1497 — John Cabot draws the first map of Canada's east coast.
1534 — Jacques Cartier claims the land for France. The name Canada comes from 'kanata', an Iroquoian word for village.
1604 — The first European settlement north of Florida is founded, moving to Port-Royal the following year.
1608 — Samuel de Champlain founds Quebec City.
1670 — The Hudson's Bay Company is granted trading rights over the lands draining into Hudson Bay.
1759 — The Battle of the Plains of Abraham decides the fate of New France.
1763 — The Treaty of Paris ends the war and the Royal Proclamation recognizes Aboriginal land rights.
1774 — The Quebec Act allows French civil law and religious freedom for Catholics.
1776 onward — Loyalists move north from the American colonies.
1791 — The Constitutional Act divides the Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada.
1812-14 — The American invasion fails, keeping Canada independent of the United States. Laura Secord walks 30 km to warn of an attack.
1848 — Nova Scotia becomes the first colony with responsible government.
July 1, 1867 — Confederation creates the Dominion of Canada from Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Sir John A. Macdonald is the first Prime Minister.
1885 — The Canadian Pacific Railway is completed, linking east and west.
1914-18 — More than 600,000 Canadians serve in the First World War and about 60,000 die. Canadians take Vimy Ridge in April 1917.
1939-45 — More than a million Canadians serve in the Second World War and about 44,000 die. Canadians land at Juno Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
1982 — The Constitution is patriated, giving Canada full independence from Britain.