Modern Canada: Canadian Citizenship Test Questions

Q1.The era of rapid change in Quebec during the 1960s is known as:

• The Great Upheaval
• The Quiet Revolution
• Confederation
• The Dirty Thirties

Answer: In the 1960s Quebec went through a period of fast change called the Quiet Revolution.

Q2.Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best are celebrated for discovering what?

• The telephone
• Insulin
• The pacemaker
• Standard time zones

Answer: Banting and Best of Toronto discovered insulin, a hormone used to treat diabetes. It has saved millions of lives around the world.

Q3.Who invented the telephone (conceiving the idea at his summer home in Canada)?

• Thomas Edison
• Alexander Graham Bell
• Sandford Fleming
• Joseph-Armand Bombardier

Answer: Alexander Graham Bell came up with the idea for the telephone while at his summer home in Canada.

Q4.The sport of basketball was invented by which Canadian in 1891?

• James Naismith
• Wayne Gretzky
• Terry Fox
• Donovan Bailey

Answer: Canadian James Naismith invented basketball in 1891.

Q5.In 1980, who set out across Canada on the 'Marathon of Hope' to raise funds for cancer research?

• Rick Hansen
• Terry Fox
• Wayne Gretzky
• Chantal Petitclerc

Answer: Terry Fox, who had lost a leg to cancer, began his 'Marathon of Hope' in 1980 and became a national hero.

Q6.The Official Languages Act, which ensures federal government services in both English and French, was passed in:

• 1867
• 1931
• 1969
• 1995

Answer: The Official Languages Act was passed in 1969.

Q7.Sir Sandford Fleming is known for inventing what?

• The light bulb
• The worldwide system of standard time zones
• The snowmobile
• The pacemaker

Answer: Sir Sandford Fleming invented the worldwide system of standard time zones.

Q8.Canada belongs to NATO and (with the United States) to NORAD. What is NATO?

• A trade agreement
• A military alliance of democratic countries
• A peacekeeping fund
• An environmental treaty

Answer: Canada joined other Western democracies to form NATO, a military alliance, and partnered with the U.S. in NORAD for aerospace defence.

Q9.Which Canadian invention is a robotic arm developed for use on the U.S. space shuttle?

• The Canadarm
• The pacemaker
• The snowmobile
• The Avro Arrow

Answer: The Canadarm was a Canadian-built robotic arm used on the U.S. space shuttle, a symbol of Canada's contribution to space technology.

Q10.Lester B. Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his role in helping to resolve which crisis?

• The Cold War
• The Suez Crisis
• The Korean War
• The October Crisis

Answer: Lester B. Pearson, later Prime Minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for helping resolve the Suez Crisis through UN peacekeeping, an idea he pioneered.

Q11.With which country does Canada jointly operate NORAD, the aerospace defence command?

• The United Kingdom
• France
• The United States
• Mexico

Answer: Canada and the United States jointly operate the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to defend North American airspace.

Q12.In what year was Canada's Constitution patriated and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms added?

• 1965
• 1969
• 1982
• 1999

Answer: In 1982 Canada patriated its Constitution from Britain and entrenched the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Q13.After being paralyzed in an accident, which Canadian circled the globe in a wheelchair in his 'Man in Motion' tour to support spinal cord research?

• Terry Fox
• Rick Hansen
• Steve Nash
• Marc Garneau

Answer: Rick Hansen, a 'Man in Motion,' wheeled more than 40,000 km around the world in 1985-87 to raise awareness and funds for spinal cord research.

Q14.Who was the first Canadian to travel into space?

• Chris Hadfield
• Marc Garneau
• Roberta Bondar
• Julie Payette

Answer: Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space in 1984; Roberta Bondar was the first Canadian woman in space.

Q15.Women across most of Canada won the right to vote in federal elections by 1918. Which province was the last to grant women the vote provincially, in 1940?

• Manitoba
• Ontario
• Quebec
• Nova Scotia

Answer: Women gained the federal vote during 1917-1918, but Quebec was the last province to grant women the provincial vote, in 1940.

Q16.True or False: Wayne Gretzky, nicknamed 'The Great One,' is considered one of the best hockey players ever.

• True
• False

Answer: True. Wayne Gretzky, 'The Great One,' played in the NHL from 1979 to 1999 and is widely considered the greatest hockey player ever.

Q17.At the 1996 Olympic Games, which Canadian sprinter won gold and set a world record in the 100-metre sprint?

• Donovan Bailey
• Ben Johnson
• Bruny Surin
• Andre De Grasse

Answer: Donovan Bailey won the 100-metre sprint and set a world record at the 1996 Olympic Games, becoming a Canadian sports hero.

