Editing French Canadians (section)

== Identities ==
=== Canada ===
[[File:Canada ethnic origin map 2021.png|thumb|300px|Major ethnicities in Canada, 2021.]]
{{Historical populations
| title = Reported French population history in Canada{{refn|1981-present: Statistic also includes "[[Acadians|Acadian]]" and "[[Québécois people|Quebecois]]" responses. Additionally, 1996-present census populations are undercounts, due to the addition of the [[Canadian ethnicity|"Canadian" (English) or "Canadien" (French) ethnic origin]].{{efn|name=Canadian|1=All citizens of Canada are classified as "Canadians" as defined by [[Canadian nationality law|Canada's nationality laws]]. However, "Canadian" as an ethnic group has since 1996 been added to census questionnaires for possible ancestry. "Canadian" was included as an example on the English
questionnaire and "Canadien" as an example on the French questionnaire. "The majority of respondents to this selection are from the eastern part of the country that was first settled. Respondents generally are visibly European (Anglophones and Francophones), however no-longer self identify with their ethnic ancestral origins. This response is attributed to a multitude or generational distance from ancestral lineage.
<br />'''Source 1:''' {{cite web|title=Our 'Cense' of Self: the 2006 Census saw 1.6 million 'Canadian'|url=http://www.acs-aec.ca/pdf/polls/12154527016855.pdf|author=Jack Jedwab|publisher=Association for Canadian Studies|date=April 2008|access-date=March 7, 2011|quote="Virtually all persons who reported “Canadian” in 1996 had English or French as a mother tongue, were born in Canada and had both parents born inside Canada. This suggests that many of these respondents were people whose families have been in this country for several generations. In effect the “new Canadians” were persons that previously reported either British or French origins. Moreover in 1996 some 55% of people with both parents born in Canada reported Canadian (alone or in combination with other origins). By contrast, only 4% of people with both parents born outside Canada reported Canadian. Thus the Canadian response did not appeal widely to either immigrants or their children. Most important however was that neatly half of those persons reporting Canadian origin in 1996 were in Quebec this represented a majority of the mother tongue francophone population.&nbsp;... In the 2001 Census, 11.7 million people, or 39% of the total population, reported Canadian as their ethnic origin, either alone or in combination with other origins. Some 4.9 million Quebecers out of 7.1 million individuals reported Canadian or “Canadien” thus accounting for nearly seven in ten persons (nearly eighty percent of francophones in Quebec). (Page 2)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002032711/http://www.acs-aec.ca/pdf/polls/12154527016855.pdf|archive-date=October 2, 2011|url-status=dead}}<br />'''Source 2:''' {{cite book|author=Don Kerr|title=The Changing Face of Canada: Essential Readings in Population|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CofPBh5BRhwC&pg=PA313|year=2007|publisher=Canadian Scholars' Press|isbn=978-1-55130-322-2|pages=313–317}}}}<ref name="Jantzen"/><ref name="Jantzen 2006">Jantzen (2006) Footnote 5: ''"Note that Canadian and Canadien have been separated since the two terms mean different things. In English, it usually means someone whose family has been in Canada for multiple generations. In French it is referring to "Les Habitants", settlers of New France during the 17th and 18th centuries who earned their living primarily from agricultural labour."''</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Jantzen (2006): "The reporting of French New World ancestries (Canadien, Québécois, and French-Canadian) is concentrated in the 4th+ generations; 79% of French-Canadian, 88% of Canadien and 90% of Québécois are in the 4th+generations category."</ref><ref name="Jantzen 2005">Jantzen (2005): ''"According to Table 3, the 4th+ generations are highest because of a strong sense of belonging to their ethnic or cultural group among those respondents reporting the New World ancestries of Canadien and Québécois."''</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">Jantzen (2006): ''For respondents of French and New World ancestries the pattern is different. Where generational data is available, it is possible to see that not all respondents reporting these ancestries report a high sense of belonging to their ethnic or cultural group. The high proportions are focused among those respondents that are in the 4th+ generations, and unlike with the British Isles example, the difference between the 2nd and 3rd generations to the 4th+ generation is more pronounced. Since these ancestries are concentrated in the 4th+ generations, their high proportions of sense of belonging to ethnic or cultural group push up the 4th+ generational results."''</ref>|name="population"|group="nb"}}
| type = Canada
| footnote = ''Source: [[Statistics Canada]]''<br /><ref name="population1871to1971">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=1999-07-29 |title=Historical statistics of Canada, section A: Population and migration - Archived |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/11-516-X |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928012613/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/11-516-X |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|17}}<ref name="population1901to1961">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2013-04-03 |title=1961 Census of Canada : population : vol. I - part 2 = 1961 Recensement du Canada : population : vol. I - partie 2. Ethnic groups. |url=https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.831160/publication.html |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=September 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220918171052/https://www.publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.831160/publication.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="population1921to1971">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2013-04-03 |title=1971 Census of Canada : population : vol. I - part 3 = Recensement du Canada 1971 : population : vol. I - partie 3. Ethnic groups. |url=https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.834326/publication.html |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=September 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220918170906/https://www.publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.834326/publication.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="population1981">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2013-04-03 |title=1981 Census of Canada : volume 1 - national series : population = Recensement du Canada de 1981 : volume 1 - série nationale : population. Ethnic origin. |url=https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.837638/publication.html |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927011644/https://www.publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.837638/publication.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="population1986">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2013-04-03 |title=Census Canada 1986 Profile of ethnic groups |url=https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.676331/publication.html |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=September 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220914162707/https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.676331/publication.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="population1986B">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2013-04-03 |title=1986 Census of Canada: Ethnic Diversity In Canada. |url=https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.576036/publication.html |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=September 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912093809/https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.576036/publication.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="population1991">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2013-04-03 |title=1991 Census: The nation. Ethnic origin. |url=https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.676069/publication.html |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418120318/https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.676069/publication.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="population1996">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2019-06-04 |title=Data tables, 1996 Census Population by Ethnic Origin (188) and Sex (3), Showing Single and Multiple Responses (3), for Canada, Provinces, Territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 1996 Census (20% Sample Data) |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/English/census96/data/tables/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=1&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=5216&PRID=0&PTYPE=89103&S=0&SHOWALL=No&SUB=0&Temporal=2006&THEME=9&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=August 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812184631/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/English/census96/data/tables/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=1&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=5216&PRID=0&PTYPE=89103&S=0&SHOWALL=No&SUB=0&Temporal=2006&THEME=9&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="population2001">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2013-12-23 |title=Ethnic Origin (232), Sex (3) and Single and Multiple Responses (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/English/census01/products/standard/themes/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=1&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=62911&PRID=0&PTYPE=55440&S=0&SHOWALL=No&SUB=0&Temporal=2006&THEME=44&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922154600/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/English/census01/products/standard/themes/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=1&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=62911&PRID=0&PTYPE=55440&S=0&SHOWALL=No&SUB=0&Temporal=2006&THEME=44&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="population2006">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2020-05-01 |title=Ethnic Origin (247), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=1&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=92333&PRID=0&PTYPE=88971&S=0&SHOWALL=No&SUB=0&Temporal=2006&THEME=80&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=September 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921233310/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=1&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=92333&PRID=0&PTYPE=88971&S=0&SHOWALL=No&SUB=0&Temporal=2006&THEME=80&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="population2011">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2019-01-23 |title=Ethnic Origin (264), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2011 National Household Survey |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=0&PID=105396&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=95&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928151805/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=0&PID=105396&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=95&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="population2016">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2019-06-17 |title=Ethnic Origin (279), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age (12) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census - 25% Sample Data |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=110528&PRID=10&PTYPE=109445&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2017&THEME=120&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=October 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026161129/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=110528&PRID=10&PTYPE=109445&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2017&THEME=120&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |url-status=live }}</ref><br />''Note 1: 1981 Canadian census only included partial multiple ethnic origin responses for individuals with British and French ancestry.''<br />''Note 2: 1996-present censuses include the [[Canadian ethnicity|"Canadian" ethnic origin]] category.''
|1871|1082940
|1881|1298929
|1901|1649371
|1911|2061719
|1921|2452743
|1931|2927990
|1941|3483038
|1951|4319167
|1961|5540346
|1971|6180120
|1981|7111540
|1986|8123360
|1991|8389180
|1996|5709215
|2001|4809250
|2006|5146940
|2011|5386995
|2016|4995040
}}
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 ethnicity|Canadian]], [[French people|French]], [[French-speaking Quebecer|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.<ref name="Jantzen">{{cite journal|last=Jantzen|first=Lorna|title=The Advantages of Analyzing Ethnic Attitudes Across Generations—Results From the Ethnic Diversity Survey|journal=Canadian and French Perspectives on Diversity|year=2003|pages=103–118|url=http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CH36-4-1-2004E.pdf#page=111|access-date=7 May 2012|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224022813/http://publications.gc.ca/site/archivee-archived.html?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpublications.gc.ca%2Fcollections%2FCollection%2FCH36-4-1-2004E.pdf#page=111|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Jantzen (2006) Footnote 9: ''"These will be called "French New World" ancestries since the majority of respondents in these ethnic categories are Francophones."''</ref>

