent European settlements at Port Royal (in 1605) and Quebec City (in 1608). Among the colonists of New France, Canadiens extensively settled the Saint Lawrence River valley and Acadians settled the present-day Maritimes, while fur traders and Catholic missionaries explored the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and the Mississippi watershed to Louisiana. The Beaver Wars broke out in the mid-17th century over control of the North American fur trade.
Benjamin West's "The Death of General Wolfe" dying in front of British flag while attended by officers and native allies
Benjamin West's The Death of General Wolfe (1771) dramatizes James Wolfe's death during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham at Quebec.
The English established additional settlements in Newfoundland, beginning in 1610 and the Thirteen Colonies to the south were founded soon after. A series of four wars erupted in colonial North America between 1689 and 1763; the later wars of the period constituted the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. Mainland Nova Scotia came under British rule with the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, and Canada and most of New France came under British rule in 1763 after the Seven Years' War.
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 established First Nation treaty rights, created the Province of Quebec out of New France, and annexed Cape Breton Island to Nova Scotia. St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island) became a separate colony in 1769. To avert conflict in Quebec, the British Parliament passed the Quebec Act of 1774, expanding Quebec's territory to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. More importantly, the Quebec Act afforded Quebec special autonomy and rights of self-administration at a time when the Thirteen Colonies were increasingly agitating against British rule. It re-established the French language, Catholic faith, and French civil law there, staving off the growth of an independence movement in contrast to the Thirteen Colonies. The Proclamation and the Quebec Act in turn angered many residents of the Thirteen Colonies, further fuelling anti-British sentiment in the years prior to the American Revolution.
After the successful American War of Independence, the 1783 Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the newly formed United States and set the terms of peace, ceding British North American territories south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River to the new country. The American war of independence also caused a large out-migration of Loyalists, the settlers who had fought against American independence. Many moved to Canada, particularly Atlantic Canada, where their arrival changed the demographic distribution of the existing territories. New Brunswick was in turn split from Nova Scotia as part of a reorganization of Loyalist settlements in the Maritimes which led to the incorporation of Saint John, New Brunswick to become Canada's first city. To accommodate the influx of English-speaking Loyalists in Central Canada, the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the province of Canada into French-speaking Lower Canada (later Quebec) and English-speaking Upper Canada (later Ontario), granting each its own elected legislative assembly.
Painting of Laura Secord warning British commander James FitzGibbon of an impending American attack at Beaver Dams
War of 1812 heroine Laura Secord warning British commander James FitzGibbon of an impending American attack at Beaver Dams
The Canadas were the main front in the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. Peace came in 1815; no boundaries were changed. Immigration resumed at a higher level, with over 960,000 arrivals from Britain between 1815 and 1850. New arrivals included refugees escaping the Great Irish Famine as well as Gaelic-speaking Scots displaced by the Highland Clearances. Infectious diseases killed between 25 and 33 percent of Europeans who immigrated to Canada before 1891.
The desire for responsible government resulted in the abortive Rebellions of 1837. The Durham Report subsequently recommended responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into English culture. The Act of Union merged the Canadas into a united Province of Canada and responsible government was established for all provinces of British North America by 1849. The signing of the Oregon Treaty by Britain and the United States in 1846 ended the Oregon boundary dispute, extending the border westward along the 49th parallel. This paved the way for British colonies on Vancouver Island (1849) and in British Columbia (1858). The Alaska Purchase of 1867 by the United States established the border along the Pacific coast, although there would continue to be some disputes about the exact demarcation of the Alaska-Yukon and Alaska-BC border for years to come.