The Great Canadian Quiz - Answers


History:
  1. Montreal was founded in?
    a) 1553
    b) 1642
    c) 1698
    d) 1703
    Answer: b) 1642

  2. This explorer and mapmaker was the first to provide a comprehensive map of western Canada in 1814?
    a) David Thompson
    b) Samuel de Champlain
    c) James Cook
    d) Simon Fraser
    Answer: a) David Thompson

  3. What was Canada's first provincial park, established in 1893?
    a) Red Point (PEI)
    b) Alognquin (Ontario)
    c) Mount Robson (B.C)
    d) Mount Assiniboine (B.C.)
    Answer: b) Algonquin (Ontario)

  4. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was fought in what year?
    a) 1916
    b) 1917
    c) 1943
    d) 1944
    Answer: b) 1917

  5. How many Canadian soldiers died taking Vimy Ridge?
    a) 2,333
    b) 3,600
    c) 1,250
    d) 5,000
    Answer: b) 3,600

  6. Conscription into the armed forces became law in what year?
    a) 1914
    b) 1917
    c) 1939
    d) 1941
    Answer: b) 1917

  7. In 1918 French Canadian soldiers fought fiercely to:
    a) escape the army
    b) break through the Hindenburg Line
    c) capture Vimy Ridge
    d) escape Flanders Fields
    Answer: b) break through the Hindenburg Line

  8. Name the celebrated First World War flying ace, credited with 72 "kills", who became the first Canadian airman to receive the Victoria Cross?
    a) W.G. Barker
    b) Raymond Collishaw
    c) William A. Bishop
    d) A.A. McLeod
    Answer: c) William A. Bishop

  9. Germany's top World War One ace Baron von Richthofen was shot down by what Canadian pilot?
    a) Wop May
    b) Billy Bishop
    c) Will Barker
    d) Roy Brown
    Answer: d) Roy Brown

  10. In 1928, this man received the highest score in his Department of External Affairs entrance exams. He went on to become Canada's 14th prime minister. Name him:
    a) John Diefenbaker
    b) Pierre Trudeau
    c) Lester B. Pearson
    d) Louis St. Laurent
    Answer: c) Lester B. Pearson

  11. In 1950, this RCMP vessel became the first ship to sail around North America:
    a) Nelson Eddy
    b) St. Lawrence
    c) Bluenose
    d) St. Roch
    Answer: d) St. Roch

  12. This explorer was the first to navigate through the Northwest Passage:
    a) John Franklin
    b) Roald Amundsen
    c) William Parry
    d) Martin Frobisher
    Answer: b) Roald Amundsen

  13. In 1689, during a war with French settlers the Iroquois attacked what village and massacred the residents?
    a) Longueil
    b) Chambly
    c) Lachine
    d) Trois Rivieres
    Answer: c) Lachine

  14. The first census of New France found 720 single men and how many single women?
    a) 634
    b) 403
    c) 203
    d) 45
    Answer: d) 45

  15. Jacques Cartier kidnapped what Iroquois chief and his sons?
    a) Dom Agaya
    b) Donnaconna
    c) Stadacona
    d) Saguenay
    Answer: b) Donnaconna

  16. Name the commander of Britain's Iroquois allies during the American Revolutionary War who went on to translate part of the Bible into Mohawk.
    a) Sitting Bull
    b) Joseph Brant
    c) Grey Owl
    d) Little Bear
    Answer: b) Joseph Brant

  17. The crew of explorer Henry Hudson's ship:
    a) Discovered Baffin Island
    b) Found the Northwest Passage
    c) Mutinied and set Hudson adrift
    d) Were eaten by polar bears
    Answer: c) Mutinied and set Hudson adrift

  18. The first person to cross North America, above Mexico was?
    a) Champlain
    b) Alexander Mackenzie
    c) James Cook
    d) John Simcoe
    Answer: b) Alexander Mackenzie

  19. Roger Sheaffe was accused of cowardice because he:
    a) refused to sail in the Arctic
    b) fled York when the U.S. attacked
    c) returned to Britain
    d) was defeated in Detroit
    Answer: b) fled York when the U.S. attacked

  20. French, English and Mohawk soldiers defeated the Americans in a major battle at this site:
    a) Chrysler’s Farm
    b) Chateauguay
    c) Quebec
    d) Montreal
    Answer: b) Chateauguay

  21. Construction of the fortress at Louisbourg Nova Scotia, started in what year?
    a) 1645
    b) 1695
    c) 1719
    d) 1796
    Answer: c) 1719

