Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Canada day answers

Canadiana 1. That would be William Lyon Mackenzie King, who spent about 22 years in office between the years of 1921 and 1948. 2. Toronto — a.k.a. Hog Town, a.k.a. T-dot, a.k.a.

Canadiana

1. That would be William Lyon Mackenzie King, who spent about 22 years in office between the years of 1921 and 1948.

 

2. Toronto — a.k.a. Hog Town, a.k.a. T-dot, a.k.a. the Centre of the Universe, had 50,000 citizens, or about two and a half times the number that turn out to Air Canada Centre to watch the Leafs lose.

 

3. Screech. Imported from Jamaica, this very strong rum was extremely popular among sailors. It was reportedly named by an American soldier during World War II who followed a Newfoundlanders’ lead and chugged back a shot, only to choke and cry out “what the cripes was that ungodly screech?”

 

4. Canada’s third territory, which includes Baffin Island, was created in 1999 and broke up the Northwest Territories. The capital city is Iqaluit.

 

5. Canola, a variation of rapeseed (meaning turnip seed, from the Latin), is praised for being low in saturated fats and high in monounsaturated oil content and Omega-3 fatty acids — good fats that convert to bad fats when overheated, so go easy with the frypan.

 

6. The mighty Mackenzie River runs 4,241 km (2,630 miles) on its way to the Beaufort Sea. In comparison, the so-called “mighty” Mississippi is just 1,015 miles (1,640 km) long.

 

7. The Rhinoceros Party had official party status from the 1960s to the 1990s but never won a seat. The main party platform was described as “two feet high and made of wood”. The other platform included calls to repeal the law of gravity, paving Manitoba, providing higher education by building taller schools, making illiteracy an official language, annexing the U.S. as Canada’s third territory (before Nunavut of course), ending crime by abolishing laws, driving on the left, and declaring a war on Belgium after cartoon character Tintin killed a rhino in one episode. (The war was settled after Belgium delivered a conciliatory case of mussels and Belgian beer to the Rhino Party headquarters in Montreal.)

 

8. The Duo-Tang, now hated by students worldwide.

 

9. The Molson Muscle. Also acceptable is The Labatt Labanza.

 

10. The Edmonton Journal won a Pulitzer Prize in 1938 after fighting an attempt by the provincial government to require newspapers to provide cabinet with space to write rebuttals for stories deemed inaccurate. The Journal fought all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada and won, earning a Pulitzer for defending freedom of the press.

 

Arts and Culture

11. Born in Windsor, Ontario, country sweetheart Shania Twain was actually given the name Eileen Regina Edwards at birth. Her last name was changed to Twain at the age of two when her mother remarried, but “Eilleen” didn’t change her first name to Shania, which means “On my way” in Ojibwa, until 1991.

 

12. The Zit Remedy. Check out these lyrics: “Everybody wants something, they’ll never give up. Everybody wants something, they’ll never give up. Everybody wants something, they’ll take your money, and never, and never give up.” Awesome.

 

13. Stompin’ Tom Connors, born Charles Thomas Connors in Saint John, New Brunswick, spent years hitchhiking across Canada before recording this anthemic tune on his 1973 album, “Stompin’ Tom and the Hockey Song.” The song has recently been touted as a possible replacement for the Hockey Night in Canada theme song, which was recently dropped by CBC after a lawsuit from the writer and then picked up by CBC Sports’ rivals at CTV/TSN.

 

14. A wilderness painter, Tom Thomson had actually worked with members of the Group at a Toronto design firm, Grip Ltd., and worked as a guide in Algonquin Park, where he and other members of the group traveled for inspiration. But in 1917, Thomson died in a mysterious canoeing accident before the formation of the group in 1920. An oil sketch by Thomson, measuring just 27 by 21 centimetres, recently sold for $1,957,500.

 

15. One of the most popular segments of the show was Tickle Trunk time, during which Mr. Dressup would select a costume. Sometimes, when the Tickle Trunk wouldn’t open, Mr. Dressup sang a song and tickled the lock. Mr. Dressup was produced by the CBC from 1967 until 1996. What’s in your Tickle Trunk?

 

16. Scarborough, Ontario born Mike Myers appeared on Saturday Night Live from 1989-1995, playing characters like Simon, Dieter, Linda Richman and the ever-popular Wayne Campbell. Myers went on to turn the Wayne’s World sketch into a full-length feature film in 1992, starring himself and Dana Carvey in the lead roles. Wayne’s World 2 followed, but not so good.

