Canadian citizenship test: sample questions and answers

Here are 20 questions to practice for the Canadian citizenship test, drawn from our bank of more than 500 questions and spread across the main topics of the test. They are not the questions of the official test: like them, they cover the content of the Discover Canada guide. Try to answer from memory, then open the answer to check.

Political institutions

1. Which ancient document is usually cited as the historical source of the tradition of freedom Canadians have inherited?

  • A. The English Habeas Corpus Act of 1679
  • B. The English Bill of Rights of 1689
  • C. The Magna Carta, signed in England in the 13th century
  • D. The English Petition of Right of 1628
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Answer: C. The Magna Carta, signed in England in the 13th century

Signed in England in 1215, the Magna Carta (Great Charter) is the document to which Canada's roughly eight-century-old tradition of liberty under the law is traced. The other texts listed came later. (Discover Canada, p. 8)

2. According to the preamble of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, on what principles does Canada rest?

  • A. The principle of popular sovereignty alone
  • B. International law, to the exclusion of any other source
  • C. A strictly secular state, with no religious reference
  • D. The supremacy of God and the rule of law
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Answer: D. The supremacy of God and the rule of law

The Charter's preamble states that Canada is founded on two principles: the supremacy of God and the rule of law. (Discover Canada, p. 8)

3. On what basis does the Governor General usually invite a party to form the government after a federal election?

  • A. The party in power before the election is automatically kept in place
  • B. The party chosen by a Senate vote
  • C. The party whose leader has the most elected members in the House of Commons
  • D. The party that received the most nationwide popular votes, regardless of seat count
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Answer: C. The party whose leader has the most elected members in the House of Commons

As a rule, after an election the Governor General asks the leader of the party holding the largest number of Commons seats to form the government. The overall popular vote does not decide this in itself — seats do. (Discover Canada, p. 31)

4. How many stages does the federal legislative process have before a bill becomes law?

  • A. Three stages
  • B. Five stages
  • C. Twelve stages
  • D. Seven stages
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Answer: D. Seven stages

The process has seven stages: successive readings and committee study in each chamber, followed by Royal Assent, which makes the bill law. (Discover Canada, p. 28)

5. If you have not received your voter information card, can you still vote?

  • A. No, you automatically lose your right to vote
  • B. Yes, you can be added to the list right up to election day
  • C. No, you must wait for the next election
  • D. Only with special authorization from the Governor General
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Answer: B. Yes, you can be added to the list right up to election day

Not being listed in the national register or not getting a card does not stop you from voting: you can still get onto the voters' list at any moment, up to and on election day itself. (Discover Canada, p. 30)

Historical dates

6. Which city hosted, in 1758, the very first elected legislative assembly in the territory that would become Canada?

  • A. Charlottetown
  • B. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • C. Fredericton
  • D. Quebec City
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Answer: B. Halifax, Nova Scotia

The first elected assembly in what would become Canada sat in Halifax in 1758. Prince Edward Island (1773) and New Brunswick (1785) followed. (Discover Canada, p. 16)

7. In what year were the Northwest Territories created from Rupert's Land?

  • A. 1898
  • B. 1870
  • C. 1999
  • D. 1905
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Answer: B. 1870

The Northwest Territories were created in 1870 out of two areas acquired by Canada: Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory. (Discover Canada, p. 50)

8. How many Canadians served in the First World War, when the country had about eight million people?

  • A. About 44,000
  • B. More than 2 million
  • C. About 100,000
  • D. More than 600,000
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Answer: D. More than 600,000

More than 600,000 Canadians, most of them volunteers, took part in the Great War, out of a population of about eight million. (Discover Canada, p. 21)

9. In what year was Nunavut, Canada's youngest territory, created?

  • A. 1999
  • B. 1949
  • C. 1982
  • D. 1873
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Answer: A. 1999

Nunavut was carved out of the eastern half of the Northwest Territories in 1999, taking in the old District of Keewatin. (Discover Canada, p. 51)

Provinces and territories

10. Which city is the capital of New Brunswick?

  • A. Moncton
  • B. Saint John
  • C. Fredericton
  • D. Halifax
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Answer: C. Fredericton

The capital of New Brunswick is Fredericton, not Saint John or Moncton, which are larger. (Discover Canada, p. 45)

11. Which city is the capital of the Northwest Territories?

  • A. Iqaluit
  • B. Whitehorse
  • C. Yellowknife
  • D. Inuvik
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Answer: C. Yellowknife

