The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland once ruled Canada. Canada is an independant nation but is part of the British Commonwealth. France also ruled over a large part of what became Canada. They settled the East Coast and Quebec and remained until the 7 Years War when the French lost on the Plains of Abraham to the British. If you stretch history back, you could also say the Vikings settled small parts of Canada with their early settlements in Vineland. But this occurred before the word Canada was created. Before European contact, each area of Canada was controlled by distinct First Nations tribes. There were 6 groups that controlled Canada: Woodland First Nations, Iroquoian First Nations, Plains First Nations, Plateau First Nations, Pacific Coast First Nations and the First Nations of the Mackenzie and Yukon River Basins.