Social Studies 5: Ways of Life: New France, Fur Traders, NWMP, United Empire Loyalists

Learn all about beaver hats and how this men's fashion impacted the colonization of Canada.

Learn about the history of Black people working in the Canadian fur trade in this interesting article!

Who were the Coureurs des bois? What did they do? And why do they have a French name? Learn all about them in this encyclopedia article.

The great canoes of Canada's fur trade era opened up our nation's frontiers. Learn about the canoes, the fur trade, and the voyageurs.

Learn how the Hudson Bay Company used fur as a form of currency in the early days of the colonization of Canada.

This edition of Kayaklink opens in new window shares some amazing stories and examples of how the fur trade worked, who kept it going, and the impact it left behind.

All the students will play the roles of Ojibwe people and also French Voyageurs meeting to have a Rendezvous complete with simulated canoe arrival, French and Ojibwe songs, language exchange, trading of trade goods and pelts.

In this lesson, students will learn about life as a voyageur’s family during the Fur Trade and then will play the Fur Trade Game where they collect “furs” to trade for items from a “trading post.”

A unique presentation of primary and secondary resources found in the collections of Canada's National History Society, HBCA - Archives of Manitoba, The Manitoba Museum, Parks Canada and several First Nations communities.

Move along the timeline to discover images and comments about the history of the Hudson's Bay Company. Watch for blue highlighted links to additional information.

This is a video (2:50 min.) with a Métis spokesperson explaining why the beaver was so important to the development of Canada.

Experience life as a voyageur in the fur trade. Travel to each fur trading post to exchange your goods for beaver pelts! Supporting files are in French and English.

Enjoy this National Film Board video (19 minutes) that shows the lives of the Voyageurs who paddled Canadian rivers. There are four additional videos just below the main video.

An article by Alberta Senator Paula Simons that tells the story of Joseph Lewis, a Black voyageur in early Canada, who settled in Alberta before moving to the Red River Colony.

Explore a virtual village in Quebec in the late 19th/early 20th Century. Click on a building to see how its inhabitants work and live.

Learn all about the fur trade, the voyageurs and "Les Coureurs des Bois" through text and drawings.

This site has information about everyday life in New France. The site includes New France ABC (with historical artifacts that show how they lived), as well as information about the "filles du roi", First Nations peoples in New France, and pictures of Quebec.

A teacher's resource page from the Canadian Museum of History that includes collection of digitized museum artifacts, archival documents, video clips, audio clips, and activity suggestions for your class.

This site tells the story of the arrival of the North-West Mounted Police in western Canada and the impact they had.

This website explores the history of the North West Mounted Police in Canada's Yukon Territory. This site contains over 600 historical photos, many taken by Mounted Police members.

This site tells the story of the North-West Mounted Police and their role in Canadian history.

A playlist of full episodes of the "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" television show.