Yellowknife is the capital of the Northwest Territories. (Discover Canada, p. 45)

12. Which list gives the five Great Lakes?

  • A. Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior
  • B. Lake Ontario, Lake Winnipeg, Lake Athabasca, Lake Huron and Lake Erie
  • C. Lake Superior, Lake Simcoe, Lake Nipigon, Lake Erie and Lake Huron
  • D. Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Winnipeg and Lake Superior
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Answer: A. Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior

The Great Lakes are Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan (entirely in the U.S.) and Superior. Lake Superior is the biggest body of fresh water on the planet. (Discover Canada, p. 48)

13. What is Canada's highest peak?

  • A. Mount Logan
  • B. Mount Robson
  • C. Mount Columbia
  • D. Mount Assiniboine
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Answer: A. Mount Logan

Mount Logan, in Yukon, is the country's highest summit. It honours Sir William Logan, the famous Montreal-born geologist (1798). (Discover Canada, p. 50)

Notable figures

14. During the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, in 1759, the commanders of both opposing sides lost their lives while leading their troops. Who were they?

  • A. The Comte de Frontenac and Pierre Le Moyne
  • B. Sir Isaac Brock and Tecumseh
  • C. General James Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm
  • D. Sir Arthur Currie and Billy Bishop
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Answer: C. General James Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm

British General James Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm, commander of the French troops, both died in the 1759 battle. (Discover Canada, p. 15)

15. In 1813, which pioneer and mother of five walked about 30 km to warn the British army of a planned American attack?

  • A. Mary Ann Shadd Cary
  • B. Emily Stowe
  • C. Laura Secord
  • D. Agnes Macphail
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Answer: C. Laura Secord

In 1813 Laura Secord made a perilous 30-kilometre journey on foot to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon of an American attack. Her courage contributed to the victory at Beaver Dams. (Discover Canada, p. 17)

16. Which young man from British Columbia, who had lost a leg to cancer, set out in 1980 to run across Canada to raise money for research?

  • A. Rick Hansen
  • B. Donovan Bailey
  • C. Paul Henderson
  • D. Terry Fox
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Answer: D. Terry Fox

Terry Fox, who had lost a leg to cancer at 18, began his "Marathon of Hope" across the country in 1980 to fund research into the disease. (Discover Canada, p. 26)

Culture

17. Among the following Canadian symbols, which one has represented the state — including Parliament, the courts and the armed forces — for about four centuries?

  • A. The maple leaf
  • B. The beaver
  • C. The Snowbirds
  • D. The Crown
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Answer: D. The Crown

For some 400 years, the Crown has symbolized the state in Canada: it appears in the emblems of Parliament, the courts, the armed forces and the police. The maple leaf and the beaver are national symbols, but not symbols of the state. (Discover Canada, p. 38)

18. Which holiday, set on the Monday before May 25, marks the sovereign's birthday?

  • A. Vimy Day
  • B. Canada Day
  • C. John A. Macdonald Day
  • D. Victoria Day
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Answer: D. Victoria Day

Victoria Day falls on the Monday before May 25. It officially celebrates the reigning monarch's birthday. (Discover Canada, p. 41)

Economy

19. Which former Hudson's Bay Company trading posts became major cities?

  • A. Fort Louisbourg and Fort York
  • B. Fort Henry and Fort Chambly
  • C. Fort Garry (Winnipeg), Fort Edmonton and Fort Victoria
  • D. Fort Rouge and Fort William only
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Answer: C. Fort Garry (Winnipeg), Fort Edmonton and Fort Victoria

The Hudson's Bay Company, which employed French, British and Aboriginal people, dominated trade in the North-West. Several of its posts, such as Fort Garry (Winnipeg), Fort Edmonton, Fort Langley and Fort Victoria, became cities. (Discover Canada, p. 16)

20. What does the Canada Health Act guarantee?

  • A. Fully free prescription drugs everywhere in the country
  • B. Common principles and a minimum level of health-care coverage across the country
  • C. A single minimum wage for all of Canada
  • D. Free access to post-secondary education
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Answer: B. Common principles and a minimum level of health-care coverage across the country

The Canada Health Act sets common principles that provincial plans must follow, thereby ensuring a basic level of health-care protection throughout the country. (Discover Canada, p. 24)

Going further

These 20 questions are only a sample. Our free practice test draws 20 new ones at random from more than 500 on every attempt, under the conditions of the real test: aim for at least 15 correct answers. The Discover Canada guide also has its own sample questions, on page 52; see our overview of the guide.