Cardinal (name)

Cardinal is one of the most common surnames among aboriginal people in Canada (primarily Cree and Métis). It originated as a French name and came to New France and was part of the North American fur trade by the 1680s. In the 1780s, a small group of Cardinals came from Quebec to what is now northern Alberta to work in the fur trade, they stayed and intermarried with the local native peoples and reproduced prolifically. As a result, thousands of Cree and Métis people from across Alberta and beyond can trace their descent to the Cardinals.

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