Canada's Economy: Canadian Citizenship Test Questions

Q1.What are the three main types of industries in Canada's economy?

• Farming, fishing, and mining
• Service, manufacturing, and natural resources
• Banking, oil, and tourism
• Public, private, and charity

Answer: Canada's economy has three main types of industries: service industries, manufacturing industries, and natural resources industries.

Q2.Roughly what share of working Canadians have jobs in service industries?

• About 25%
• About half
• More than 75%
• Less than 10%

Answer: Over 75% of Canadians with jobs now work in service industries such as transportation, education, health care, finance, retail and tourism.

Q3.Who is Canada's largest trading partner?

• The United Kingdom
• China
• The United States
• France

Answer: The United States is Canada's biggest trading partner: more than three-quarters of Canada's exports go there, making it the largest two-way trade relationship in the world.

Q4.Canada first signed a free trade agreement with the United States in 1988. Which country joined in 1994 to form NAFTA?

• Mexico
• Brazil
• Japan
• The United Kingdom

Answer: In 1994 Mexico joined, and the wider agreement became the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Q5.Which of the following is a 'natural resources' industry?

• Banking
• Forestry, fishing, and mining
• Retail
• Tourism

Answer: Forestry, fishing, agriculture, mining and energy are natural resource industries, and they have been central to Canada's development.

Q6.Canada is a member of which group of leading industrialized democracies?

• The G7
• The European Union
• OPEC
• The Warsaw Pact

Answer: Canada is one of the world's largest economies and a member of the G7 group of leading industrialized democracies. (The guide refers to the 'G8'; Russia was suspended in 2014, leaving the G7.)

Q7.In 2018 Canada, the United States, and Mexico signed a new trade agreement to replace NAFTA. By what acronym is it known in Canada?

• CETA
• CUSMA
• TPP
• WTO

Answer: The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) replaced NAFTA as the trade agreement among the three North American countries.

Q8.Which Canadian province is especially known for its oil and gas industry?

• Prince Edward Island
• Alberta
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick

Answer: Alberta is known for its large oil and gas industry, including the oil sands, a major part of Canada's energy sector.

Q9.Fishing has long been a major industry along which Canadian coast?

• The Atlantic coast
• The shores of the Great Lakes only
• The Arctic coast only
• Hudson Bay only

Answer: The Atlantic provinces have a long history of fishing, an important natural-resource industry on Canada's east coast.

Q10.The Prairie provinces are best known for which type of industry?

• Forestry
• Agriculture (farming)
• Auto manufacturing
• Banking

Answer: Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the Prairie provinces, are among the most important farming regions, producing grain and other farm products.

Q11.Roughly what share of Canada's exports does trade with the United States represent?

• About one-quarter
• About half
• About three-quarters
• Almost none

Answer: About three-quarters of Canada's exports go to the United States, reflecting how important trade is to Canada's prosperity.

Q12.Manufacturing industries are especially concentrated in which two provinces?

• Ontario and Quebec
• Nova Scotia and PEI
• Yukon and Nunavut
• Saskatchewan and Manitoba

Answer: Manufacturing is centred in central Canada; Ontario and Quebec are the leading manufacturing provinces, including the automobile industry.

Q13.Which of these is an example of a service industry?

• Coal mining
• Banking and finance
• Commercial fishing
• Logging

Answer: Service industries include retail, education, health care, finance, transportation, and tourism, and they employ most working Canadians.

Q14.British Columbia is well known for which natural-resource industries?

• Forestry and mining
• Auto assembly and steel
• Wheat and cattle
• Banking and insurance

Answer: British Columbia's economy includes important forestry and mining industries, along with fishing and tourism.

Q15.True or False: Trade with other countries is important to Canada's wealth and prosperity.

• True
• False

Answer: True. Trade has always mattered to Canada: it is essential to the country's prosperity and standard of living.

Q16.Canada and the European Union signed a major free trade agreement. What is it called?

• NAFTA
• CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement)
• CUSMA
• NORAD

Answer: CETA, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, is a free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union.

Q17.The vehicles and parts produced by Canada's automobile industry are mainly an example of which type of industry?

• Service industry
• Manufacturing industry
• Natural resources industry
• Agricultural industry

Answer: Building automobiles and their parts is a manufacturing industry, one of the three main types in Canada's economy.

