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Canada Day Quiz

Who was the first Canadian in space, when did we get our own flag, and when were Olympic gold medals really gold? These and other questions Pique staff have compiled to amuse you after the parade is done and the cotton candy eaten.

HISTORY QUESTIONS

Q1: On July 1, 1867 the Dominion of Canada was created through the British North America Act. What were the first four provinces included in the Dominion of Canada?

Q2: The name Canada is believed to come from the Huron-Iroquois word "kanata". What does that word mean?

Q3: Who led two resistance movements against the new Canadian government in an effort to preserve Métis rights and culture and was later arrested, tried and executed on a charge of high treason.

Q4: 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?

Q5: In 1970 British Trade Commissioner James Cross was kidnapped in Montreal. Five days later, on Oct. 10, Pierre Laporte, the Minister of Labour and Vice-Premier of Quebec, was kidnapped at his Montreal home. He was later murdered. What group was responsible for the kidnappings and Laporte’s murder in a moment in history known as the October Crisis?

Q6: In 1989 Marc Lépine killed 14 female engineering students at L'École Polytechnique at the Université de Montréal. He then turned the gun on himself. Every year across Canada there are candlelight vigils to remember the tragedy. What is this tragedy known as and when do we remember it.

Q7: The most significant change to Canada’s map, since the incorporation of Newfoundland in 1949, happened on April 1, 1999. What was that change?

Q8: Who was the first Canadian in space, flying on three space missions and logging more than 677 hours in space during his 15-year career?

Q9: When did the Canadian government impose the so-called head tax on Chinese immigrants?

Q10: Who was the first overland explorer to reach the Pacific Ocean?

POLITICS

Q11: What was Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s nickname?

Q12: What charity does Prime Minister Stephen Harper support in which some of the benefactors get to live with the prime minister and his family at 24 Sussex Drive?

Q13: How many prime ministers did Canada have before Mr. Harper?

Q14: Which prime minister served the shortest term of office?

Q15: In which year did Canada institute a national flag?

Q16: Who was Canada’s first female senator?

Q17: What is the motto of the Order of the Garter, inscribed on the Black Rod, the staff used to knock on the door of the House of Commons when it is summoned to the Senate?

Q18: Who is Canada’s present Governor General?

Q19: What was the origin of the 1926 King-Byng Affair?

Q20: Who was the country’s first Canadian-born Governor General?

OLYMPICS

Q21: What year was the idea of an Olympic Flame burning at the start of the Games introduced?

Q22: What do the five Olympic rings signify?

Q23: What two time Paralympian, now resident in Whistler, did play-by-play for CBC at the Torino 2006 Winter Paralympics?

Q24: Which Games were the first to be televised?

Q25: Name the members of the Crazy Canuck ski team, one of whom won an Olympic medal at the 1980 Lake Placid, New York, Winter Olympics.

Q26: What is the motto of the International Parlaympic Committee?

Q27: What was the last year Olympic medals were made out of gold?

Q28: Name the organization which will design and make the medals for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler and Vancouver?

Q29: How is the Olympic torch rekindled?

Q:30: How many turns will the Whistler Sliding Centre track have?

SPORTS

Q31: Although they took it to game 7, the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Edmonton Oilers for the Stanley Cup. This is officially Canada’s longest drought in the history of the league. When was the last time a Canadian team won the award? For bonus points, who was the captain of that team?

Q32: Earlier this year the Canadian Cycling Association held a national poll to pick the Top-10 Canadian Cycling Achievements of All Time. A B.C. rider’s accomplishment made the top of the list – who was the rider, and, for bonus points, what was the achievement?

Q33: What twice suspended NFL star made the move to the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts this year?

Q34: What Canadian golfer won The Players Championships in 2006, bouncing back from a record defeat in match play against Tiger Woods the previous month? Hint: He was also the top money earner in the Telus Canadian Skins Game against Vijay Singh, Tom Daly and Jack Nicklaus.

Q35: What former Indy and CART open wheel race car champion made the move to NASCAR this season, then switched back to Champ Car?

Q36: What Canadian freestyle skier won gold at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino?

Q37: The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Internationale Olympic Committee recently added what cycling sport to the 2008 schedule (replacing track events)?

Q38: Squamish recently signed on to host a junior hockey team in the start up World Hockey Association Junior West Hockey League. What is the team name? For a bonus, what is the origin of the name?

Q39: Canada didn’t make the FIFA World Cup finals again this year, having qualified just once, in 1986, before making a first round exit. But while the team didn’t make it there one Canadian with a dual passport playing for England – name the player, and, for a bonus point, name his club.

Q40: How well do you know your local sports – What is the name of our junior hockey team? How about our high school team? Our rugby team?

WHISTLER

Q41: What sparked the transformation of Whistler from a sleepy summer fishing spot to a world-class ski destination?

Q42: Whistler Mountain opened in 1966. When did Blackcomb Mountain open?

Q43: How many 2010 Olympic and Paralympic competitive venues are there in the Sea to Sky corridor?