  22. Building Louisbourg took how long?
    a) Three years
    b) Five years
    c) 15 years
    d) 26 years
    Answer: d) 26 years

  23. Political refugees who fled from the U.S. for Canada after the 1776 revolution were called:
    a) boat people
    b) wetbacks
    c) loyalists
    d) deportees
    Answer: c) loyalists

  24. In 1778 Captain James Cook
    a) discovered Hawaii
    b) explored Australia
    c) toured the St. Lawrence
    d) charted Vancouver Island
    Answer: d) charted Vancouver Island

  25. Cook's crew sailed to China and
    a) triggered trade in sea otters
    b) found gun powder
    c) were killed
    d) discovered gold mines
    Answer: a) triggered trade in sea otters

  26. In August 1814 British forces captured and burned this city:
    a) Detroit
    b) Moraviantown
    c) Chippewa
    d) Washington
    Answer: d) Washington

  27. During World War One, 5,000 Canadians in what country were used as forced labor?
    a) Japan
    b) France
    c) Ukraine
    d) China
    Answer: c) Ukraine

  28. Name the humanitarian who set out on a personal and life-long crusade to help the world's less fortunate through the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada, the organization she founded in 1945.
    a) Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova
    b) Charlotte Whitton
    c) Marie-Christine Barbeau
    d) Elizabeth McGill
    Answer: a) Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova


Geography:
  1. The last battle of the Seven Years' War fought in North America occurred in what area?
    a) Quebec
    b) Nova Scotia
    c) Newfoundland
    d) New Brunswick
    Answer: c) Newfoundland

  2. The First Nations Religion, Beothuk lived in what area?
    a) New France
    b) Nova Scotia
    c) Newfoundland
    d) Labrador
    Answer: c) Newfoundland

  3. Canadian peacekeepers have served in war scarred countries around the world for over 50 years. In which country did our peacekeepers first serve?
    a) Kashmir
    b) Egypt
    c) Cyprus
    d) Congo
    Answer: b) Egypt

  4. In 1918 a riot broke out when a suspected draft resister was arrested in what city?
    a) Chicoutimi
    b) Toronto
    c) Montreal
    d) Quebec City
    Answer: d) Quebec City

  5. The largest island in Canada, at 507,451 sq. km, is:
    a) Baffin
    b) Vancouver
    c) Newfoundland
    d) Prince Edward Island
    Answer: a) Baffin

  6. Which Canadian city is located at the highest elevation above sea level?
    a) Lethbridge
    b) Whitehorse
    c) Regina
    d) Calgary
    Answer: d) Calgary

  7. What is the largest lake located wholly in Canada (at 30,764 sq. km)?
    a) Great Slave Lake (NWT)
    b) Lake Winnipeg (Man.)
    c) Lake Athabasca (Sask.)
    d) Great Bear Lake (NWT)
    Answer: d) Great Bear Lake (NWT)

  8. London, Ont., has the highest average number of thunderstorms in a year at:
    a) 25
    b) 28
    c) 36
    d) 45
    Answer: c) 36

  9. You can't get any further east than this place in Canada:
    a) St. John's, Nfld.
    b) Cape Spear, Nfld.
    c) Francis Harbor, Nfld.
    d) Bonavista, Nfld.
    Answer: b) Cape Spear, Nfld.

  10. Which province is known as the "wheat province" and has wheat sheaves on its coast of arms?
    a) Saskatchewan
    b) Manitoba
    c) Alberta
    d) Nova Scotia
    Answer: a) Saskatchewan

  11. Which Canadian city has the most hours of sunshine in summer on average (1,037):
    a) Yellowknife, NT
    b) St. John's, Nfld.
    c) Regina
    d) Toronto
    Answer: a) Yellowknife, NT

  12. Which is the cloudiest and wettest city in Canada, but has the fewest thunderstorms?
    a) Prince Rupert, B.C.
    b) Victoria, B.C.
    c) Halifax, N.S.
    d) St. John's, Nfld.
    Answer: a) Prince Rupert, B.C.

  13. Which city is the highest above sea level (1,128 meters)?
    a) Kimberley, B.C.
    b) Churchill, Man.
    c) Dawson, Yukon
    d) Lethbridge, Alta.
    Answer: a) Kimberley, B.C.

