French Canadian (Québécois) DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Canada (Quebec) · Americas
Most of Quebec's French-speaking population traces its roots to a fairly small number of settlers who came to New France between the founding of Quebec City in 1608 and the British conquest of 1763, many of them from Normandy, Perche, Poitou and the Paris region. That founder history is one of the best documented in genetics, thanks to Quebec's exceptional parish records. In our model, the Québécois average is 47.8% Anatolian Neolithic farmer, 40.4% steppe and 11.8% Western hunter-gatherer, almost identical to our French average (48.7%, 39.7% and 11.7%), but the fit is looser (0.0424 against 0.0311), the kind of drift a founder population builds up. The closest modern averages are French-speaking groups: Walloons (0.015), samples from the Yonne in Burgundy and from Nord, Arpitans of the Rhône and the Acadians. The closest ancient groups are Iron Age people with a Hallstatt Celtic profile from Campiglia dei Foci in Tuscany (0.0162) and from Grand Est in France.
- Ancient components in our model: Anatolian Neolithic farmers 47.8%, Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 40.4%, Western hunter-gatherers 11.8%
- Closest modern population in our data: Walloon, distance 0.0150
- Closest ancient group in our data: Italy Tuscany IA Etruscan Campiglia dei Foci (Hallstatt Celtic Profile), distance 0.0162
Where does French Canadian (Québécois) DNA sit on the genetic map of the world? To answer, we take the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the French Canadian (Québécois) individuals sampled in Canada (Quebec), listed in the G25 sheet as "French-Canadian_Quebec_(Quebecois)" and compare them with deep ancestral reference populations, with other modern groups and with ancient genomes. It is one of 335 populations in our atlas.
Ancient make-up of the French Canadian (Québécois) average
The ancient make-up of the French Canadian (Québécois) average is led by Anatolian Neolithic farmers (47.8%), followed by Steppe herders (Yamnaya) (40.4%) and Western hunter-gatherers (11.8%). The Anatolian Neolithic farmers component reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC. The Steppe herders (Yamnaya) share (40.4%) reflects the Bronze Age herders of the Pontic-Caspian steppe (Yamnaya and related groups), whose ancestry spread across Europe and into Asia from about 3000 BC.
The fit is loose (fit distance 0.042), which usually means that none of the available reference populations is a close stand-in for part of this ancestry, so read the percentages as rough. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
El Gringo – North American Bloodline
Closest modern populations to French Canadian (Québécois)
Genetically, the French Canadian (Québécois) average sits nearest to Walloon at 0.015, French Oïl (Bourgogne-Franche-Comte Yonne) at 0.015 and French Arpitan (Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Rhone) at 0.018. On our scale, a distance of 0.015 counts as very close. Even the tenth closest, French, is only 0.022 away: French Canadian (Québécois) belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walloon | 0.0150 | Very close |
| 2 | French Oïl (Bourgogne-Franche-Comte Yonne) | 0.0154 | Very close |
| 3 | French Arpitan (Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Rhone) | 0.0182 | Very close |
| 4 | French Oïl (Hauts-de-France Nord) | 0.0184 | Very close |
| 5 | Acadian | 0.0193 | Very close |
| 6 | Belgian (group C) | 0.0200 | Very close |
| 7 | Alsatian | 0.0207 | Very close |
| 8 | Swiss German | 0.0214 | Very close |
| 9 | Belgian | 0.0224 | Very close |
| 10 | French | 0.0224 | Very close |
Distances are Euclidean distances between averaged G25 coordinates. On our scale, below 0.025 is very close, below 0.050 close, below 0.080 moderate, and beyond that distant.
