(Background information
excerpted The Canadian Global Almanac 1992 published by Global Press in Toronto, Ontario,
Canada).
The Heritage Quiz was conducted in February 1991 by the Association of Canadian
Studies as part of the Heritage project, a three-year educational program.
Questions were created by a team of educators in order to evaluate the
historical, cultural, political, economic, and geographical knowledge of
Canadians.
The survey was conducted by Martin Goldferb and
Associates in a telephone poll of 1 628 Canadian adults and students,
especially on items dealing with current events. Although 94% were able to name
the nation's capital, only 57% knew Canada's first Prime Minister and only 31%
could name the Governor General.
Please note that I have updated the answers to make them more
current and accurate. If you find an outdated answer, please sign
the guestbook with the correct answer and I will reference it with my
sources as well. After you have completed the quiz you can check the answers at
the bottom of this page.
1. What was the last province to enter Confederation?
2. Although the European "discovery" of the Americas is usually attributed to Columbus, the
earliest European contact with North
America actually was made by:
a) Norse Vikings
b) French fur traders
c) English fisherman
d) Don't know
3. What city is the national capital of Canada?
4. The first Canadian transcontinental railway to be completed was the:
a) Canadian National Railway.
b) Canadian Northern Railway
c) Canadian Pacific Railway
d) Don't know.
5. In 1949, Canada was a founding member
of a peacetime military alliance called the:
a) Organization of American States.
b) North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
c) Organization of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD).
d) Don't know.
6. During the Second World War, the federal
government imprisoned 20 000 Canadian residents who were of:
a) Ukrainian background.
b) Mennonite background.
c) Japanese Background
d) Don't know.
7. The leading financial centre of Canada
is which City:
a) Montreal.
b)Calgary.
c) Vancouver
d) Toronto.
e) Don't know
8. The population of Canada is approzimately how many people:
a) 18 000 000
b) 26 000 000
c) 38 000 000
d) 55 000 000
e) Don't know.
9. Most immigrants coming to Canada in
the 1990s settle in what type of community:
a) Farming areas.
b) Large cities.
c) Small towns.
d) Don't know.
10. The percentage of Canadian women in the paid labour
force is about:
a) 20%
b) 35%
c) 55%
d) Don't know.
11. Who is the first Prime Minister of Canada?
12. The tax which raises the largest amount of revenue in Canada is the:
a) Property Tax.
b) Income tax on individuals.
c) Provincial Sales Tax.
d) Don't know.
13. Which of the following countries is Canada's
most important trading partner:
a) United Kingdom.
b) United
States
c) Russia (Soviet Union)
d) Mexico
e) Don't know.
14. Under the present Consitution, is the federal or provincial level of goverment primarily responsible for:
a) Education
b) Unemployment Insurance.
c) Medicare
15. The quiet revolution refers to:
a) The Green Movement.
b) The period of reform that occurred in Quebec
after 1960.
c) The period of economic growth after the Second World War.
16. The members of the Senate of Canada
are:
a) Elected by the people of Canada.
b) appointed by the Governor
General on the recommendation of the Prime
Minister.
c) Chosen by the Premier of the province from which each Senator comes.
17. The Meech Lake Accord used the term
"distinct society" to describe which of the following:
a) Canada
b) Canada's native peoples.
c) Quebec
d) Newfoundland
18. Orders-in council are decisions attributable to the:
a) Courts
b) Cabinet
c) Military
d) Don't know
19. When did women get to vote in federal elections:
a) At the same time as men.
b) 10 years later than men.
c) 25 years later than men.
d) More than 50 years later than men.
e) Don't know.
20. What is acid rain:
a) A rock group
b) Rain that contains salt solution.
c) Steam produced in nuclear reactors.
d) Rain that contains sulfur dioxide.
e) Don't know
21. Is the Goods and Services Tax (GST):
a) A replacement for the federal corporation income tax.
b) A replacement for the federal sales tax to manufacturers.
c) A new tax, not a replacement for any other type of tax.
d) Don't know
22. The Free Trade Agreement between Canada
and the United
States, adopted in
1989, provides for:
a) An increase in Canadian tariff protection.
b) The elimination of national borders between the two countries within ten
years.
c) The elimination of most national trade barriers between the two countries
within ten years.
d) Don't know
23. The principal subject of the Group of Seven was:
a) The banks of Lake Superior.
b) The wild nature of the Canadian
Shield.
c) Toronto and its suburbs.
d) The coastal shores of the maritimes.
e) Don't know
24. Leanord Cohen is a:
a) Poet
b) songwriter
c) Recording Artist
d) All of the above
e) Don't know.
25. What do Raffi, Fred Penner,
Charlotte Diamond, and Sharon, Lois and Bram have in common:
a) Children's songs
b) Classical music.
c) Writers
d) Dancers
e) Don't know
26. Who wrote Anne of Green Gables:
a) Farly Mowat
b) Dennis Lee.
c) Lucy Maud Montgomery
d) Susanna Moodie.
e) Don't Know
27. Identify a Canadian female writer from this list:
a) Jeanne Sauve
b) Margot Kidder
c) Margaret Atwood
d) Audrey McLaughlin.
e) Don't know.
28. Who are Hubert Aquin, Roberston
Davies, Mordecai Richeler, and W.P. Kinsella:
a) Canadian arhictects.
b) Canadian Opera singers
c) Canadian writers
d) Canadian scientists
e) Don't know.
29. The telephone was invented by:
a) Thomas Edison.
b) Alexander Graham Bell.
c) Guglielmo Marconi
d) Reginald Fessenden.
e) Don't know.