  14. The most recently active volcanoes in Canada are located in:
    a) British Columbia
    b) Quebec
    c) Nunavut
    d) Alberta
    Answer: a) British Columbia

  15. Avid geography fans already know Mt. Logan in the Yukon is Canada's highest mountain at 5,959 metres. What's the second highest at 5,489?
    a) Mt. Steele
    b) Mt. Lucania
    c) Mt. Wood
    d) Mt. St. Elias
    Answer: d) Mt. St. Elias

  16. The longest river in Canada, at 4,241 km, is:
    a) St. Lawrence
    b) Yukon
    c) Mackenzie
    d) Peace
    Answer: c) Mackenzie

  17. There are plenty of Christmas themes in Canadian geography. Where would you find North Pole Mountain?
    a) Quebec
    b) Yukon
    c) B.C.
    d) New Brunswick
    Answer: d) New Brunswick

  18. This provincial capital's name is derived from an Indian word that translates as "dirty water."
    a) Toronto
    b) Winnipeg
    c) Quebec
    d) Edmonton
    Answer: b) Winnipeg



Canada:
  1. On one side of Canada's official coat of arms is a lion. What animal is on the other side?
    a) Beaver
    b) Bison
    c) Eagle
    d) Unicorn
    Answer: d) Unicorn

  2. The most powerful earthquake recorded in Canada, 8.1 on the Richter scale in 1949, occurred where?
    a) Baffin Bay
    b) Montreal
    c) Queen Charlotte Islands
    d) Northern Quebec
    Answer: c) Queen Charlotte Islands

  3. How many of the world's 24 time zones are in Canada?
    a) 4
    b) 6
    c) 8
    d) 3
    Answer: b) 6

  4. According to 1998 statistics, what is the most popular sport in Canada in terms of participation for people over 15 years of age (both sexes included)?
    a) Hockey
    b) Golf
    c) Swimming
    d) Bowling
    Answer: b) Golf

  5. Approximately what percentage of Canadian workers travel to work via public transit?
    a) 6-10%
    b) 11-15%
    c) 16-20%
    d) 21-30%
    Answer: b) 11-15%

  6. All of the following are in the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. Which one is in for curling?
    a) Ken Dryden
    b) Don Duguid
    c) Sandy Hawley
    d) Phil Marchildon
    Answer: b) Don Duguid

  7. The RCMP is an agency of which federal government ministry?
    a) Justice
    b) Corrections
    c) Solicitor General
    d) National Defence
    Answer: c) Solicitor General

  8. Flag day commemorates the date when our current national flag was inaugurated in 1965. What date is it?
    a) Feb. 15
    b) July 1
    c) May 24
    d) Sept. 6
    Answer: a) Feb. 15

  9. The Canadian west coast is home to the tallest and longest living tree in Canada, known in Latin as Pseudotsuga menziesii, and more commonly known as
    a) redwood
    b) Douglas Fir
    c) giant sequoia
    d) white pine
    Answer: b) Douglas Fir

  10. How long is the border between Canada and the United States, including Alaska-Yukon border?
    a) 5,280 km
    b) 7,310 km
    c) 6,420 km
    d) 8,891 km
    Answer: d) 8,891 km

  11. Canada's longest bridge (12.9 km) is:
    a) Jacques Cartier Bridge (Que.)
    b) Confederation Bridge (PEI-N.B.)
    c) Lion's Gate Bridge (B.C.)
    d) Rainbow Bridge (Ont.)
    Answer: b) Confederation Bridge (PEI-N.B.)

  12. Approximately how much of Canada has underlying permafrost (ground at or below 0 degrees Celsius for at least two years)?
    a) 15-25%
    b) 30-40%
    c) 40-50%
    d) 55-65%
    Answer: c) 40-50%

  13. The Memorial Chamber is home to the Books of Remembrance, which list those Canadians who gave their lives during the international conflicts. What poem by Canadian John McCrae has come to symbolize the ultimate sacrifice of war?
    a) Lest We Forget
    b) Maple Leaf Forever
    c) In Flanders Fields
    d) Between the Crosses
    Answer: c) In Flanders Fields

  14. Which fish is the number one catch of recreational fishing in Canada?
    a) Bass
    b) Walleye
    c) Perch
    d) Trout
    Answer:d) Trout

  15. In terms of size, where does Canada (at 9,970,610 square km) rank in the world?
    a) First
    b) Second
    c) Third
    d) Fourth

    Answer: b) Second


  16. After the United States, what is the most popular country for Canadians to visit?
    a) Mexico
    b) France
    c) United Kingdom
    d) Italy
    Answer: c) United Kingdom