Closest ancient populations to French Canadian (Québécois)
If we search ancient DNA for the best match to French Canadian (Québécois), Italy Tuscany IA Etruscan Campiglia dei Foci (Hallstatt Celtic Profile) (Iron Age) comes first, at 0.016, with Denmark Early Medieval Viking Age Langeland (Western Euro Profile) next. That is a very close match, which suggests strong genetic continuity between those ancient people (or close relatives of theirs) and the modern population. A close ancient match is not proof of direct descent: it means those individuals carried a similar overall mix of ancestry.
| # | Ancient sample or group | Period | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy Tuscany IA Etruscan Campiglia dei Foci (Hallstatt Celtic Profile) | Iron Age | 0.0162 |
| 2 | Denmark Early Medieval Viking Age Langeland (Western Euro Profile) | Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD | 0.0175 |
| 3 | France IA1 Hallstatt D-Early La Tene Grand Est | Iron Age | 0.0188 |
| 4 | France IA2 La Tene Hauts-de-France (Intermediate Profile) | Iron Age | 0.0197 |
| 5 | Switzerland LIA La Tene-Roman Empire Cornaux | Roman era, c. 1-400 AD | 0.0200 |
| 6 | France IA1 Hallstatt C-Early La Tene Bourgogne-Franche-Comte | Copper Age (Chalcolithic) | 0.0219 |
| 7 | Slovakia LIA La Tene | Late Iron Age | 0.0220 |
| 8 | Hungary High Medieval Arpadian Period Early (Western Euro Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0221 |
| 9 | Belgium High Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0222 |
| 10 | Belgium Early Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0224 |
Ancient DNA from Canada
Our ancient DNA database holds 103 individuals excavated in present-day Canada, dated from about 5,764 BC to 1825 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are Q1a (5), Q1b (2) and A0 (1), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are A2 (26), C1 (21) and C4 (15). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's French Canadian (Québécois) population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on Canada
- Ancient DNA from the Toronto subway deer adds to the extinction list of North America's Ice Age megafauna (2025)
- Ancient human parallel lineages within North America contributed to a coastal expansion (2018)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 103 from Canada.
Compare yourself with French Canadian (Québécois)
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the French Canadian (Québécois) average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers French Canadian (Québécois) and its neighbours. To find out which of our reports actually fits your DNA, run the free Report Finder: it runs the same fit test that every report uses before an order.
No G25 coordinates yet? Get a free simulated G25 from your raw DNA file, or order G25 coordinates.
About these numbers
A word of caution: these figures describe the average of the French Canadian (Québécois) individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as French Canadian (Québécois). Individuals vary around that average, and identity is about history, language and family, not about a genetic score. Read this page as a map of deep ancestry, not as a definition.
Method: averaged G25 coordinates, Euclidean distances to other modern and ancient averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations (data generated 2026-10-01). Read the full method.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the French Canadian (Québécois) average. Your own DNA has its own story: El Gringo – North American Bloodline (15€) models your genome against the ancient sources and modern communities of the region, era by era, in a personal PDF report.
A report built only for the USA & Canada: pick your country and we model your DNA against the Native American peoples plus the British, French (Huguenot, Acadian, Cajun, Quebecois), German, Scandinavian, Italian, Eastern-European, Ashkenazi...
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Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of French Canadian (Québécois)?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the French Canadian (Québécois) average is about 47.8% Anatolian Neolithic farmers, 40.4% Steppe herders (Yamnaya) and 11.8% Western hunter-gatherers. These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to French Canadian (Québécois)?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the French Canadian (Québécois) average are Walloon, French Oïl (Bourgogne-Franche-Comte Yonne) and French Arpitan (Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Rhone). The closest ancient matches are Italy Tuscany IA Etruscan Campiglia dei Foci (Hallstatt Celtic Profile), Denmark Early Medieval Viking Age Langeland (Western Euro Profile) and France IA1 Hallstatt D-Early La Tene Grand Est.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am French Canadian (Québécois)?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled French Canadian (Québécois) average and to its neighbours. If you have G25 coordinates, paste them in the comparison box on this page to check that for free.
Which ExploreYourDNA report suits French Canadian (Québécois) ancestry?
El Gringo – North American Bloodline is the report built for this heritage, and its reference panel fits the French Canadian (Québécois) average closely. Your own DNA may differ from the average, so the free Report Finder checks every report against your file before you buy.
Where does the data on this page come from?
From the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the sampled individuals: genetic distances to other modern and ancient population averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations. The full method is described at https://www.exploreyourdna.com/populations#method.