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French Canadians (also referred to as Franco-Canadians or Canadiens; (フランス語:Canadien(ne)s français(es))) are a major North American ethnic group who trace their French ancestry from the descendants of colonists who arrived in New France (Canada) from the 16th century onward. Today, French Canadians constitute the main French-speaking population of Canada, accounting for about 22% of the total population of that country. During the mid-18th century, Canadian colonists born in French Canada expanded across North America and colonized various regions, cities, and towns. Today, French Canadians live across North America, including the United States and Canada. The province of Quebec has the largest population of French-Canadian descent, though smaller communities exist throughout Canada and in the United States (particularly New England). Between 1840 and 1930, roughly 900,000 French Canadians emigrated to the United States, mostly to the New England region. Other terms for French Canadians that continue to reside in the province of Quebec, are ''Quebecers'' or ''Québécois''. The other major group of French Canadians are the Acadians (''Acadiens'') who reside in the Maritime Provinces. French Canadians (including those who are no longer French-speaking) constitute the second largest ethnic group in Canada, behind the English Canadians, and ahead of Scottish Canadians and Irish Canadians, although it must be noted that essentially those in Canada of French ancestry are the largest group, due to the divide between those identifying as French Canadians and those simply identifying as French. In total, those who identify as French Canadian, French, Quebecois and Acadian number up to 11.9 million people or comprising 33.78% of the Canadian population. ==Etymology== The French Canadians get their name from ''Canada'', the most developed and densely populated region of New France during the period of French colonization in the 17th and 18th century. The original use of the term ''Canada'' referred to the land area along the St. Lawrence River, divided in three districts (Québec, Trois-Rivières, and Montréal), as well as to the ''Pays d'en Haut'' (Upper Countries), a vast and thinly settled territorial dependence north and west of Montreal which covered the whole of the Great Lakes area. From 1535 to the 1690s, the French word ''Canadien'' had referred to the First Nations the French had encountered in the St. Lawrence River valley at Stadacona and Hochelaga.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Gervais Carpin, Histoire d'un mot )〕 At the end of the 17th century, ''Canadien'' became an ethnonym distinguishing the inhabitants of Canada from those of France. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「French Canadian」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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