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.<ref name="Jantzen 2006">Jantzen (2006) Footnote 5: ''"Note that Canadian and Canadien have been separated since the two terms mean different things. In English, it usually means someone whose family has been in Canada for multiple generations. In French it is referring to "Les Habitants", settlers of New France during the 17th and 18th centuries who earned their living primarily from agricultural labour."''</ref> "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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lacoursière |first1=Jacques |first2=Claude |last2=Bouchard |first3=Richard |last3=Howard|title=Notre histoire: Québec-Canada, Volume 2|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_988BAAAAMAAJ|date=1972|publisher=Editions Format|location=Montreal|page=174|language=fr}}</ref> 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.<ref name="ReferenceA">Jantzen (2006): "The reporting of French New World ancestries (Canadien, Québécois, and French-Canadian) is concentrated in the 4th+ generations; 79% of French-Canadian, 88% of Canadien and 90% of Québécois are in the 4th+generations category."</ref> Fourth generation Canadiens and Québécois showed considerable attachment to their ethno-cultural group, with 70% and 61%, respectively, reporting a strong sense of belonging.<ref name="Jantzen 2005">Jantzen (2005): ''"According to Table 3, the 4th+ generations are highest because of a strong sense of belonging to their ethnic or cultural group among those respondents reporting the New World ancestries of Canadien and Québécois."''</ref>

