Daniel Towe, aged 11,  Victoria, British Columbia, for his question

Who really discovered Canada?

The first human beings to beheld Canada came from Asia. Chances are, they came over the northwest Bering Strait and through Alaska. We call them Indians because Columbus so named them. Thinking he had reached India when he discovered the West Indies, he naturally supposed the people here to be Indians. We do not know exactly then our Indians found Canada. But it was certainly many, many thousands of years ago,

There is sound evidence that the bold Vikings had an early look at Canada. Norse sagas describe a coast visited by Leif Ericson about a thousand years ago. The description fits Nova. Scotia. These hardy sailors‑ ire thought to have made many tripe westward from Greenland and Iceland.

In 1931, the relics of one of their excursions were unearthed north of Lake Superior, An ax, a sword and a shield were found buried there. Experts say the weapons belong to a Viking. He may have died and been buried there over 1000 years ago. His party may have sailed from Greenland and taken an old Indian trail overland,

The Vikings may have paid many visits 00 Canada through some 300 years of voyaging. But they never settled in the New World. And we are not too certain of when they came and went, The first accurately dated visits to Canada from the Old World begin in 1497 ‑just five years after the famous first voyage of Columbus. Henry VII of England was hoping for a short sea route to India. In his service was John Cabot, a great navigator from Italy.

John Cabot, and his son Sebastian, found what is now called Cape Breton Island. They called it Baccalaos ‑ which means codfish. This was because codfish were so plentiful, thereabouts. Bears, the Cabots reported, could scoop them out of the water with their paws.

Reports of the vast country which is Canada soon began circulating around Europe. Kings and countries planned and plotted to gain control of it. Francis of France stint Giovanni DaVerrazano. In 1524, he claimed the St. Lawrence area for his king and named it New France, In 1535 Jacques Cartier sailed as far as a steep hill which he named Mount Royal‑Montreal, Settlers and missions followed the French explorers.

Meanwhile, England was busy in the northern territories. The English were interested in exploring, charting the land and fur trading, They were still hoping for a northwest sea route to India. Henry Hudson sailed into his bay in 1610, Then followed a number of firsts in exploring the New World, In 1771, Samuel Hearne was the first to reach the Arctic; Ocean by overland route. In 17&9, Alexander Mackenzie was the first to cross the whole continent, And soon after George Vancouver was the first to chart the scenic beauty of the vast northwest,