New France began as a commercial enterprise comprised of merchants, adventurers, voyageurs and military personnel - all men. Its interests were primarily economic ones, not colonization. There were very few women in Quebec in the early 1600's, either arriving as nuns or recruited in small groups by landowners. While New England began as agriculture-driven, settlement colonies, New France did not. This is where the population disparity between the rival English and French colonies began to emerge, and it was becoming a growing concern for France since it could (and did) impact their ability to retain claim over their North American possessions.

All this changed in 1663 when Quebec became a royal colony under the control of Louis XIV. Both the French government and religious communities wanted to correct this gender imbalance and salvage the colony from ruin. Jean Talon, Intendant of New France (chief civil administrator of the colony) sought to increase colonization and instituted several programs to promote settlement, mercantilism and population growth in the colony. The king's formidable chief minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, supported his plans at court. Talon reorganized the colonial government, planned new settlements and constructed dwellings to receive new colonists. These would be built near towns and villages to aid in common defence.

On population growth, he encouraged the king to recruit and sponsor unmarried women (generally between 16-25 years old) to settle in New France, marry and start families. These were known as les filles du Roi, or the "King's Daughters". Most were recruited from Paris or western France and were poor, though some were from upper class families who had fallen on hard times. They needed to be from good families, with references from their parish priests and capable of enduring the hardships of frontier living to be able to go, and were provided with passage to Quebec, money, clothes, a dowry and supplies at the king's expense in order to aid their settlement. On most occasions, they could choose their future spouses as there were far more men living in Quebec at the time. The Catholic Church would look after the unwed women in lodgings run by the local religious orders upon their arrival, until they found husbands. If the matches did not pan out, the marriages could be annulled.

Under this policy (which ran from 1663 to 1673), up to 800 filles du Roi would settle and raise families in the colony, which gradually increased the size of its population, though it was still dwarfed by that of New England. Domestic obligations and poor health would bring Talon back to France by 1672. While his successors would try to continue some of his plans, Talon had been the one to rescue Quebec and he continued to advocate at court for the colony he had essentially willed back to life through his efforts.

Quebec was also under frequent attacks by England and its colonial American and Iroquois allies throughout much of its history. French settlements were attacked, looted or set ablaze during such raids, impacting the security and stability of colonizing schemes. The French relied heavily on alliances with the Huron to supplement its defence, as they were always outnumbered by New England.

This population disparity remained a problem up to the Seven Years War. Without the support of the French military, the colony had little hope of defending itself against superior British numbers. After Montreal capitulated in 1760 and the French army withdrew, Quebec was left then to an uncertain future, under British rule.

The legacy of les filles du Roi remains to this day, as many in Canada and the U.S. of French heritage can trace their ancestry to these bold women settlers who arrived in Quebec with a helping hand from Louis XIV.