The small islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon symbolise France's final connection to its historic grasp on North America. A mere 12 nautical miles off the southern coast of Atlantic Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador, Saint Pierre and Miquelon are a territorial overseas collectivity of France and continue to be a significant resource for France with their offshore Atlantic cod and flounder. Saint Pierre and Miquelon are two of the area's eight small islands, forming an archipelago. Only Saint Pierre and Miquelon are inhabited. Of the two, the smaller island of Saint Pierre is more densely populated and functions as the islands’ economic centre while Grande Miquelon is connected to Langlade (Petite Miquelon) by a sand bar and is situated just north of Saint Pierre. Saint Pierre and Miquelon is recognised as part of Europe, due to its connection with France, as well as North America, due to its geographical position.

The archipelago is home to 5,800 islanders; 90% are urban dwellers with a very large majority of the population residing in the capital city of Saint Pierre on Saint Pierre Island. The majority of islanders are French-Canadian (95%), while the remaining 5% includes Anglo-Canadians (4%) and other inhabitants (1%). The archipelago mother tongues reflect these percentages, with French being spoken by 95% of the population and English by 4%, while the remaining 1% is unidentified. In light of the strained fishery industry, the French government has been exerting significant effort to help diversify the archipelago's local economy through tourism, fish and crab farming, and agricultural ventures, including vegetables, poultry, cattle, sheep and pigs.

From the time of its discovery by explorers José Alvarez Faguendes in 1520 and Jacques Cartier in 1535 until permanent French sovereignty was established through the Second Treaty of Paris in 1815, the archipelago had been subject to a continual power struggle between the French and British over its fishery resources. Canada likewise valued the rich fishing grounds. Extensive fishing eventually threatened codfish stocks, leading Canada to impose a cod moratorium in 1992 to help stabilise the population, causing the archipelago's main industry to plummet. France resisted the moratorium, referring to the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, which permitted French fishing around the islands, and responded with the ‘Codfish Crusade’ by fishing in forbidden Atlantic waters.