Canadian Citizenship Test questions and answers

1. Serving on a jury when called
2. Obeying the law
3. Joining the military
4. Speaking both official languages

Answer: A. Serving on a jury when called and B. Obeying the law

Citizen responsibilities include obeying the law, taking responsibility for yourself and your family, serving on a jury, voting, helping others and protecting heritage and the environment.

1. 1066
2. 1492
3. 1215
4. 1607

Answer: C. 1215

The Magna Carta was signed in England in 1215. Canada’s tradition of ordered liberty reaches back to it.

1. England
2. France
3. Scotland
4. Canada

Answer: A. England

The Magna Carta was signed in England in 1215, long before Canada existed. Its ideas of liberty were later inherited by Canada.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: B. FALSE

Habeas corpus comes from English common law. The civil code of France is a separate source of Canadian law.

1. Freedom from paying taxes
2. Freedom of peaceful assembly
3. The right to vote from age 16
4. The right to refuse jury duty

Answer: B. Freedom of peaceful assembly

Freedom of peaceful assembly is a fundamental freedom. The others are freedom of conscience and religion; of thought, belief, opinion and expression; and of association.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: B. FALSE

No person or group is above the law in Canada. Individuals and governments are governed by laws, not by arbitrary actions.

1. Drive anywhere in Canada without a licence
2. Vote in any riding they choose
3. Live and work anywhere in Canada, enter and leave the country freely, and apply for a passport
4. Move to any other country without a passport

Answer: C. Live and work anywhere in Canada, enter and leave the country freely, and apply for a passport

Mobility rights let Canadians live and work anywhere in Canada, enter and leave the country freely, and apply for a passport.

1. A fundamental characteristic of Canadian heritage and identity
2. A temporary program for new immigrants only
3. A rule that applies only in large cities
4. A replacement for the official languages

Answer: A. A fundamental characteristic of Canadian heritage and identity

Multiculturalism is described as a fundamental characteristic of Canadian heritage and identity. It is listed among the Charter’s important rights.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: A. TRUE

When called, you are legally required to serve on a jury. The justice system depends on impartial juries made up of citizens.

1. Volunteering at a food bank
2. Watching a hockey game
3. Travelling across Canada on holiday
4. Buying a new car

Answer: A. Volunteering at a food bank

Millions of Canadians volunteer without pay, for example at a food bank or other charity, at their child’s school, or by helping newcomers settle in.

1. The Magna Carta
2. The Royal Proclamation of 1763
3. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
4. The British North America Act of 1867

Answer: D. The British North America Act of 1867

“Peace, Order and Good Government” comes from the British North America Act of 1867, Canada’s original constitutional document.

1. The British North America Act
2. The Act of Union
3. The Royal Proclamation of 1763
4. The Magna Carta

Answer: C. The Royal Proclamation of 1763

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 first guaranteed Aboriginal territorial rights and set the basis for negotiating treaties with newcomers.

1. To teach Aboriginal languages to new immigrants
2. To educate Aboriginal children and assimilate them into mainstream Canadian culture
3. To train soldiers for the First World War
4. To prepare students for work in the fur trade

Answer: B. To educate Aboriginal children and assimilate them into mainstream Canadian culture

Residential schools were meant to educate Aboriginal children and assimilate them into mainstream culture. Aboriginal languages and cultural practices were mostly forbidden.

1. In the 1860s
2. In the 1920s
3. In the 2000s
4. In the 1970s

Answer: D. In the 1970s

The term First Nations began to be used in the 1970s.

1. Mainly in large cities in southern Ontario
2. Mainly in the Prairie provinces
3. In small, scattered communities across the Arctic
4. Mainly in the Maritime provinces

Answer: C. In small, scattered communities across the Arctic

The Inuit live in small, scattered communities across the Arctic. Their knowledge of the land, sea and wildlife helped them adapt to a very harsh environment.

1. Michif
2. Inuktitut
3. Gaelic
4. Acadian French

Answer: A. Michif

The Métis speak their own dialect, Michif. Inuktitut is the language of the Inuit.

1. A person who speaks both English and French
2. A person who was born in France
3. A person whose first language is French
4. A person who lives in Quebec

Answer: C. A person whose first language is French

A Francophone is a person whose first language is French. An Anglophone is a person whose first language is English.

1. Quebec
2. New Brunswick
3. Ontario
4. Manitoba

Answer: B. New Brunswick

New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province. Quebec’s population is mostly French-speaking.