Q18.Terry Fox's 1980 Marathon of Hope was a cross-country run to raise money for research into which disease?

• Diabetes
• Cancer
• Polio
• Heart disease

Answer: Terry Fox, who had lost a leg to cancer, ran his Marathon of Hope in 1980 to raise money for cancer research, inspiring the annual Terry Fox Run.

Q19.Which wheelchair athlete is celebrated as one of Canada's most decorated Paralympians in track?

• Chantal Petitclerc
• Silken Laumann
• Catriona Le May Doan
• Clara Hughes

Answer: Chantal Petitclerc is a celebrated Canadian wheelchair racer who won numerous Paralympic gold medals and was later appointed to the Senate.

Q20.Which life-saving heart device that regulates the heartbeat was pioneered by Canadian researchers?

• The artificial pacemaker
• The insulin pump
• The defibrillator
• The artificial heart

Answer: The cardiac pacemaker, which uses electrical pulses to regulate the heartbeat, was pioneered by Canadian researchers including John Hopps.

Q21.Which group of painters, founded in 1920, is known for its paintings of Canada's rugged wilderness?

• Les Automatistes
• The Group of Seven
• The Hudson River School
• The Impressionists

Answer: The Group of Seven, founded in 1920, created its own style to paint Canada's wild, rugged landscapes. Emily Carr is known for her paintings of West Coast forests and Aboriginal art, and Quebec's Les Automatistes, such as Jean-Paul Riopelle, were pioneers of abstract art in the 1950s.

Q22.What event in 1947 began Canada's modern energy industry?

• The completion of the CPR
• The opening of the Rideau Canal
• The Yukon Gold Rush
• The discovery of oil in Alberta

Answer: Oil found in Alberta in 1947 launched Canada's modern energy industry. After the war, freer world trade under agreements such as GATT (now the World Trade Organization) helped bring record prosperity.

Q23.In what year did the federal government introduce unemployment insurance, now called employment insurance?

• 1867
• 1914
• 1927
• 1940

Answer: Unemployment insurance began in 1940. Old Age Security dates back to 1927, while the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan began in 1965.

Q24.Which war, from 1950 to 1953, saw Canadians serve in a United Nations operation, with about 500 killed?

• The Second World War
• The Vietnam War
• The Korean War
• The Suez Crisis

Answer: In the Korean War (1950–53), Canadians fought under the United Nations to defend South Korea; 500 were killed and 1,000 wounded. Canada has since served in many UN peacekeeping missions.

Q25.Which international association did Canada help found in 1970?

• NATO
• The United Nations
• The Commonwealth
• La Francophonie

Answer: La Francophonie, a worldwide association of French-speaking countries, was founded in 1970 with Canada's help. Earlier, Canada had helped form NATO and had joined the United Nations.

Q26.In 1956, Canada welcomed about 37,000 refugees fleeing Soviet tyranny in which country?

• Poland
• Vietnam
• Hungary
• Czechoslovakia

Answer: About 37,000 Hungarians found refuge in Canada after 1956. After the Communist victory in Vietnam in 1975, more than 50,000 Vietnamese also came to Canada.

Q27.Which artist was a pioneer of modern Inuit art, known for prints and soapstone carvings?

• Kenojuak Ashevak
• Emily Carr
• Louis-Philippe Hébert
• Jean-Paul Riopelle

Answer: Kenojuak Ashevak led the way in modern Inuit art with her etchings, prints and soapstone sculptures. Louis-Philippe Hébert sculpted historical figures, Emily Carr painted the West Coast and Jean-Paul Riopelle was a pioneer of abstract art.

Q28.What is Paul Henderson remembered for?

• Inventing basketball in 1891
• Winning Olympic gold in the 100-metre sprint
• Scoring the winning goal against the Soviet Union in 1972
• Starring with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s

Answer: Paul Henderson's goal won the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union. Known as 'the goal heard around the world', it is still a celebrated moment in Canada's sporting and cultural history.

Q29.What did Joseph-Armand Bombardier invent?

• The electric light bulb
• The cardiac pacemaker
• The telephone
• The snowmobile

Answer: Joseph-Armand Bombardier gave the world the snowmobile, a light vehicle for winter travel. The first electric light bulb was invented by Mathew Evans and Henry Woodward, who sold the patent to Thomas Edison.

Q30.Which famous invention came from Research in Motion (RIM), the company of Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie?

• The BlackBerry
• The Canadarm
• The electric light bulb
• The first radio

Answer: The wireless company Research in Motion, led by Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, became famous for the BlackBerry. Reginald Fessenden sent the world's first wireless voice message, an early step toward radio.