What does it mean when someone says they are french canadian ?

Question

Ok it may seem like a dumb question but I thought there might be indian blood some where in the mix.

Answer 1

They are called "Canucks" which means "French Canadian"

Canuck" is a slang term for "Canadian" in American English and Canadian English.

The term was coined in the 19th century, although its etymology is unclear. Possibilities include:

kanata1 "village" (See Canada)
Canada + -uc (Algonquian noun suffix)
Canada + -inuk (Inuit for "man")
Connaught, an obscure term for Irish-French-Canadians.
The Random House Dictionary notes that: "The term Canuck is first recorded about 1835 as an Americanism, originally referring specifically to a French Canadian. This was probably the original meaning, though in Canada and other countries, Canuck now more often refers to any Canadian." [1]

The use of "Canuck" by Canadians themselves is usually affectionate or patriotic. Prominent examples of such use:

The Vancouver Canucks hockey team
The Crazy Canucks, a group of Canadian alpine ski racers who dominated the World Cup circuit in the '70s.
Johnny Canuck, a personification of Canada who appeared in early political cartoons of the 1860s resisting Uncle Sam's bullying. Johnny Canuck was revived in 1942 by Leo Bachle to defend Canada against the Nazis.
In 1975 in comics by Richard Comely, Captain Canuck is a super-agent for Canadians' security, with Redcoat and Kebec being his sidekicks. (Kebec is claimed to be unrelated to Capitaine Kébec of a French-Canadian comic published two years earlier.) Captain Canuck had enhanced strength and endurance thanks to being bathed in alien rays during a camping trip. The captain was reintroduced in the mid-1990s, and again in 2004.
Operation Canuck was the designated name of a British SAS raid led by a Canadian captain, Buck McDonald in January 1945.
"The Dark Canuck" is a song on The Tragically Hip's album In Violet Light.
In 1995, Canada Post released 45-cent postage stamps depicting Johnny Canuck and Captain Canuck.

"Canuck" is a nickname for the Curtiss JN4 and Avro CF-100 aircraft.

The use of "Canuck" parallels that of some other potentially offensive nicknames, that is, when used by the people it names — Canadians in this case — it is usually acceptable. But when used by an outsider — in this case particularly American strangers — it can be easily misinterpreted and deemed as insulting one's heritage. Although it is not as severe as most ethnic slurs, some consider it one.[citation needed]

One of the first uses of "Canuck" — in the form of "Kanuk" — specifically referred to Dutch Canadians as well as the French.

"Canuck" also has the rare derived meanings of a Canadian pony and a French-Canadian patois2 (very rare).

A Canuck Avenue exists in Toronto.

Team Canuck is a small-sized team at RoboCup.


I hope this is the answer that you're looking for.

Answer 2

I think you're probably looking for "deeper" answer here, but to me (and I'm from Eastern Canada) it just means someone who is from a French-speaking part of Canada such as anywhere in the province of Quebec or parts of New Brunswick.

Answer 3

I believe it means they (or their ancestors) are from French-speaking Canada--Quebec Province for example. The vast majority of the country speaks English and still pays homage to the British throne, though they are not under direct British rule or control. Hope that helps.

Answer 4

It means they are from French provinces of Canada. Quebec and Montreal.. The majority of people there are french speaking, so they are called french Canadians.

Well Montreal is a French city not province..

Answer 5

Usually they are from the province of Quebec, in Canada. And French is their first language. In Canada, we are bilingual and everything is in English/french, all packaging on any product, etc. Its annoying really.

Answer 6

They are from Quebec Province or their people are. That's where most of the French settled in Canada.

Answer 7

some provinces in Canada are french, like Quebec, Montreal, and i am sure there are some others. so, some Canadians are french, and some are english

Answer 8

some frech immigrants went over to canada, and some people just moved there from america, so the french ones, who are legally citizens of canada, are considered French-Canadian

Answer 9

That they were born in the French sections of Canada, like Quebec or something. :D

Answer 10

I think that there are a lot of people from France that went to Canada back in the day. So maybe they have family roots from both places