"A few acres of snow" (in the original French, "quelques arpents de neige", French pronunciation: ​[kɛlkə.z‿aʁpɑ̃dəˈnɛːʒ], with "vers le Canada") is one of several quotations from Voltaire, an 18th-century writer. They are representative of his sneering evaluation of Canada as lacking economic value and strategic importance to 18th-century France. The exact phrase "quelques arpents de neige" first appears in 1759 in chapter 23 of Voltaire's book Candide, but the phrase "a few acres of ice" appeared in a letter he wrote in 1757. Voltaire wrote similar sarcastic remarks in other works.