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Canada Day Quiz

70 questions for Canadians

History

1. Canada’s name is derived from the word “Kanata.” What does that word mean?

2. In 1759 the British, led by General Wolfe, defeated the French, led by General Montcalm, in battle on the Plains of Abraham. Which general celebrated?

3. Mount Garibaldi was named on July 4 1860 for the 19 th century Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi (who was born on July 4, 1807) by the British naval officer G.H. Richards as he surveyed Howe Sound. What did the Squamish Nation call the peak?

4. How much older is Canada than Australia?

5. Who was looking for a navigable water route to the Pacific when he decided to go west of the Rockies in 1885?

6. When did the Canadian government impose the so-called head tax on Chinese immigrants?

7. Name one of the two men who were awarded Canada’s first Nobel prize in Physiology/Medicine in 1923.

8. In 1928 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the BNA Act does not define women as “persons” and they are therefore not eligible to hold public office. When were women legally declared “persons” in Canada?

9. Who was the first U.S. president to make an official visit to Canada?

10. What was the name of the special spy training and communications facility in Ontario used by the Allies during World War II?

11. What future Canadian Prime Minister is responsible for easing tensions during the Suez Crisis of 1956 by proposing peacekeeping efforts and the inception of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force?

12. Canada was the third country in the world after Russia and the United States to design and build its own satellite. What was the first Canadian research satellite called and when was it launched into space.

13. What was Pierre Elliott Trudeau referring to when he said to a CBC TV reporter “Just watch me”?

14. Charles Tupper holds the dubious distinction as the shortest-serving prime minister. He was in office from May 1 1896 to July 11 1896 serving a grand total of two months and 10 days. He beat out John Turner by a week. But Tupper and Turner served as PM only after their predecessors resigned. Who was the shortest-serving Prime Minister who was actually elected to the post?

15. In 1980 “O Canada” was proclaimed Canada’s national anthem. What song, written by Alexander Muir, was regarded the national song of Canada for several decades before that?

16. Which provinces refused to support the Meech Lake Accord?

17. The most significant change to Canada’s map, since the incorporation of Newfoundland in 1949, happened on April 1, 1999. What was that change?

18. In 2004 CBC held a contest where listeners were invited to vote for The Greatest Canadian. Who topped that pole and what was that person best known for?

 

Geography

19. What is the capital of Nunavut (hint: the name is Inuit for “many fish”)?

20. This walled city was the first in North America to be placed on UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites list.

21. What is Canada’s deepest lake?

22. Which major Canadian city has the most wet days per year?

23. What group of islands once petitioned the federal government to become part of Canada?

24. The five highest mountains in Canada are all located in which province or territory?

25. The three tallest waterfalls in Canada are all located in which province or territory?

26. Between them, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut contain what percentage of the world’s fresh water?

27. What is the world’s largest wetland?

28. Approximately how long does it take water to pass through the Great Lakes, from Lake Superior to the Atlantic Ocean?

29. Which is the only Canadian city to make the list of top 10 coldest places in the world?

30. To which country belong St. Pierre and Miquelon, two islands found between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia?

31. An Act of Parliament passed in 1943 declared one of the rooms in the Ottawa Civic Hospital the sovereign territory of which country?

32. Which Great Lake has the most area on the Canadian side of the Canada/U.S. boundary?

33. What is the only public highway above the Arctic Circle open-year round?

34. What is the largest lake wholly in Canada?

35. What is the world’s only capital city colder than Ottawa?

36. What is the longest Canadian river?

37. What is the name of the waterway between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick?

38. If you wanted to see a hoodoo in Canada, where would you go?

 

Politics

39. What Prime Minister resigned over the “Pacific Scandal” — charges of corruption in awarding the contract for a transcontinental railroad that linked B.C. with the east.

40. What prime minister is responsible for the Canadian flag?

41. Who is Canada’s head of state?

42. Where is the Prime Minister’s official residence?

43. When the Conservatives gained power in early 2006 they made changes to the GST. What were those changes?

44. What party made the most gains in the 2006 federal election?

45. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is currently writing a history book about which sport?

46. What is the first name of the prime minister’s wife?

47. Where was the most recent G8 Summit? When is it Canada’s turn to host next and where?

48. Who is Canada’s Environment Minister? Has he committed to the Kyoto Protocol.

49. The Parti Populaire des Putes is one of Canada’s federal political parties. What is its platform?

50. How many judges from the Quebec bar must be on the panel of nine Supreme Court judges at all times?

51. Who is the MLA for the Whistler area?

52. What year was Whistler’s first municipal election? When is the next election?

53. Who is the longest serving member of the current Whistler council?

54. Who was the first Mayor of Whistler?

 

Sports

55. This past winter the Canadian Alpine Ski Team set a record with 14 podium finishes and 44 top-10 results. How many medals did Mont-Tremblant’s Erik Guay win?

56. Canada will be participating in the Rugby World Cup this fall in France, playing in Pool B with Wales, Japan, Fiji and Australia. One of Canada’s players is from Squamish ­— name the player.

57. What are the three sliding sports that will be using the Whistler Sliding Centre this winter, in preparation for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games?

58. Who is the only Canadian competing in the Red Bull Elevation dirt jumping competition on Canada Day this year?

59. On July 4 the International Olympic Committee will vote for the host city of the 2014 Winter Games, following Vancouver in 2010. What cities are in the running?

60. Canada now has three professional soccer teams playing in the international United Soccer Leagues First Division. What are the teams?

61. Three different Canadian hockey teams have made it to the Stanley Cup finals for the past three NHL seasons, all losing to American expansion teams. What were the teams and who did they lose to?

62. What Vancouver/Whistler snowboarder won all World Cup snowboardcross races this season and finished third in the finals to take the overall?

63. What cycling sport has been added to the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing?

64. A 16-year old mountain biker from Whistler recently distinguished himself at the 26Trix slopestyle competition in Austria. Who is the rider and what was the trick?

65. What year was the idea of an Olympic Flame burning at the start of the Games introduced?

66. What do the five Olympic rings signify?

67. What is the motto of the International Paralympic Committee?

68. What did Canada contribute to the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Games when the weather wouldn’t cooperate?

69. Who was the first black Canadian athlete to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics?

70. Which B.C. town formed Canada’s first ski club?



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