Q18.Mining of metals and minerals is best classified as which type of industry?

• Service industry
• Manufacturing industry
• Natural resources industry
• Financial industry

Answer: Mining extracts metals and minerals from the earth and is a natural-resources industry, alongside forestry, fishing, agriculture, and energy.

Q19.What does it mean to call Canada a 'trading nation'?

• Canada produces everything it needs and avoids imports
• International trade has always been important to Canada's economy
• Canada only trades with Europe
• Canada bans foreign goods

Answer: Canada has always been a trading nation; commerce with other countries has been central to the economy since its earliest days.

Q20.Which level of government in Canada is generally responsible for natural resources within its borders?

• The provinces
• The municipalities
• The United Nations
• Foreign governments

Answer: Under Canada's federal system, the provinces have significant responsibility for natural resources such as mining, forestry, and energy within their boundaries.

Q21.Which of these is made by Canada's manufacturing industries?

• Aerospace technology
• Tourism and retail services
• Fish and lobster catches
• Crude oil from wells

Answer: Manufacturing industries make goods to sell in Canada and abroad: automobiles, aircraft and aerospace technology, machinery, high-tech equipment, paper, food and clothing.

Q22.Nova Scotia's identity has long been tied to which activities?

• Cattle ranching and the oil sands
• Fruit orchards and wine making
• Gold mining and the fur trade
• Shipbuilding, fishing and shipping

Answer: Nova Scotia's identity is tied to the sea: shipbuilding, fisheries and shipping. Coal mining, forestry and farming also go back a long way there, and today there is offshore oil and gas exploration.

Q23.What does the Peace Arch at Blaine, Washington, on the Canada–U.S. border, stand for?

• The two countries' close ties and shared interests
• A Canadian victory in the War of 1812
• The signing of the first free trade deal
• The highest point on the border

Answer: The arch bears the words 'children of a common mother'. It stands for the close friendship and shared interests of Canada and the United States.

Q24.What is the border between Canada and the United States traditionally called?

• The world's most heavily guarded border
• The world's longest undefended border
• The oldest border in the Americas
• The longest wall in North America

Answer: Millions of Canadians and Americans cross it safely every year, which is why it is traditionally called the world's longest undefended border.

Q25.How does Canada's economy compare with others in the world?

• It is one of the ten largest
• It is the largest in the world
• It is one of the smallest
• It ranks about fiftieth

Answer: Canada's economy ranks among the world's ten biggest, and Canada belongs to the G7, a group of leading industrialized democracies.

Q26.Which of these makes up a large share of Canada's exports?

• Movies, music and video games
• Clothing, shoes and textiles
• Banking and insurance services
• Natural resource commodities

Answer: Natural resources industries, such as forestry, fishing, agriculture, mining and energy, shaped Canada's history, and many regions still depend on them. A large share of Canada's exports are natural resource commodities.

Q27.Saskatchewan has the world's richest deposits of potash. What is potash used for?

• Fertilizer
• Jewellery
• Cement
• Batteries

Answer: Potash is used to make fertilizer. Saskatchewan also has the world's richest uranium deposits, produces oil and natural gas, and grows more grain and oilseeds than any other province.

Q28.Manitoba's economy is based on which activities?

• Fishing, shipbuilding and ocean shipping
• Oil sands, forestry and film production
• Banking, insurance and aerospace work
• Farming, mining and hydro-electric power

Answer: Manitoba's economy rests on agriculture, mining and hydro-electric power. Winnipeg is its most populous city.

Q29.What contributes a large part of Newfoundland and Labrador's economy today?

• Offshore oil and gas
• Cattle and dairy farming
• Potash and uranium mining
• Vineyards and wine making

Answer: Fishing has long been central in Newfoundland and Labrador, but today offshore oil and gas make up a large part of its economy. Labrador also has huge hydro-electric resources.

Q30.In which cutting-edge industries are Quebecers leaders?

• Oil sands and pipelines
• Fishing and shipbuilding
• Potash and uranium mining
• Pharmaceuticals and aeronautics

Answer: Using the resources of the Canadian Shield, Quebec built forestry, energy and mining industries, and Quebecers are leaders in pharmaceuticals and aeronautics.