Canadiana Quiz



Questions - Answers


1. What Canadian city has the honour of being the most multicultural in the world, as designated by the United Nations?

2. Name the cartographer and explorer who earned the title of "Father of New France" and who held the position that is now the oldest political office in North America.

3. What famous fishing schooner, built 75 years ago in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, won several International Schooner Races in the 1920s and 1930s?

4. This is the oldest surviving ballet company in Canada, the second-oldest ballet company in North America, and the first company in the Commonwealth to be granted a royal title. What is its name?

5. Samuel Hearne ­p; explorer and fur trader ­p; was the first white man to reach the Arctic Ocean 225 years ago. How did he get there?
a) by land b) by the Northwest Passage c) by navigable river

6. Guy Laliberté is the creator of what world-renowned circus?

7. Name the first European whose voyage of exploration landed him on Canada's east coast on June 24, 1497.

8. What important means of transport was opened between Montréal and Toronto 150 years ago?

9. The largest Native population north of the 60th parallel is famous for their art. Name them.

10. What UNESCO World Heritage Site in Alberta has been named after a prehistoric species of animal?

11. What 275 year-old French fortress on Île Royale (Cape Breton) has been restored by Parks Canada and is now a world-famous National Historic Site?

12. Which Canadian, as one of the world's fastest wheelchair athletes, has won the Boston Marathon several times?
a) Rick Hansen b) André Viger c) Chantal Petitclerc

13. Wood Buffalo National Park is the largest park in Canada. How does it rank in the world in terms of size?
a) first b) second c) third

14. The largest rodent in Canada is a symbol of national sovereignty. What is it?

15. 100 years ago, the first French-Canadian since Confederation became Prime Minister of Canada. Who was he?

16. Name the book, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, that has been translated into more languages than any other novel in history, won international acclaim, twice been made into a film, and been presented as a play in Charlottetown, P.E.I. since 1965.

17. Who was the first Canadian citizen to be naturalized in January 1947 with the Canadian Citizenship Act?
a) Sir Wilfrid Laurier b) King George VI c) William Lyon Mackenzie King

18. The longest national highway in the world (7,821 km) allows Canadians to drive, using ferry services on both coasts, from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia. Name this highway.

19. Canada's flag was proclaimed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 31 years ago. How many designs did a Parliamentary Committee review before choosing the maple leaf?
a) 200 b) 2,000 c) 20,000

20. Which province is the third largest of Canada and is celebrating the 125th anniversary of its entry into Confederation this year?

21. Name the artist and writer who was born 125 years ago in Victoria, British Columbia. Her paintings were influenced by the art of the Northwest Coast Indians, and her book Klee Wyck won a Governor General's Award in 1941.

22. Name the first woman to be elected to Canada's Parliament 75 years ago in the first federal election in which women had the right to vote.

23. What remarkable Canadian innovation in cinematography allows movies to be projected on a screen up to six storeys high?

24. Name the Canadian hero who began his "Marathon of Hope" run across Canada in 1980 to raise money for cancer research and has a youth centre named after him.

25. The day our maple leaf flag first was raised, the Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable Maurice Bourget, said: "The flag is the symbol of the nation's unity, for it, beyond any doubt, represents all the citizens of Canada without distinction of race, language, belief or opinion." Where and on what date did this official ceremony take place?

26. Name the well-known piece of music written by internationally renowned Canadian composer Calixa Lavallée.

27. What author wrote the famous Yukon stories "The Cremation of Sam McGee" and "The Shooting of Dan McGrew"?
a) Pierre Berton b) Robert Service c) Margaret Atwood

28. What city has been called the "Cradle of Confederation" and why?

29. George Sterling Ryerson opened a branch of a British society in Canada 100 years ago that is now world-wide. One of its duties is to distribute medical supplies during time of war. Name this society.

30. The XXVI Summer Olympics will be held in Atlanta in 1996. In approximately how many sports will Canadian athletes participate?
a) 15 b) 32 c) 25

31. Name one of the three largest ethnic groups in Canada other than Canadians of British or French origin.


Answers:
1. Toronto, 2. Samuel de Champlain, 3. Bluenose,
4. Royal Winnipeg Ballet, 5. a, 6. Cirque du Soleil,
7. John Cabot, 8. railway, 9. Inuit, 10. Dinosaur Provincial Park,
11. Louisbourg, 12. b, 13. b (the largest in the world is in Greenland),
14. the beaver, 15. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, 16. Anne of Green Gables,
17. c, 18. Trans-Canada Highway, 19. b, 20. British Columbia,
21. Emily Carr, 22. Agnes Macphail, 23. Imax, 24. Terry Fox,
25. Parliament Hill, Ottawa, on February 15, 1965, 26. O Canada,
27. b, 28. Charlottetown, because it is where the "Fathers of Confederation"
met to lay the groundwork for the Dominion of Canada,
29. Canadian Red Cross Society, 30. c,
31. German (911,560), Italian (750,055), Chinese (586,645)