By 1745, Britain and France are the two dominant powers on the east coast of North America. As part of the Seven Years War (one of the first true world wars), in September 1759, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham is fought between the British army of General Wolfe and the French army under General Montcalm. By European standards, where armies usually numbered 100,000 men, the armies commanded by Wolfe and Montcalm are very small, only about 5000-6000 men each. The French lose the battle and Quebec City, but both generals are killed. The French try to retake Quebec City in 1760, but fail. The British keep the French colony, what becomes the core territory of the modern nation of Canada, but the French keep their colony of Louisiana along the Mississippi River.

After the American Revolution, tens of thousands of Loyalists resettle in Canada. The Loyalists were families who had supported King George III against the American rebels. The Loyalists were not just English, but included all the different ethnic groups that had lived in what is now called the United States: Dutch, Germans, Hungarians, Serbs, Irish and Scottish. There were also several thousand Africans, (most still slaves). The Six Nations, who had remained allied to Britain, were given a large tract of land to live on along the Grand River by their former enemies, the Mississauga.

The War of 1812 is fought between the United States of America and Great Britain between 1812 and 1815. Famous battles were fought at Detroit, Washington, York (Toronto), Queenston Heights, Chippewa, Chateauguay, Beaver Dam, Stoney Creek, Moraviantown, Crysler's Farm and Lundy's Lane.