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.<ref name="ReferenceB">Jantzen (2006): ''For respondents of French and New World ancestries the pattern is different. Where generational data is available, it is possible to see that not all respondents reporting these ancestries report a high sense of belonging to their ethnic or cultural group. The high proportions are focused among those respondents that are in the 4th+ generations, and unlike with the British Isles example, the difference between the 2nd and 3rd generations to the 4th+ generation is more pronounced. Since these ancestries are concentrated in the 4th+ generations, their high proportions of sense of belonging to ethnic or cultural group push up the 4th+ generational results."''</ref> 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.<ref>Jantzen (2006): ''"As shown on Graph 3, over 30% of respondents reporting Canadian, British Isles or French ancestries are distributed across all four generational categories."''</ref> 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.<ref>Jantzen (2006): ''Table 3: Percentage of Selected Ancestries Reporting that Respondents have a Strong* Sense of Belonging to the Ethnic and Cultural Groups, by Generational Status, 2002 EDS"''.</ref> 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 [[Acadians|Acadian]] (6% of Atlantic provinces).<ref>See p. 14 of the [http://www.statcan.ca/cgi-bin/downpub/listpub.cgi?catno=89-593-XIE2003001 report] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104202519/http://www.statcan.ca/cgi-bin/downpub/listpub.cgi?catno=89-593-XIE2003001 |date=4 January 2007 }}.</ref>

====Quebec====
{{Main|Québécois people}}
[[File:Quebec langues.png|thumb|right|Languages in 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''), though the term "French Canadian" may by extension refer to natives of the province of Quebec or other parts of French Canada of foreign descent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anthony Duclair's dream of a more inclusive game is becoming reality |url=https://www.tampabay.com/sports/lightning/2024/03/16/anthony-duclair-boyd-anderson-florida-panthers-brett-peterson-jason-gershonovitch/ |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Tampa Bay Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2004-10-20 |title=Laughing in both official languages |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/laughing-in-both-official-languages/article18274912/ |access-date=2024-08-16 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2004-03-23 |title=Burnside: All grown up |url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/columns/story?id=1765748 |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=For my Relevance - Bradley Eng + Corrida - Audrey Gaussiran + MOVE - Clément Le Disquay et Paul Canestraro + Women and Cypresses - Cai Glover |url=https://www.quebecdanse.org/agenda/for-my-relevance-bradley-eng-corrida-audrey-gaussiran-move-clement-le-disquay-et-paul-canestraro-women-and-cypresses-cai-glover/ |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Regroupement québécois de la danse |language=fr-FR}}</ref> 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<ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = Bédard
 | first1 = Guy
 | editor1 = Adrienne Shadd
 | editor2 = Carl E. James
 | year = 2001
 | chapter = Québécitude: An Ambiguous Identity
 | title = Talking about Identity: Encounters in Race, Ethnicity and Language
 | pages = 28–32
 | publisher = Between the Lines
 | location = Toronto
 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=y7gtD9vcGJMC&q=%22le+quebec+aux+quebecois%22&pg=PA30
 | isbn = 1-896357-36-9
 | access-date = October 17, 2020
 | archive-date = December 17, 2023
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231217232710/https://books.google.com/books?id=y7gtD9vcGJMC&q=%22le+quebec+aux+quebecois%22&pg=PA30#v=snippet&q=%22le%20quebec%20aux%20quebecois%22&f=false
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref> which has often played out in [[Québécois nation motion|political issues]],<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/house-passes-motion-recognizing-quebecois-as-nation-1.574359 | title = House passes motion recognizing Québécois as nation | publisher = [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date = 2006-11-27 | access-date = 21 December 2006 | archive-date = September 5, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210905141312/https://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/11/27/nation-vote.html | url-status = live }}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://cjf.qc.ca/revue-relations/publication/article/quebeccanada-francophone-le-mythe-de-la-rupture/ "Québec/Canada francophone : le mythe de la rupture"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815121507/http://cjf.qc.ca/revue-relations/publication/article/quebeccanada-francophone-le-mythe-de-la-rupture/ |date=August 15, 2021 }}. '' Relations'' 778, May/June 2015.</ref>

