The origin of the name Canada and the ethnonim Canadian is almost lost in time. We know that the very first Canadians were an Iroquoian speaking people that lived somewhere between Quebec City and the L'Isle-aux-Coudres (that's in the St.Lawrence estuary).

Jacques Cartier recorded this name in 1535. The second occurrence of this name "Canada" and "Canadians" occurs in the bay of chaleur, that happens around 1600-1630, by this time the name has changed its meaning and it designates a people who sailed in "txalupas", who spoke a little bit of Basque, who spoke some French and who were on very close terms with the Basque whalers who were established at Miscou. These Canadians as he recalled sang Christian songs in their own languages and were excellent navigators. These Canadians were also able to be intermediaries between the Basque whalers and the French colonists. In 1628 when Quebec City was burnt down by English pirates, the refugees were taken by these Canadians to Miscou and from there they were put onto Basque ships and taken back to France. The chief of this group of Canadians was named "Juantxu" which is a name that sounds very Basque. "Juantxu" in the Mi'kmaq language can also mean… It sounds like a name that means Frenchman but any Basque will tell you that "Juantxu" is a very typical Basque name.

These people in the bay of chaleur may have been the ancestors of the same Mi'kmaq that up until the 20th century still conserved a lot of Basque in their native Mi'kmaq language. They spoke a kind of a pidgin Basque and Mi'kmaq that survived into the 20th century.