 

17. Rick Mercer poses as a journalist in American cities, asking Americans about their stance on made-up Canadian news stories for the television show This Hour Has 22 Minutes . During the 2000 American elections, Mercer successfully had presidential candidate George W. Bush accept the news that the Canadian Prime Minister, “Jean Poutine,” was endorsing him.

 

18. Lewis’ tiny painted house has actually been restored and relocated into the AGNS. She lived with her husband, Everett, in a three by four metre house without heating or plumbing from the time of their marriage in 1938 until her death in 1970. Despite the lack of amenities, Lewis painted almost every surface of the house with birds, seascapes and flowers.

 

19. The Maple Leaf flag was the first national flag to be officially adopted to replace the Union Flag in 1965. Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, who was involved in the Suez Crisis of 1956, was alarmed that the Egyptian government objected to the Canadian peacekeeping forces based on their flag of the time — the Red Ensign, which included the British Union Jack. He wanted to transform the national flag into something distinctive and unmistakably Canadian.

 

20. “O Canada” was finally proclaimed as the country’s national anthem on July 1, 1980, just over 100 years after it was first sung on June 24, 1880. The music was composed by Calixa Lavallée and the French version was based on a poem written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. Over the years, the song gained popularity, and by the time of the First World War in 1914 it was the best-known patriotic song in Canada. In 1966 Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson motioned to make “O Canada” our national anthem, and “God Save the Queen” the royal anthem, but due to copyright and other parliamentary issues “O Canada” wasn’t adopted as the official national anthem until almost 14 years later in 1980. “Oh, government efficiency, we stand on guard for thee.”

 

Sports

21. In ‘93-94 the Vancouver Canucks lost to the New York Rangers. After that there was a long drought in Cup appearances until the Calgary Flames lost to Tampa Bay in ’03-04, the Edmonton Oilers lost to Carolina in ’05-06, and the Ottawa Senators lost to the Anaheim Ducks in ’06-07. The ’04-05 season was cancelled due to the players’ strike/owners’ lockout, so it’s only been 14 seasons since a Canadian team has hoisted Stanley.

 

22. Canadians combined for just 12 medals, three gold, six silver and three bronze. It was Canada’s worst performance since winning just 10 medals in the Seoul Games in 1988, and prompted an overhaul of our national sports system.

 

23. Britt Janyk won a gold in the downhill at Aspen, one week after winning her first ever World Cup medal (a bronze) the previous week at Lake Louise.

 

24. Georges “Rush” St-Pierre currently has a record of 16-2 in the octagon, and faces his next title fight at UFC 87 on Aug. 9 against American Jon Fitch.

 

25. Cross-country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping and nordic combined.

 

26. With an agreement to host eight Buffalo Bills games in Toronto over the next five years, and talk of a northern expansion or relocated team, Larry Campbell wants to ban the NFL from Canada to protect the CFL. Making the CFL more like the NFL in terms of rules was not discussed, even if most CFL fans wouldn’t mind seeing a fourth down now and then.

 

27. Kootenay boy Scott Niedermayer of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks joined the Jumbo Wild campaign to save the area from development, and was photographed on a Jumbo peak last summer wearing his Team Canada jersey and holding his hockey stick in the air.

 

28. Canada’s female ski jumpers, boosted by strong support from American and European jumpers, are claiming discrimination — based on the fact that you’re not allowed to use government money to build a facility that discriminates against race or gender. While VANOC is a private entity, to the ski jumpers there’s no question that the ski jumps at Whistler Olympic Park were purposly built for the Olympics using government money and donated land.

 

29. China, with a record of 4-3, beat the 7-0 Canadian team, handing skipper Kevin Martin his first loss ever at a Men’s World Curling Championships. Canada went on to win, natch, but still…China. We’d expect it from the Swedes, but who’s curling in China?

 

30. Svein Tuft on Team Symmetrics Cycling performed the feat with wins at Vuelta a Cuba, the Redlands Classic, and the U.S. Open Cycling Championships, as well as second place finishes in the Tour de Beauce and Canadian time trial championships. Whistler’s Will Routley is a member of the Symmetrics team.

 

History

31. The White House got its name because it was whitewashed by protective lime after it was built. You may have heard that it was painted white after it was burned by British and Canadian troops during the War of 1812, but it was called the White House before then.