1. 1604
2. 1534
3. 1759
4. 1867

Answer: A. 1604

French colonists began settling in the Maritimes in 1604. Their descendants are the Acadians.

1. 500
2. 85,000
3. 850,000
4. 8,500

Answer: D. 8,500

Most Quebecers descend from 8,500 French settlers of the 1600s and 1700s and keep a unique identity, culture and language.

1. 1 July 1901
2. 17 April 1982
3. 4 July 1776
4. 1 July 1867

Answer: D. 1 July 1867

The Dominion of Canada was created on 1 July 1867, now celebrated as Canada Day.

1. The Plains of Abraham
2. Normandy
3. Vimy Ridge
4. Queenston Heights

Answer: C. Vimy Ridge

The capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917 is a defining moment in Canadian history.

1. Agnes Macphail
2. Emily Carr
3. Laura Secord
4. Marie Curie

Answer: C. Laura Secord

Laura Secord is a heroine of the War of 1812.

1. French explorers
2. English fishermen
3. The Vikings
4. Spanish sailors

Answer: C. The Vikings

Vikings from Iceland, who had settled Greenland about 1,000 years ago, also reached Labrador and Newfoundland. Their settlement's remains are at L'Anse aux Meadows.

1. Montreal
2. Quebec City
3. Halifax
4. Kingston

Answer: B. Quebec City

Champlain built his fortress in 1608 where Quebec City stands today. The early colonists struggled with the harsh climate.

1. 1608
2. 1759
3. 1670
4. 1774

Answer: C. 1670

The Hudson's Bay Company received these rights in 1670. For the next 100 years it competed with fur traders based in Montreal.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: A. TRUE

True. The British defeated the French at Quebec City in 1759, ending France's empire in America. Britain then renamed the colony the Province of Quebec.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: B. FALSE

False. The Quebec Act restored French civil law while keeping British criminal law.

1. Halifax, Nova Scotia
2. Quebec City, Quebec
3. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
4. Kingston, Ontario

Answer: A. Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax elected the first representative assembly in 1758. Prince Edward Island followed in 1773 and New Brunswick in 1785.

1. Lower Canada
2. Upper Canada
3. Nova Scotia
4. New Brunswick

Answer: B. Upper Canada

Upper Canada, led by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, took this step in 1793. The British Parliament abolished slavery throughout the Empire in 1833.

1. The World Trade Organization
2. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
3. The United Nations
4. The Commonwealth

Answer: A. The World Trade Organization

GATT is now the World Trade Organization (WTO). Canada joined it as part of lowering trade barriers, which had hurt the world economy during the Great Depression.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: A. TRUE

TRUE. Post-war economic growth meant that in 1951 a majority of Canadians could, for the first time, afford adequate food, shelter and clothing.

1. North Korea
2. Japan
3. South Korea
4. Vietnam

Answer: C. South Korea

Canadian forces helped defend South Korea during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953.

1. Hungary
2. Vietnam
3. Cuba
4. Ireland

Answer: A. Hungary

In 1956 Canada took in tens of thousands of Hungarians who had fled Soviet oppression.

1. Northern mining
2. Railway construction
3. Bilingualism and biculturalism
4. Fisheries and oceans

Answer: C. Bilingualism and biculturalism

The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism was created in 1963. Its work led to the Official Languages Act of 1969.

1. An international association of French-speaking countries
2. A Quebec political party
3. A military alliance of Western countries
4. A trade agreement between Canada and France

Answer: A. An international association of French-speaking countries

La Francophonie is an international association of French-speaking countries. Canada was one of its founders in 1970.

1. Quebec voted to leave Canada
2. Sovereignty was defeated by a very wide margin
3. The vote was cancelled before it took place
4. Sovereignty was defeated by a very narrow margin

Answer: D. Sovereignty was defeated by a very narrow margin

In 1995 Quebec voters again rejected sovereignty, but the margin was very narrow.

1. The Fathers of Confederation
2. The Group of Seven
3. The Famous Five
4. The Family Compact

Answer: B. The Group of Seven

The Group of Seven, founded in 1920, painted the wild Canadian landscape in a bold new style.

1. Curling
2. Lacrosse
3. Canadian football
4. Women's hockey

Answer: D. Women's hockey

The Clarkson Cup was created by former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson as a trophy for women's hockey.

