This List of place names in Canada of aboriginal origin contains Canadian places whose names originate from the words of the First Nations, Métis, or Inuit. When possible the original word or phrase used by the aboriginals is included, along with its generally believed meaning.

The name of Canada itself is believed to have originated from a Huron-Iroquoian word, Kanata meaning "village" or "settlement" or "collection of huts" [1], referring to Stadacona, a settlement on the site of present-day Quebec City.

Provinces & Territories

• Saskatchewan: Derived from the Cree name for the Saskatchewan River, Kisiskatchewani Sipi, meaning "swift flowing river".
• Manitoba: Either derived from the Cree word maniot-wapow meaning "the straight of the spirit or manitobau" or the Assiniboine words mini and tobow meaning "Lake of the Prairie", referring to Lake Manitoba.
• Nunavut: "Our land" in Inuktitut.
• Ontario: Derived from the Huron word onitariio meaning "beautiful lake", or kanadario meaning "sparkling" or "beautiful" water.
• Quebec: Derived from the Algonquin word kebek which means "narrow passage" or "strait".
• Yukon: "Great river" from the word LoYu-kun-ah of the Gwich'in.

Alberta

• Medicine Hat: Translation of the Blackfoot word saamis, meaning "headdress of a medicine man".
• Wetaskiwin: "Place of peace" or "hill of peace" in Cree.

British Columbia

• Bella Coola: The town is named after an old ethnography term for the Nuxalk people native to the area.
• Chemainus: Named after the native shaman and prophet Tsa-meeun-is ("Broken Chest").
• Chilliwack: "Going back up" in Salish.
• Coquitlam: "Small red salmon" in Salish. Derived from the Salish tribal name Kawayquitlam.
• Esquimalt: Salish for "the place of gradually shoaling water". Derived from their word Es-whoy-malth.
• Kamloops: English translation of Shuswap word Tk'emlups, meaning "where the rivers meet".
• Kelowna: "Grizzly bear" in Salish.
• Metchosin: English translation of Smets-Schosen, meaning "place of stinking fish".
• Nanaimo: Named after the Snuneymuxw people.
• Osoyoos: "Narrowing of the waters".
• Penticton: "Place to stay forever" in Salish.
• Qualicum: "Where the dog salmon run" in Coast Salish.
• Skookumchuck: "Large current" in Chinook jargon.
• Squamish: The town is named after the First Nations people who lived there before European contact.
• Tsawwassen: "Looking toward the sea" in Coast Salish.
• Ucluelet: "Safe harbour" in the language of the Nuu-chah-nulth.

Manitoba

• Grand Rapids : Translation of Cree word misepawistik, meaning "rushing rapids".
• Winnipeg: "Dirty water" or "murky water" from the word win-nipi of the Cree.

New Brunswick

• Kouchibougouac : "Island of the long dunes" in Mi'kmaq.

Northwest Territories

• Inuvik: "The place of man" in Inuktitut.

Nunavut

• Iqaluit: "Place of fish" in Inuktitut.

Ontario

• Algonquin Park
• Brantford: Named after Joseph Brant, a Mohawk leader.
• Etobicoke: "The place where the alders grow" from the word wah-do-be-kaung in Ojibway.
• Oshawa: "Crossing of a stream" in Seneca.
• Ottawa: "To trade" from the word adawe in Algonquin.
• Temagami: "Deep waters" from the word timiigama of the Anishinabe.
• Toronto

Quebec

• Chicoutimi: "End of the deep water" in Montagnais.

Saskatchewan

• Saskatoon: Derived from the Cree word mis-sask-guah-too-min, describing an edible red berry native to the area.

References

• Central Quebec School Board
• Indian and Northern Affairs Canada