====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)''.<ref>{{cite web
 | last = Churchill
 | first = Stacy
 | publisher = Council of Europe, Language Policy Division
 | year = 2003
 | title = Language Education, Canadian Civic Identity, and the Identity of Canadians
 | pages = 8–11
 | url = http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/ChurchillEN.pdf
 | quote = French speakers usually refer to their own identities with adjectives such as québécoise, acadienne, or franco-canadienne, or by some term referring to a provincial linguistic minority such as franco-manitobaine, franco-ontarienne or fransaskoise.
 | access-date = May 5, 2008
 | archive-date = October 30, 2021
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211030173323/https://www.coe.int/en/web/language-policy/home
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref> Education, health and social services are provided by provincial institutions, so that provincial identities are often used to identify French-language institutions:
[[File:Ontario French Ability 2021.svg|thumb|Map of French language ability in Ontario according to the 2021 census.]]
*[[Franco-Newfoundlander]]s, province of [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], also known as Terre-Neuvien(ne)
*[[Franco-Ontarian]]s, province of [[Ontario]], also referred to as Ontarien(ne)
*[[Franco-Manitoban]]s, province of [[Manitoba]], also referred to as Manitobain(e)
*[[Fransaskois]], province of [[Saskatchewan]], also referred to Saskois(e)
*[[Franco-Albertan]]s, province of [[Alberta]], also referred to Albertain(e)
*[[Franco-Columbian]]s, 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 [[Acadian French|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.

[[Brayon]]s in [[Madawaska County, New Brunswick|Madawaska County]], [[New Brunswick]] and [[Aroostook County, Maine|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.<ref>{{cite journal|title= Native American Admixture in the Quebec Founder Population |date=2013 |pmc=3680396 |last1=Moreau |first1=C. |last2=Lefebvre |first2=J. F. |last3=Jomphe |first3=M. |last4=Bhérer |first4=C. |last5=Ruiz-Linares |first5=A. |last6=Vézina |first6=H. |last7=Roy-Gagnon |first7=M. H. |last8=Labuda |first8=D. |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=8 |issue=6 |pages=e65507 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0065507 |pmid=23776491 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2013PLoSO...865507M }}</ref>

===United States===
{{Further|Canadian Americans|French Americans}}
[[File:French1346.gif|thumb|right|[[Maps of American ancestries|Distribution]] of [[French American]]s in the [[United States]] ({{Circa|2000}})]]
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 (state)|New York]] and the [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan]] as well as around [[Detroit]].<ref name="Illinois">{{cite encyclopedia
 | last1 = Balesi
 | first1 = Charles J.
 | title = French and French Canadians
 | encyclopedia = The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago
 | publisher = Chicago Historical Society.
 | url = http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/488.html
 | year = 2005
 | access-date = 5 May 2008
 | archive-date = May 9, 2008
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080509183259/http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/488.html
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref> They also founded such cities as [[New Orleans]] and [[St. Louis, Missouri|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]].<ref name="Emigration">{{cite web
 | last1 = Bélanger
 | first1 = Damien-Claude
 | last2 = Bélanger
 | first2 = Claude
 | title = French Canadian Emigration to the United States, 1840–1930
 | work = Quebec History
 | publisher = Marianapolis College CEGEP
 | url = http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/QuebecHistory/readings/leaving.htm
 | date = 2000-08-23
 | access-date = 5 May 2008
 | archive-date = November 4, 2021
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211104101144/http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/QuebecHistory/readings/leaving.htm
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref> 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 [[Louis IX of France|St. Louis]] throughout New England is indicative of the French immigration to the area. They came to identify as [[French American|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, but 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.<ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = Veltman
 | first1 = Calvin
 | last2 = Lacroix
 | first2 = Benoît
 | title = L'Avenir du français aux États-Unis
 | publisher = Service des communications
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Xlp0AAAAMAAJ
 | date = 1987
 | isbn = 9782551088720
 | access-date = 1 May 2018
 | archive-date = December 17, 2023
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231217232709/https://books.google.com/books?id=Xlp0AAAAMAAJ
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>

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 [[habitants|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 Creole people|Louisiana Creoles]] (who speak [[Colonial French]])
* [[Cajuns]]