Brief history: The word Canada comes from the Huron-Iroquois language, which means "village, small house or shack". 1435, the French explorer Cartier came here and asked the Indians the name of this place. The chief replied "Canada", which means a nearby village. Cartier was mistaken for the whole region and was called Canada from now on. Another way of saying it is, 1500, Portuguese explorer Coltrell came here, saw the desolation here and said Canada! There is nothing here. Indians and Inuit (Eskimos) were the earliest inhabitants of Canada. From16th century, Canada became a colony of France and Britain. 1756- 1763, the "Seven-Year War" broke out in Canada, and France was defeated and ceded its colony to Britain. 1848, the British North American colony established an autonomous government. 1 July, 8671day, the British Parliament passed the British North America Act, which merged Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia into a federation and became the earliest dominion in Britain, known as the dominion of Canada. From 1870 to 1949, other provinces joined the federation. 1926, Britain recognized Canada's "equal status" and Canada gained diplomatic independence. 193 1 year, Canada became a member of the Commonwealth, and its parliament gained equal legislative power with the British parliament. 1967, the Quebec Party raised the issue of Quebec independence, and 1976 won the provincial election. 1980, Quebec held a referendum on independence, with many opponents, but the problem was not finally solved. 1982 In March, the British House of Lords and House of Commons passed the Canadian Constitution Act, which came into effect in April after being approved by the Queen. Since then, Canada has gained full power to legislate and amend the constitution.