Canada's History

Who were the first people to live in Canada?

✓ The Aboriginal (Indigenous) peoples

Who explored the Atlantic coast and drew the first map of Canada's east coast in 1497?

✓ John Cabot

Where does the name 'Canada' come from?

✓ From 'Kanata', a Huron-Iroquois word for 'village'

Who claimed the land for France in 1534?

✓ Jacques Cartier

Who founded Quebec City in 1608?

✓ Samuel de Champlain

What economic activity drove early European exploration of Canada?

✓ The fur trade

In what battle did the British defeat the French in 1759 near Quebec City?

✓ The Battle of the Plains of Abraham

What law of 1774 granted religious freedom to Catholics and restored French civil law in Quebec?

✓ The Quebec Act

Who were the Loyalists?

✓ People loyal to the Crown who fled the American Revolution to Canada

In what year did the War of 1812 begin, when the United States invaded Canada?

✓ 1812

Who was the British general, a hero of the War of 1812, who died defending Canada?

✓ Sir Isaac Brock

Who was the Shawnee leader who allied with the British in the War of 1812?

✓ Tecumseh

Who warned the British of an American attack during the War of 1812?

✓ Laura Secord

When was slavery abolished throughout the British Empire, including Canada?

✓ 1833

What was the Underground Railroad?

✓ A network that helped enslaved people escape to Canada

What is responsible government?

✓ Government in which ministers must have the support of the elected assembly

Which colony was the first to achieve responsible government, in 1848?

✓ Nova Scotia

In what year did Confederation create the Dominion of Canada?

✓ 1867

What law united the colonies into the Dominion of Canada in 1867?

✓ The British North America Act

Which four provinces first formed Confederation in 1867?

✓ Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick

Who was Canada's first Prime Minister?

✓ Sir John A. Macdonald

On which Canadian banknote has Sir John A. Macdonald's portrait appeared?

✓ The $10 bill

Who was the most prominent French-Canadian Father of Confederation?

✓ Sir George-Étienne Cartier

What great railway was completed in 1885, linking Canada from coast to coast?

✓ The Canadian Pacific Railway

Where was the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway driven in 1885?

✓ Craigellachie, British Columbia

Which province was the last to join Confederation, in 1949?

✓ Newfoundland and Labrador

When did women first win the right to vote in a Canadian province?

✓ 1916

In what year did most Canadian women gain the right to vote in federal elections?

✓ 1918

Who were 'The Famous Five'?

✓ Five Alberta women who won the Persons Case recognizing women as persons

What was the 'Persons Case' of 1929?

✓ The ruling that women are 'persons' who can be appointed to the Senate

In which world war did Canada fight from 1914 to 1918?

✓ The First World War (World War I)

What 1917 battle is seen as a defining moment for Canada in the First World War?

✓ The Battle of Vimy Ridge

In which world war did Canada fight from 1939 to 1945?

✓ The Second World War (World War II)

On what beach did Canadian forces land on D-Day, June 6, 1944?

✓ Juno Beach

Against which country did Canada declare war in September 1939?

✓ Nazi Germany

Which Canadian province was created out of New France and kept French civil law and language?

✓ Quebec

What 1763 document by the King set out how Britain would govern its new North American territory?

✓ The Royal Proclamation of 1763

The Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the colony into which two parts?

✓ Upper Canada and Lower Canada

Who led the Métis in the Red River and North-West resistances of the 1800s?

✓ Louis Riel

Which new territory was created in 1999 as a homeland for the Inuit?

✓ Nunavut