Article content

Founded by a French Canadian who wandered just a little too far south, the Minnesota town of Little Canada was born in 1844 – a full two decades before Confederation. It was called “New Canada” then, when Benjamin Gervais decided to settle the area, now a suburb of St. Paul. The town of 10,000 still proudly displays a red maple leaf and a fleur de lis as its symbol. The Post’s Jen Gerson spoke Tuesday to Little Canada town councillor Michael McGraw:

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or There's a 'little' slice of Canada nestled deep in Minnesota Back to video

Q: I think that a lot of Canadians don’t know that Little Canada exists. Do you like being called Little Canada?

A: Yeah, the town has been around since 1844 and it’s always had that name. Our sister city is Thunder Bay, Ont., and they come down every year for our celebrations and we send people for Canadian Days, or Canada Day. Canada Day, right? Your independence day, on July 1.

Q: How did it come to be named Little Canada?

A: The whole area was settled, originally, by the fur trade. It would have probably been through the Hudson’s Bay Company, I guess. We’ve been called Little Canada forever. To be honest with you, I don’t think people think about the name very much, or why we’re named Little Canada or anything. We’re Little Canada and that’s where I live and I think our citizens are very proud of the city.