CANADA QUIZ
TEST YOUR SKILLS AS A
HISTORIAN
CANADA QUIZ
Try your hand at answering a
sampling of questions from the
Dominion Institute’s annual Canadian
history quiz
Every year, the Dominion Institutes
assembles a sampling of questions
on Canadian history, politics, art, and
culture to try and encourage
Canadians to learn more about the
country’s past
1. Which Canadian Prime Minister
sought the advice of his dead
mother and dog?
A
John Diefenbaker
B
Mackenzie King
C
Brian Mulroney
2. Name Canada’s first francophone
Prime Minister who proclaimed: “The
20th century will belong to Canada.”
A
Wilfrid Laurier
B
Pierre Trudeau
C
Louis St. Laurent
3. Where did General Wolfe and
the British Army defeat the French
army for control of Quebec in 1759?
A
The Salisbury Plains
B
The Great Plains
C
The Plains of Abraham
4. Which doctor was responsible
for the discovery of insulin in 1923?
A
Emily Stowe
B
Frederick Banting
C
David Suzuki
5. Who was Canada’s famous
‘flying ace’ of the First World War?
A
Raymond Collishaw
B
Billy Bishop
C
William Claxton
6. From 1950 to 1955, over 25,000
Canadian service men and women
took part in the Cold Wars first
major armed conflict. What was
the name of this war?
A
The Korean War
B
The Vietnam War
C
World War Two
7. Name the now extinct people
who once inhabited Newfoundland.
A
The Beothuk
B
The Micmac
C
The Acadians
8. National referendums are nothing
new in Canada. In 1942, a national
referendum sparked a fierce debate
over military service and national
unity. What was this plebiscite
about?
A
Conscription
B
War Bonds
C
Medicare
9. What product made of dried
meat and berries, was sold to fur
traders for their long voyages into
and out of the Canadian interior
and became a competitive industry
in the Canadas West?
A
Bannock
B
Pemmican
C
Caribou Steak
10. Name the Irish Independence
movements whose raids where an
important factor in the move
towards Confederation.
A
The Fenian Brotherhood
B
The Irish Republican Army
C
St. Patrick’s Posse
11. The 1988 federal election was
fought which contentious issue?
A
The HST tax
B
Patronage
C
Free Trade
12. In the First World War a
massive ammunitions explosion
in a Canadian city killed 1600,
injured 9000 and left thousands
more homeless. Where did this
occur?
A
Toronto
B
Vancouver
C
Halifax
13. To resolve the 1956 Suez
Crisis, Lester B. Pearson proposed
the creation of a new type of UN
mandated military force. Used in
conflict zones ever since, what are
these forces usually called?
A
Emergency Forces
B
Peacekeepers
C
Military Monitors
14. During the Second World War,
thousands of Canadians were
forcibly evacuated from the West
Coast of Canada because of their
ethnic origin. Who were these
Canadians?
A
Japanese-Canadians
B
Chinese-Canadians
C
Acadians
15. Which province was the first to
introduce Medicare?
A
Saskatchewan
B
Alberta
C
Quebec
16. Which province was the last to
join Confederation?
A
British Columbia
B
Prince Edward Island
C
Newfoundland
17. Which of the following people is
associated with the first permanent
European settlement in what
became Canada?
A
Christopher Columbus
B
Samuel de Champlain
C
Henry Hudson
18. Name the commander of the
French forces when Quebec was
attacked by the English in 1759.
A
Marquis de Montcalm
B
Marquis de Wolfe
C
Marquis de Vaudreuil
19. What was the French name
given to the rugged woodsmen who
worked for the Hudson’s Bay
Company?
A
Bonhommes de neige
B
Hommes forts
C
Coureurs de bois
20. Name the star player from
Canadas winning-est team
whose suspension caused a riot
in 1955.
A
Maurice Richard
B
Todd Bertuzzi
C
Wayne Gretzky
21. Which of the following was
Canada’s most famous single
victory in the First World War that
consisted of the capture of a key
ridge on the Western Front
A
Battle of Vichy
B
Battle of Vimy Ridge
C
Battle of Ortona
22. In 1942, almost 1000
Canadians lost their lives in a tragic
assault on a French seaside town.
Name that town.
A
Caen
B
Vimy
C
Dieppe
23. In 1864, colonial
representatives first met in PEI to
discuss the idea of a federal union
of all the British North American
provinces. What was the name of
the famous meeting?
A
The Confederation Conference
B
The Charlottetown Conference
C
The Union Conference
24.When did Canada eliminate the
one dollar bill and replace in
with the Loonie coin?
A
1974
B
1987
C
1994
Answers
•
•
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
B – MACKENZIE KING
A – Wilfrid Laurier
C – The Plains of
Abraham
B – Frederick Banting
B – Billy Bishop
A – The Korean War
A – The Beothuk
A – Conscription
B – Pemmican
A – The Fenian
Brotherhood
C – Free Trade
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
C - Halifax
B – Peacekeepers
A – Japanese Canadians
A - Saskatchewan
C – Newfoundland
B – Samuel de
Champlain
A – Marquis de Montcalm
C – Coureurs de bois
A – Maurice Richard
B – Battle of Vimy Ridge
C - Dieppe
B – The Charlottetown
Conference
B - 1994