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Name Origin

The name "Canada" is believed to have originated from a Huron-Iroquoian word, Kanata meaning "village" or "settlement" or "collection of huts" , referring to Stadacona, a settlement on the site of present-day Quebec City. Maps made by early European explorers show that the name River Canada was given to the Ottawa River, and the Saint Lawrence River below Montreal. A plausible hypothesis is that the river was named for the village on its banks, and the surrounding country for the river used to explore it.

An apocryphal explanation of the origin of the name is that Spanish cartographers, reflecting the fact that Spaniards had not explored the northern part of the continent, wrote ‘Aca nada’ on that part of their maps. This is translated as ‘Here, nothing’.

Selection of the name 'Canada'

At the conferences held in London to determine the form of confederation that would unite the Province of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec), the Province of New Brunswick and the Province of Nova Scotia, a delegate from either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick proposed the name ‘Canada’ in February 1867, and it was unanimously accepted by the other delegates. There appears to have been little discussion. (1)

Adoption of 'Dominion'/'Dominion of Canada'

During the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 to discuss political union, Sir John A. Macdonald, who later became Canada's first prime minister, talked of 'founding a great British monarchy, in connection with the British Empire.' Officials at the Colonial Office in London, however, opposed this potentially 'premature' and 'pretentious' reference for a new country.

Ultimately, the term Dominion was chosen to indicate Canada's status as a self-governing colony of the British Empire (the first time it would be so used in reference to a country) while still acknowledging political ties. In addition, Dominion was considered preferable to "Kingdom" to avoid antagonizing anti-monarchist sentiments in the United States.

This was formalised in 1867 through Canadian Confederation: the British North America Act (Section 3) created "one Dominion under the Name of Canada," or "qu'une seule et même Puissance sous le nom de Canada" in French.

The term "dominion," as well as Canada's motto, are commonly attributed to Psalms 72:8 and Zechariah 9:10 of the Bible: "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth."

Usage of 'Canada'

Until the 1960s, the term Dominion of Canada was commonly used to identify the country. As Canada increasingly acquired political authority and autonomy from the United Kingdom, the federal government increasingly began using the name Canada on official state documents and treaties. The Canada Act 1982 refers merely to Canada and, as such, is the current official shortform (as well as bilingual) name in use. This was also reflected later in 1982 with the renaming of the national holiday from Dominion Day to Canada Day.

Canada is also the official longform name most commonly used. Some contend, however, that usage of the term Dominion of Canada is still proper and is the country's 'official' longform name. While the Canada Act 1982 does not use the term Dominion, neither does it amend the earlier usage. In any event, the Dominion of Canada or Dominion are still rarely used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces.

Other proposed names

While the provinces' delegates spent little time, if any, in settling on 'Canada' as the name for the new country, others proposed a variety of other names.

• Albion
• Albionoria - "Albion of the north"
• Borealia – from 'borealis', the Latin word for 'northern'; compare with Australia
• Cabotia – in honour of Italian explorer John Cabot, who explored the eastern coast of Canada for England
• Colonia
• Efisga - an acronym of "English, French, Irish, Scottish, German, Aboriginal"
• Hochelaga – an old name for Montreal
• Mesopelagia - "land between the seas"
• Norland
• Superior
• Tuponia - derived from 'The United Provinces of North America'
• Ursalia - "place of bears"
• Vesperia - "land of the evening star"
• Victorialand – in honour of Queen Victoria

Walter Bagehot of The Economist newspaper in London argued that the new nation should be called 'Northland' or 'Anglia' instead of Canada. (2)

On these names, the statesman Thomas D'Arcy McGee commented, "Now I would ask any honourable member of the House how he would feel if he woke up some fine morning and found himself, instead of a Canadian, a Tuponian or a Hochelagander?"

Sources

(1) Donald Crieghton, The Road to Confederation, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1956, p. 421 (2) Christopher Moore: 1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal, McClelland and Stewart, Toronto, 1997, p. 214