Q44: What three-time Paralympian is now head coach of the B.C. Disabled Ski Team?

Q45: The Resort Municipality of Whistler has invested in extensive trail building and rebuilding in Lost Lake Park recently, including a beginner singletrack trail that was recently broken into smaller sections that were given names. What do those names have in common?

Q46: The RMOW also reinvested in the disc golf course, which until recently was a work in progress. How many holes does the completed course have?

Q47: What percentage of those in Whistler aged 20-34 have a university certificate, diploma or degree?

Q48: What is the median household income in Whistler?

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HISTORY ANSWERS

A1: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick

A2: Village or settlement. Jacques Cartier used the word to refer to the area around present-day Quebec City.

A3: Louis Riel.

A4: Lester B. Pearson.

A5: The militant Quebec nationalist group Front de liberation du Québec — the FLQ.

A6: The Montreal Massacre. December 6 is Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

A7: A third territory called Nunavut was created. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories through the Nunavut Act.

A8: Marc Garneau.

A9: In 1885, just after the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed. Between 1881 and 1884, while the railway was being constructed, more than 15,000 Chinese came to Canada. About 6,500 of these were employed directly by the CPR. The head tax was removed in 1923.

A10: Alexander Mackenzie and his party reached the Pacific, via the Bella Coola River, on July 20, 1793.

POLITICS

A11: PET

A12: Ottawa Humane Society’s Foster Program.

A13: 21.

A14: Charles Tupper, 2 months, 7 days, 1896.

A15: 1965.

A16: Cairine Wilson (Ontario), 1930.

A17: Evil to the one who thinks evil.

A18: Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, who was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

A19: Governor General Lord Byng of Vimy refused a request by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to dissolve parliament and call a general election. King’s minority government was rocked by scandal at the time and held power through a coalition with the Progressive Party. Byng refused to dissolve parliament because he felt the Conservative Party, as the largest single party in parliament, deserved a chance to form a government.

A20: The Right Honourable Vincent Massey, who was sworn into office in 1952.

OLYMPICS

A21: 1928.

A22: The five major regions of the world: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

A23: Stacy Kohut. He won gold in 1994 in Super-G and three silver medals in 1998 in slalom, giant slalom and Super-G.

A24: The 1936 Berlin Summer Games.

A25: "Jungle" Jim Hunter, Dave Irwin, Ken Read, Dave Murray, and Whistler resident Steve Podborski. Podborski won bronze in downhill at the Lake Placid Olympics.

A26: Spirit in Motion.

A27: 1912,

A28: The Royal Canadian Mint.

A29: The torch is rekindled using the sun’s rays and a concave mirror.

A30: The Whistler Sliding Centre will have a 1,450 metre track with a 175 metre vertical drop, with 16 corners. Top speeds will average 130 km/h, making this track one of the most challenging in the world.

SPORTS

A31: The Montreal Canadiens in 1993, which was the 100 th anniversary of the Cup itself. The captain was Guy Carbonneau, number 21.

A32: The cyclist was Alison Sydor, and the achievement was three consecutive world titles (1994-1996) in the cross country. Steve Bauer’s 1988 Tour de France stage win, five days in the yellow jersey and fourth overall was a close second in the voting.

A33: Ricky Williams. Williams has failed three drug tests for marijuana use. Diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, Williams still claims that marijuana is the only treatment that works. He’s also a yoga instructor.

A34: Stephen Ames, who actually holds dual citizenship with Trinidad and Tobago.

A35: That would be Paul Tracy, who won the 2003 CART champion with seven victories before the league fell apart.

A36: Actually, that’s a trick question, Canada won two gold medals in the single moguls. Jennifer Heil of Spruce Grove, Alberta won the women’s event while Dale Begg-Smith, who was born Canadian and raised in Whistler, won the men’s gold for Australia. Both athletes also won overall World Cup titles this year.

A37: Men’s and women’s BMX racing will be part of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, which could be good news for Canada.

A38: The team is the Squamish Cougars, and while there are actual cougars in the Squamish area the team is named after one of the original WHA franchises, the Long Island Cougars.

A39: The player is Calgary midfielder Owen Hargreaves, who plays professionally for Bayern-Munich.

A40: Teams are the Whistler Winterhawks, the Whistler Secondary Storm, and the Hoary Marmots RFC. There’s also a rep soccer team that plays in Squamish that has gone under several names in the past – most recently Whistler United.

WHISTLER

A41: Following the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, four Vancouver businessmen began looking for a site to host the 1968 Winter Olympic Games. Development of Whistler Mountain was started in 1962.

A42: 1980/81.

A43: Five – the sliding centre, the Nordic centre, the alpine venue on Whistler Mountain, the yet to be built sledge hockey arena and the wheelchair curling venue at Meadow Park.

A44: Phil Chew.

A45: They’re all named after Frank Zappa songs.

A46: 27 holes, all accessible from Spruce Grove park.

A47: 29.5 per cent. .B.C. average for same age group is 23.5 per cent.

A48: $58,906 (in 2000). B.C. average is $46,802.



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