French-Canadians is a term used when describing the families that speak French and live mostly in Quebec, Canada. Settling in this area long before the French and Indian War, the French began their settlements in the early 1600's. They were Roman Catholic, and had a distinct culture from their Protestant southern neighbors settling what would be called New England at the same time. These French-Canadians settled modern day Montreal and Quebec City, along with many other municipalities in the hundreds of miles in Eastern Canada and along the St. Lawrence River. They were farmers, priests, traders and voyageurs. Their biggest influence in the United States came when large numbers of French Canadians immigrated to work in the mills of New England in the era of 1870-1920.

Moogk, Peter N. La Nouvelle France: The Making of French Canada: a Cultural History. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2000.