1. French fur traders
2. Aboriginal peoples
3. Scottish pioneers
4. American soldiers

Answer: C. Scottish pioneers

Curling, a game played on ice, was introduced to Canada by Scottish pioneers.

1. The provinces, the territories and the cities
2. The Sovereign, the Senate and the House of Commons
3. The Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the courts
4. The House of Commons, the Supreme Court and the police

Answer: B. The Sovereign, the Senate and the House of Commons

Parliament has three parts: the Sovereign, the Senate and the House of Commons.

1. The Canada Act, 1982
2. The Quebec Act, 1774
3. The Constitution Act, 1867
4. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Answer: C. The Constitution Act, 1867

The British North America Act is now called the Constitution Act, 1867. It still defines the powers of the federal and provincial governments.

1. Defence and currency
2. Agriculture and immigration
3. Education and health
4. Criminal law and navigation

Answer: B. Agriculture and immigration

Agriculture and immigration are shared between the two levels. Defence, currency, criminal law and navigation are federal; education and health are provincial.

1. Every province must have exactly the same laws
2. The Prime Minister can cancel any provincial law
3. Provinces do not need elected assemblies
4. Provinces can adopt policies suited to their own populations

Answer: D. Provinces can adopt policies suited to their own populations

Federalism lets each province shape policies for its own people and gives provinces room to try out new ideas.

1. The approval of the Senate
2. The confidence of the House
3. The support of the Lieutenant Governors
4. The consent of the Supreme Court

Answer: B. The confidence of the House

Cabinet ministers are responsible to the elected representatives. They must keep the "confidence of the House" to stay in office.

1. They are elected by the voters of each province
2. They are chosen by the provincial premiers
3. They are elected by the House of Commons
4. They are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister

Answer: D. They are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister

Senators are not elected. The Governor General appoints them on the advice of the Prime Minister.

1. The Prime Minister
2. The Speaker of the House of Commons
3. The Governor General, on behalf of the Sovereign
4. The Chief Justice of Canada

Answer: C. The Governor General, on behalf of the Sovereign

Royal assent is the last step before a bill becomes law. The Governor General grants it on the Sovereign's behalf.

1. First reading
2. Report stage
3. Committee stage
4. Royal assent

Answer: C. Committee stage

At the committee stage, committee members go through the bill one clause at a time.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: A. TRUE

The Senate also reads, studies and votes on the bill. After passing both Houses, it receives royal assent.

1. By a vote of all Canadian citizens
2. By the Sovereign, on the advice of the Prime Minister
3. By a vote of the House of Commons
4. By the Senate

Answer: B. By the Sovereign, on the advice of the Prime Minister

The Governor General represents the Sovereign in Canada and is appointed by the Sovereign on the Prime Minister's advice.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: A. TRUE

Canadian law secures the right to a secret ballot. Nobody can make you reveal how you voted.

1. A county or a municipality
2. A reserve or a band
3. A riding or a constituency
4. A territory or a region

Answer: C. A riding or a constituency

Electoral districts are also called ridings or constituencies.

1. The candidate chosen by the Prime Minister
2. The candidate who wins at least two-thirds of the votes
3. The candidate with the most votes
4. The candidate chosen by the Senate

Answer: C. The candidate with the most votes

The candidate who receives the most votes in an electoral district becomes its member of Parliament.

1. Be a permanent resident, be at least 16, and pay taxes
2. Be a Canadian citizen, be at least 21, and own property
3. Be a Canadian citizen, be at least 18, and belong to a political party
4. Be a Canadian citizen, be at least 18 on voting day, and be on the voters' list

Answer: D. Be a Canadian citizen, be at least 18 on voting day, and be on the voters' list

To vote in a federal election or referendum you must be a citizen, be 18 or older on voting day, and be on the voters' list.

1. A permanent database of Canadian citizens aged 18 or older who are qualified to vote in federal elections and referendums
2. A list of all members of Parliament and senators
3. A list of all registered political parties
4. A record of how each Canadian voted in the last election

Answer: A. A permanent database of Canadian citizens aged 18 or older who are qualified to vote in federal elections and referendums

The National Register of Electors is a permanent database kept by Elections Canada. The voters' lists are produced from it.

1. Your voter information card and proof of your identity and address
2. A letter from your employer
3. Your political party membership card
4. Two family members to confirm your choice

Answer: A. Your voter information card and proof of your identity and address

Bring your voter information card and proof of identity and address. Your polling station's location is printed on the card.

