The article deals with the initial stage of the French colonization of Acadia - the territory of Atlantic region of Canada, where in 1605 Port Royal - the first permanent European settlement in North America to the North of the Spanish colonies - was founded. It is noted that when choosing this place, the founders of the colony - the outstanding traveler and geographer Samuel de Champlain and the first Governor and Viceroy of Acadia Pierre Dugua de Monts - were guided, first, by security reasons, trying to avoid the neighborhood of too numerous and warlike Indian tribes, and secondly, the need for a place suitable for the creation of a trading post, since the main purpose of their enterprise was the fur trade. It describes the hardships, primarily related to the unusually cold climate, that the French had to face during the winter of 1605-1606 and 1606-1607, and the ways they tried to overcome them. Special attention is given to the activity of Marc Lescarbot who came to colony in 1606 and became the first chronicler of Acadia, its first poet and playwright, as well as a theorist of French colonialism. It is shown that in 1607 de Monts had to evacuate the colony because his monopoly on the fur trade was cancelled, and he could not maintain a settlement in Port Royal in those conditions. In conclusion, the author highlights special features of the socio-economic development of the early 17th century France - first of all, lack of free mobile population interested in emigration, relative weakness of the bourgeoisie and its dependence on the State - which influenced the character of French colonial policy in general and the colonization of the Atlantic region in particular and destined Acadia to remain a marginal colony.