 

32. Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The first branded brewery in Canada? Molson in 1786, although with the recent partnership with Molson and U.S.-based Coors and Miller it’s hard to think of it as Canadian anymore.

 

33. That would be Jean Chretien, the same Prime Minister who once picked up a protestor by his neck and pushed him out of the way, and who, with the help of his wife Aline wielding a piece of Inuit art, got the best a knife-wielding intruder that broke into the P.M.’s residence at 24 Sussex Drive. You don’t mess with the Cretch.

 

34. He invoked the War Measures Act, effectively creating a state of martial law in Quebec. It was repealed soon after, but in the ensuring months after the October Crisis more than 450 people were arrested.

 

35. Quebec. It wasn’t exactly a revolution, Les Miserables-style, but it caused a lot of grief when the provincial government started to take over health care and education from the Roman Catholic Church, allowed for unionization of the civil service, and nationalized the energy grid.

 

36. Acadia was the first French colony settled in Canada, starting in 1604. At one point it covered the Maritimes, most of Quebec, and New England as far as Philadelphia.

 

37. The Beothuk in Newfoundland. Thousands were wiped out by European disease, violent encounters with settlers, and from being squeezed out of their mainstay food sources. The last of the group, named Shanawdithit, died in 1829, although some evidence suggests that groups of Beothuk survived on Labrador by joining the Mi’kmaq.

 

38. The B.C. government interned 22,000 Japanese-Canadians aged 18 to 45, and sent them as far away as the prairies to pick sugar beets. The Custodian of Aliens department began to sell off their property and possessions in 1943 without the owners’ permission. P.M. Brian Mulroney made an official apology in 1988, and compensated the survivors with $21,000.

 

39. Trick question. The metric system was legalized in Canada in 1871, whatever that means, but wasn’t formally adopted until the ‘70s when kilometres started to appear on road signs. However, it didn’t become official (e.g. the Law of the Land) until 1985 when Parliament passed The Canadian Weights and Measures Act . It was a dark day for anyone over the age of 40.

 

40. The principal of the North-West Rebellion, and founder of Manitoba, was hung for treason in 1855.

 

Geography

41. Barbeau Peak on Ellesmere Island in the new territory of Nunavut. Barbeau Peak rises 2,616 metres (8,583 feet) in elevation, and was first climbed in 1967 to mark Canada’s Centennial. Since then only six other parties have reached the summit.

 

42. B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, hot and dry, arguably produces Canada’s best wine, but it’s Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula that produces about 80 per cent of Canada’s grape-growing volume — much of which is siphoned into plastic bags or drained into screw-top bottles for easy consumption. While you’ll find wineries elsewhere in B.C. 95 per cent of B.C.’s grape harvest is concentrated on the shores of Lake Okanagan and further south to Osoyoos.

 

43. Nanaimo, B.C. The race takes place on the last weekend of July each year, and follows a course from Nanaimo Harbour to Entrance Island, Winchelsea Island and Departure Bay. The first race was held in 1967, also commemorating Canada’s Centennial. The mayor used to dress up as a pirate and take part.

 

44. Global warming. Polar bears rely on a thick ice pack to hunt for ring seals, but warming water and air temperatures are causing the ice to break up sooner each year to shorten the hunting season and reduce the seal population. Polar bears, amazingly good swimmers by nature, are being found drowned after attempting to swim long distances between ice floes.

 

45. St. Johns, Newfoundland, established by the British, dates back to 1528. That’s right, in another 20 years, St. Johns will be 500 years old. The town was incorporated in 1583 by the Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I. Fun Fact: Queen Elizabeth has recently been portrayed in film by Dame Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett, but none of those films saw fit to include a mention St. Johns.

 

46. The infamous Halifax explosion happened on Dec. 6, 1917 when the French freighter Mont Blanc, fully loaded with explosives, accidentally collided with a Norwegian ship, leading to a massive explosion. Over 1,600 people died, another 9,000 were injured, and much of the city was flattened. An anchor from the Mont Blanc was found about 3.5 km away in Armdale.

 

47. The hottest temperature ever recorded was at Midale and Yellow Grass in Saskatchewan on July 5, 1937. Temperatures rose to 45 degrees Celsius that day (113 Fahrenheit). No mention what was worse, the heat or the humidity.

 

48. The Trans-Canada Highway is 8,030 km long by the southern route, and runs from Tofino on Vancouver Island to the eastern tip of Newfoundland.