1. No one can watch you vote, and no one should look at how you voted
2. You must tell your employer how you voted
3. A family member may mark the ballot for you
4. Voters announce their choice aloud at the polling station

Answer: A. No one can watch you vote, and no one should look at how you voted

Canadian law protects the secret ballot. You may discuss your vote if you wish, but no one can force you to reveal it.

1. The leader of the political party with the most elected representatives
2. The candidate who received the most votes across the country
3. The person chosen by the Senate
4. The longest-serving member of Parliament

Answer: A. The leader of the political party with the most elected representatives

Normally, the leader of the party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons becomes Prime Minister.

1. A vote on a municipal by-law
2. A vote on the budget
3. The appointment of a Lieutenant Governor
4. A Senate committee report

Answer: B. A vote on the budget

A House of Commons vote on a major issue such as the budget is a matter of confidence. The government needs the support of most MPs to stay in power.

1. Judging criminal cases
2. Running federal government departments
3. Representing the Sovereign in the provinces
4. Counting the ballots after an election

Answer: B. Running federal government departments

Cabinet ministers are responsible for running the federal government departments. The Prime Minister chooses them, most of them from among members of the House of Commons.

1. The authority of the police
2. The decision of the Prime Minister
3. The rule of the majority
4. The presumption of innocence

Answer: D. The presumption of innocence

The judicial system rests on the presumption of innocence: everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

1. Everyone except judges
2. Everyone except elected politicians
3. Only Canadian citizens
4. Everyone, including judges, politicians and the police

Answer: D. Everyone, including judges, politicians and the police

The law applies to everyone in Canada, including judges, politicians and the police. No one is above the law.

1. Special privileges for government officials
2. Different rules for different classes of people
3. Protection for the police from questions about their conduct
4. Order in society and a peaceful way to settle disputes

Answer: D. Order in society and a peaceful way to settle disputes

Canada's laws are meant to keep order, give people a peaceful way to settle disputes, and express Canadians' values and beliefs.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: B. FALSE

FALSE. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court. The Federal Court (called the Federal Court of Canada in Discover Canada) deals with matters concerning the federal government.

1. The Supreme Court of Canada
2. The Federal Court
3. Provincial courts
4. Provincial appeal courts

Answer: C. Provincial courts

Provincial courts handle lesser offences. Other specialized courts include family courts, traffic courts and small claims courts.

1. Make the laws
2. Decide whether an accused person is guilty
3. Collect taxes
4. Keep people safe and enforce the law

Answer: D. Keep people safe and enforce the law

The police keep people safe and enforce the law. Deciding guilt is the work of the courts.

1. British Columbia and Alberta
2. Manitoba and Saskatchewan
3. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
4. Ontario and Quebec

Answer: D. Ontario and Quebec

Discover Canada says Ontario and Quebec have provincial police forces. In the other provinces and the territories, the RCMP serve as the provincial police.

1. Only municipal bylaws
2. Federal laws
3. Only the laws of Ontario and Quebec
4. Only traffic laws

Answer: B. Federal laws

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police enforce federal laws across the whole country.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: A. TRUE

TRUE. Besides enforcing federal laws and acting as provincial police in most of Canada, the RCMP also police some municipalities.

1. A police officer to act as your lawyer
2. Legal aid services, free or at low cost
3. A judge who will represent you
4. A Member of Parliament who will argue your case in court

Answer: B. Legal aid services, free or at low cost

Most communities have legal aid services that are free or low cost for people who cannot pay for a lawyer.

1. The Order of Canada
2. The Medal of Bravery
3. The Maple Leaf Medal
4. The Victoria Cross

Answer: D. The Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross (V.C.) is the highest honour available to Canadians.

1. The Canadian Red Ensign
2. The Union Jack
3. The flag of the Royal Military College
4. The Quebec flag

Answer: B. The Union Jack

The Union Jack is Canada's official Royal Flag. The Canadian Red Ensign served as Canada's flag for about 100 years before the Maple Leaf flag.

1. The Loyalists
2. French Canadians
3. The Hudson's Bay Company
4. The Fathers of Confederation

Answer: B. French Canadians

French Canadians adopted the maple leaf as a symbol in the 1700s. It is now Canada's best-known symbol.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: A. TRUE

The fleur-de-lis was revived at the time of Confederation and included in the Canadian Red Ensign.

1. Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece
2. Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark
3. Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland
4. England, France, Scotland and Ireland

Answer: D. England, France, Scotland and Ireland

The arms contain symbols of England, France, Scotland and Ireland, as well as red maple leaves. You can see them on government documents and public buildings.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: B. FALSE

The Library was the only part of the Centre Block that survived the 1916 fire.

1. Ice hockey
2. Curling
3. Skiing
4. Canadian football

Answer: A. Ice hockey

Ice hockey is Canada's most popular spectator sport and its national winter sport.

1. Lacrosse
2. Ice hockey
3. Basketball
4. Volleyball

Answer: C. Basketball

Basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith in 1891.

1. The Hudson's Bay Company
2. The Canadian Pacific Railway
3. The Royal Military College
4. The North West Mounted Police

Answer: A. The Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company adopted the beaver as its symbol centuries ago. In 1834 it also became an emblem of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society.

1. Montreal
2. Ottawa
3. Quebec City
4. Toronto

Answer: C. Quebec City

O Canada was first sung in Quebec City in 1880.

1. Foreign aid
2. Military spending
3. Trade (commerce)
4. Government lotteries

Answer: C. Trade (commerce)

Commerce has always driven Canada's economy and continues to drive its growth.

1. Manufacturing industries
2. Natural resources industries
3. Service industries
4. Energy industries

Answer: C. Service industries

Service industries include transportation, education, health care, construction, banking, communications, retail, tourism and government.

1. Banking
2. Mining
3. Tourism
4. Retail

Answer: B. Mining

Mining is a natural resources industry. Banking, tourism and retail are service industries.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: A. TRUE

A large percentage of Canada's exports are natural resource commodities, and many regions still depend on developing natural resources.

1. China
2. The United Kingdom
3. The United States
4. Mexico

Answer: C. The United States

The United States is Canada's largest international trading partner, and the two countries enjoy close relations.

1. A border closed to most travellers
2. A border guarded by a wall along its whole length
3. The world's longest undefended border
4. The world's shortest international border

Answer: C. The world's longest undefended border

Millions of Canadians and Americans cross the world's longest undefended border safely every year.

1. 1976
2. 1988
3. 2008
4. 1994

Answer: D. 1994

Mexico joined in 1994, broadening the free trade that Canada and the US had enacted in 1988.

1. China
2. India
3. Japan
4. South Korea

Answer: C. Japan

Japan is one of Canada's G7 partners, along with the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and France. Discover Canada, written when Russia was also a member, calls the group the G8.

1. Toronto
2. Vancouver
3. Montreal
4. Ottawa

Answer: D. Ottawa

Ottawa, on the Ottawa River, is the national capital.

1. The Pacific, the Atlantic and the Arctic
2. The Pacific, the Atlantic and the Indian
3. The Atlantic, the Arctic and the Southern
4. The Pacific, the Indian and the Arctic

Answer: A. The Pacific, the Atlantic and the Arctic

The Pacific Ocean is to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Arctic Ocean to the north.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: B. FALSE

Ottawa was chosen as the capital by Queen Victoria in 1857, before Macdonald became Prime Minister.

1. Saint John
2. Halifax
3. St. John's
4. Charlottetown

Answer: D. Charlottetown

Charlottetown is the capital of Prince Edward Island.

1. Montreal
2. Gatineau
3. Quebec City
4. Sherbrooke

Answer: C. Quebec City

Quebec City is the capital of Quebec. Montreal is a larger city but not the capital.

1. Saskatoon
2. Winnipeg
3. Moose Jaw
4. Regina

Answer: D. Regina

Regina is Saskatchewan's capital and home to the RCMP training academy.

1. Yellowknife
2. Iqaluit
3. Whitehorse
4. Rankin Inlet

Answer: B. Iqaluit

Iqaluit, formerly called Frobisher Bay, is the capital of Nunavut.

1. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Quebec
2. Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec
3. Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
4. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Ontario

Answer: C. Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick

The four Atlantic Provinces are Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Answer: A. TRUE

Labrador, the mainland part of Newfoundland and Labrador, has immense hydro-electric resources.

1. The Lions Gate Bridge
2. The Ambassador Bridge
3. The Quebec Bridge
4. The Confederation Bridge

Answer: D. The Confederation Bridge

The Confederation Bridge links Prince Edward Island to the mainland and is one of the longest multi-span bridges in the world.