  17. Who became Canada's first woman astronaut when the space shuttle "Discovery" began its eight days in orbit around the earth in 1992?
    a) Sylvie Frechette
    b) Julie Payette
    c) Beverly McLachlin
    d) Roberta Bondar
    Answer: d) Roberta Bondar

  18. Canada was joined from east to west by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Where in British Columbia was the last spike of the railway driven on Nov. 7, 1885?
    a) Revelstoke
    b) Vancouver
    c) Penticton
    d) Craigellachie
    Answer: d) Craigellachie

  19. Which of these actors was NOT part of the SCTV cast?
    a) Tony Rosato
    b) Dave Broadfoot
    c) Martin Short
    d) Robin Duke
    Answer: b) Dave Broadfoot

  20. What book written by Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1908 became the most popular Canadian book ever?
    a) Sunshine Sketches
    b) Anne of Green Gables
    c) Roughing it in the Bush
    d) The Stone Angel
    Answer: b) Anne of Green Gables



Music:
  1. What was the name of the band Randy Bachman led between The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive?
    a) Trooper
    b) Sweeney Todd
    c) Brave Belt
    d) Union
    Answer: c) Brave Belt

  2. Bryan Adams' record-breaking chart single "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" first appeared on the soundtrack to what film?
    a) Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves
    b) Dances With Wolves
    c) Waterworld
    d) Bull Durham
    Answer: a) Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves

  3. Neil Young and Stephen Stills teamed up with great success in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. What was the name of the group they appeared in prior to that?
    a) The Byrds
    b) The Eagles
    c) Buffalo Springfield
    d) Love
    Answer: c) Buffalo Springfield

  4. Name the song from Joni Mitchell's classic album "Blue" that was later covered by Scottish hard-rock band Nazareth.
    a) "California"
    b) "My Old Man"
    c) "A Case Of You"
    d) "This Flight Tonight"
    Answer: d) "This Flight Tonight"

  5. "Chelsea Hotel" is a musical memoir about Leonard Cohen's liaison with what doomed '60s female rock singer?
    a) Grace Slick
    b) Janis Joplin
    c) Melanie
    d) Laura Nyro
    Answer: b) Janis Joplin

  6. The recording of a Bach prelude and fugue by a Canadian musician is among the artifacts on two Voyager space craft launched by NASA in the 1970's. Name the musician.
    a) David Foster
    b) Oscar Peterson
    c) Glenn Gould
    d) Percy Faith
    Answer: c) Glenn Gould



Bonus:
  1. Yousuf Karsh's 1941 photograph of this man became one of the most widely reproduced portraits of all time. Who was he?
    a) Winston Churchill
    b) Franklin Roosevelt
    c) William Mackenzie
    d) Mao Tse Tung
    Answer: a) Winston Churchill

  2. The first Canadian writer to win the French literary prize, Prix Femina, for her novel, The Tin Flute, was:
    a) Gabrielle Roy
    b) Margaret Atwood
    c) Margaret Laurence
    d) June Callwood
    Answer: a) Gabrielle Roy

  3. The Empress of Ireland is famous for what?
    a) Sinking in the St. Lawrence killing 1,000
    b) Exploding in Halifax harbor
    c) Carrying the Queen to safety
    d) Replacing the Titanic
    Answer: a) Sinking in the St. Lawrence killing 1,000

  4. Which famous Canadian artist from British Columbia was also an author who won a Governor General's Award for her writing?
    a) Pauline Johnson
    b) Antonine Maillet
    c) Buffy Ste. Marie
    d) Emily Carr
    Answer: d) Emily Carr

  5. Name the Nobel Prize-winning chemist and physicist who had an asteroid named for him in 1987.
    a) Gerhard Herzberg
    b) John Polanyi
    c) Bertram Brockhouse
    d) Frederick Banting
    Answer: a) Gerhard Herzberg

  6. What was the name of the dog that starred in The Littlest Hobo TV series?
    a) London
    b) Toto
    c) Thunder
    d) Austin
    Answer: a) London

  7. Canada's worst offshore drilling disaster occurred in 1982 when hurricane-force winds battered this drilling rig:
    a) Exxon Valdez
    b) Hibernia
    c) Oceania
    d) Ocean Ranger
    Answer: d) Ocean Ranger

  8. This writer's first Governor General's Literary Award for fiction came in 1992; the second in 2000 along with a ‘ghost':
    a) Margaret Atwood
    b) Michael Ondaatje
    c) Timothy Findlay
    d) Austin Clarke
    Answer: b) Michael Ondaatje