 

49. The Athabasca Oil Sands, located in northeastern Alberta. The oil sands proven reserves are 176 billion barrels, consisting of 174 billion barrels of bitumen and 1.6 billion barrels of crude oil. Athabasca is the largest of Alberta’s three major oil sands resources.

 

50. The Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories goes down 614 metres (2,015 feet). It is the sixth deepest lake in the world, and the single deepest lake in North America.

 

Politics

51. Sir John A. Macdonald, known as much for his wit as his weakness for alcohol. Macdonald’s habits were no secret, and grist for the mill of Canada’s early political cartoonists and commentators. Once, during an election debate, Macdonald threw up on stage, prompting this exchange: “Is this the man you want running your country? A drunk?” To which Macdonald famously replied, “I get sick… not because of drink (but because) I am forced to listen to the ranting of my honourable opponent.” He almost got in a fight in the House of Commons once, and although he was restrained he said “I’ll lick him faster than Hell can scorch a feather!” Awesome.

 

52. Jeanne Sauvé was named Governor General in 1984, in honour of her career as a politician, journalist, and diplomat. Her focus was on unifying Canada, and building support for Canada in Quebec.

 

53. If you said Conservative Brian Mulroney, you probably guessed…but guessed right. Among other things, Mulroney signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992, a predecessor to the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He finalized an acid rain treaty with the U.S., despite U.S. objections, cutting sulphur emissions drastically and restoring life to many of Canada’s dead and dying lakes. He also spent $3 billion on environmental research that is still used widely in Canada and around the world.

 

54. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Canada’s seventh Prime Minister, wanted nothing more than to unite Canada and resolve differences between English and French Canada. “I have had before me as a pillar of fire, a policy of true Canadianism, of moderation, of reconciliation.” It didn’t work out as well as he’d hoped, but hey, he tried. He was also a big fan of personal liberties and freedoms, and making Canada autonomous from the British Empire.

 

55. Young Joe Clark was at the tender age of 40 when he became Prime Minister, a post he held for, oh, about nine months before his minority government crumbled and he was ousted in 1980. Still, he’s widely recognized as one of Canada’s smartest politicians and most dedicated public servants. Ironically, it was his call to bring in a gas tax that was his undoing, something that is causing much distress in B.C. on Canada Day as a new carbon tax is set to be implemented.

 

56. Agnes MacPhail was elected to Parliament in 1921, just two years after women gained the right to run for federal office. She was a staunch defender of human rights, women’s rights, and the League of Nations where she was a member of the World Disarmament Committee. Then World War II happened. Regardless, she was a formidable debater and a force to be reckoned with on any stage.

 

57. After several attempts by past leaders, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau finally repatriated Canada’s constitution in 1980, 113 years after Confederation. It was all very formal, involving high level meetings with the Queen and House of Lords, and it would have made a much better story if Trudeau snuck it home under his coat.

 

58. The Liberal Party of Canada, the Conservative Party of Canada, Le Bloc Quebecois, the New Democratic Party of Canada and, since 2004, the Green Party of Canada. In order to gain official party status, and earn a $1.75 per vote subsidy from Elections Canada, the Greens needed to win two per cent of the popular vote in 2004.

 

59. There are 308 seats in the house, including 36 from B.C. The province will get up to seven more seats if changes are brought in, but not until after the next federal election.

 

60. Sir Charles Tupper served for a dismal 69 days before getting the boot. He is followed by John Turner, who served all of seven days longer, while Kim Campbell, Canada’s only female PM, served four months and nine days.

 

How did you do?

 

At least 50 out 60 — Fry up some back bacon, kick up the Kodiaks, and crack a few stubbies. Beauty.

 

40 to 50 questions right — You’re a true Canadian, red and white, and obviously paid attention in school. Strut.

 

30 to 40 questions right — Still not bad considering how hard and obscure some of the questions are, and the fact that high school was a long time ago. Pour yourself a frosty one and listen to Rush.

 

20 to 30 questions right — You might want to consider covering that Canada flag tattoo with a dragon or something.

 

10 to 20 questions right — There are a lot of pretty good countries out there, many of them a lot like Canada. Have you ever considered moving?

 

0-10 questions right — You’re obviously too hosed to think clearly. Your penance is to stand up in the bar tonight and sing the national anthem, both English and French versions. Failing that, you can sing Kim Mitchell’s “I Am A Wild Party”.



Comments