What is now Canada and the United States was once ruled at various times times by Britain, France and Spain.

In the early 18th century all land in what is now the United States above the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers were British Colonies, including all of the Great Lakes and all of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and half of Minnesota, taken from France. It was all ceded to the US by the Treaty of Paris 1783
at the end of the war of Independence declared July 4th. 1776, and by which Great Britain recognized their former thirteen colonies as the United States of America. Great Britain also acquired Florida from Spain.

Map of the United States in 1800

In 1803 (April 30) France, ruled by Emperor Napoleon I, settled a dispute with the United States that was leading to war over land it held, by agreeing to the sale of 800,000 square miles (Louisiana Purchase) consisting of what became Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota west of the Mississippi River, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, nearly all of Kansas, portions of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains, and Louisiana west of the Mississippi but including New Orleans.

The United States declared War against Canada in 1812, a war it lost. War of 1812

At the same time Polk had also been elected favouring admission of the Republic of Texas, which was quickly accepted December 29, 1845.

The Republic of Texas consisted of what became Texas, Colorado, the eastern half of New Mexico, south western Kansas and portions of Wyoming and Oklahoma. All but Texas was bought from the Republic by the USA following the 1848 Treaty of Guadaupe Hadalgo which ended the Mexican War declared by the US May 13, 1846 against Mexico/Spain following skirmishes beginning in 1812 over the boundary. California and New Mexico were also ceded by Mexico to the US.

• April 11, 1713 The Treaty of Utrecht whereby New France ceded Hudson Bay, Newfoundland,
  New Brunswick and mainland Nova Scotia to Great Britian.
• 1763 Treaty of Paris France ceded all of New France (Canada) to Great Britain including Cape Breton Island part of Nova Scotia. It kept St.Pierre and Miquelon islands for its fishing fleets.
• 1784-1820 Cape Breton was a separate colony. Became part of Nova Scotia again.
• August 16, 1784 New Brunswick colony formed; had been part of Nova Scotia.
• June 19, 1791 (Constitution Act, Great Britain) Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec) formed, with the Ottawa River as boundary between.
• June 18, 1812 United States declares war against Canada. America lost the War of 1812.
• December 24, 1814 Treaty of Ghent (Belgium) returns captured territory (including parts of Maine and Michigan) to America.
• February 10, 1841 Britain merged Upper and Lower Canada into one colony, the Province of Canada, with two sections, Canada West and Canada East.
• August 9, 1842 Webster-Ashburton Treaty settles border dispute, much land lost including the tip of Maine added to America.
• June 15, 1846 Oregon Treaty setting the 49th parallel as the boundary in the west between Canada and the U.S. (Oregon Territory once consisted of present day Washington State, Oregon State and parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming).
• August 2, 1858 Queen Victoria declared and named British Columbia as a Crown Colony.
• November 19, 1866 colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island combined into one named
  British Columbia. V.I. was a separate colony from 1849.
• July 1, 1867 Confederation, joining the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to form
  the Dominion of Canada. Fathers of Confederation.
• October 18, 1867 Alaska bought by USA from Russia. Territory 1912. State 1959.
• June 22, 1869 Canada buys Rupert's Land from Hudson's Bay Company.
  
• July 15, 1870 Manitoba and the Northwest Territories joined Confederation.
• July 20, 1871 British Columbia joined Confederation with the agreement that it would be connected to the rest of Canada by a railway within 10 years.
• July 1, 1873 Prince Edward Island joins Confederation.
• June 13, 1898 Yukon Territory joins Confederation.
• September 1, 1905 Alberta and Saskatchewan created from Districts of Alberta, Assiniboia, Athabaska, and Saskatchewan and parts of the Northwest Territories.
• March 31, 1949 Newfoundland joins Confederation.
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