John Clark; age 10, of Louisville, Icy., for his question:

Vera Sobschak, age 13' of St, Atharness Ontario or her question:

Who first got control of Canada?

There is a difference between claiming a country and actually getting control of it. The Vikings visited Canada 1003 years ago and no doubt claimed the whole land for Eric the Red of Greenland. In.1497 John Cabot landed on Cape Breton Island and claimed all of Canada, which he believed to be China, for Henry VII of England.

In the next 300 years, France, Spain and Portugal challenged Britain and each other for control of Canada. As explorers pushed westward, the world was amazed at the size of the new country. Canada is the third largest country in the world. No one could control it until all of it had been discovered.

Early in the 17th Century, the French were busy in the east. They controlled and developed Quebec and regions around the Great Lakes. Then in 1763' all of Canada was ceded to their British rivals. Explorers pushed west and more and more of the vast country same under British control: ‑

Then on July l, 180'7 the Dominion of Canada was created. The entire country at last came under the control of its rightful owners, the Canadians.