30. During the 1920s and 1930s, Canadians took pride in the many sailing races
won by the Nova Scotia schooner name the:
a) Great Eastern
b) Beaver
c) Bluenose
d) Moosehead
e) Don't know
31. Who won the Olympic medal for Canada in figure skating in Calgary in 1988:
a) Angela Issajenko
b) Elizabeth Manly
c) Debbie Thomas
d) Katirina Witt
e) Don't know.
32. Which of the these comedians is NOT originally Canadian:
a) Johnny Wayne.
b) Dan Ackroyd
c) Rich Little
d) Roseanne Barr
e) Don't know
33. Canada's "national" animal is
the:
a) Moose
b) Beaver
c) Seal
d) Polar Bear
e) Don't know.
34. What do Sanra Lovelace, Yvonne Bedard, Kahn-Tineta Horn, and
Buffy Saint Marie have in common:
a) All four are writers
b) All four are song-writer/singers
c) All four are native women.
d) All four are lawyers.
e) Don't know
35. The totem pole is an important cultural artifact produced by the:
a) Haida
b) Micmac
c) Huron
d) Cree
e) Don't know
36. Which of the Great Lakes is the largest:
a) Huron
b) Superior
c) Ontario
d) Michigan
e) Don't know.
37. When Canada's size is compared with all
other countries in the world, it would be:
a) Largest
b) Second Largest
c) Third Largest
d) Fourth Largest.
e) Don't know
38. During the 1850s, 30 000 American slaves fled north to freedom along a
route know as the:
a) Cariboo Trail.
b) North-West Passage.
c) Underground Railroad.
d) Don't know.
39. Unitl Jenny Kidd Trout in 1875, no Canadian woman
had been:
a) A member of the R.C.M.P.
b) Licensed to practice medicine.
c) Elected to Parliament.
d) Don't know
40. The Canadian awarded the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize for his plan for a United Nations force to keep peace in the Middle East
was:
a) Andrew McNaughton
b) Louis St. Laurant.
c) Lester B. Pearson
d) Don't know.
41. At the battle of the Plains of
Abraham in 1759, the French and British
commanders were generals named:
a) Fronenac and Phipps.
b) Montcalm and Wolfe.
c) Montcalm and Brock
d) Don't know.
42. In what year did the Confederation occur; that is in what year was Canada founded as a country?
43. The most sever fall in the production of goods and services in Canada occurred during the Great Depression,
which began in what year:
a) 1929
b) 1939
c) 1949
d) Don't know.
44. Who is the current Premier of
Quebec?
45. What is the capital city of New Brunswick?
46. Who is the current federal leader of the opposition?
47. Approximately what percentage of Canada's
population is French Canadian:
a) 10%
b) 25%
c) 40%
d) Don't know
48. Who is the current Governor General of Canada?
49. Name three post-World War Two Prime Ministers of
Canada.
Answers
The number in the brackets following the answers displays the
percentage of Canadians who answered the question correctly in the February
1991 poll.
1. Newfoundland (62%)
2. a) Norse Vikings (64%)
3. Ottawa (94%)
4. c) Canadian Pacific Railway
5. b) North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
(74%)
6. c) Japanese background (81%)
7. d) Toronto (86%)
8. b) 26 000 000 (66%)
9. b) Large Cities (87%)
10. c) 55% (37%)
11. Sir John A. MacDonald (57%)
12. b) Income tax on individuals (67%)
13. b) United
States (91%)
14. Education: Provincial (83%)
Unemployment insurance: Federal (77%)
Medicare: Provincial (71%)
15. b) The period of reform that occurred in Quebec after 1960 (41%)
16. b) Appointed by the Governor General on
recommendation of the Prime Minister (77%)
17. c) Quebec
18. b) Cabinet
19. d) More than 50 years later than men (57%)
20. d) Rain that contains sulfur dioxide (87%)
21. b) A replacement for the federal sales
tax to manufacturers (67%)
22. c) The elimination of most national trade barriers between the two
countries within ten years (80%).
23. The wild nature of the Canadian
Shield (39%).
24. d) All of the above (49%).
25. a) Children's songs (69%)
26. c) Lucy Maud Montgomery (69%)
27. c) Margaret Atwood (64%)
28. c) Canadian writers (45%)
29. b) Alexander Graham Bell (96%)
30. c) Bluenose (81%)
31. b) Elizabeth Manly (85%)
32. d) Roseanne Barr (75%)
33. b) Beaver (92%)
34. c) All four are native women (35%)
35. a) Haida (39%)
36. b) Superior (79%)
37. b) Second largest (58%)
38. c) Underground Railroad (55%)
39. b) Licensed to practice medicine (35%)
40. c) Lester B. Pearson (71%)
41. b) Montcalm and Wolfe (73%)
42. 1867 (57%)
43. a) 1929 (76%)
44. Jean Charest (not rated, due to update of information)
45. Fredricton
(44%)
46. Stephen Harper (not rated, due to update of information)
47. b) 25% (56%)
48. Michaëlle Jean (not rated, due to update of information)
49. Louis St. Laurant (9%), John Diefenbaker (28%),
Lester B. Pearson (35%), Pierre Elliot Trudeau (75%), Joe Clark (31%), John
Napier Turner (11%), Brian Mulroney (60%), Kim Campbell (not rated, due to
update of information), Jean Chrétien (not rated, due to update of
information), and Paul Martin (not rated, due to
update of information).
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