Canadian Citizenship and History Flashcards

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering Canadian citizenship, history, geography, and governance based on the provided transcript.

Magna Carta ($1215$)

The document from which the four fundamental freedoms of Canadian law originate, including freedom of conscience and religion; thought, belief, opinion, and expression; peaceful assembly; and association.

Habeas Corpus

A right originating from English common law that allows for the legal challenge of unlawful detention by the state.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Entrenched in the Constitution of Canada in $1982$, it opens with the phrase: "Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law."

Mobility Rights

Charter rights that allow Canadian citizens to live and work anywhere in Canada, enter and leave the country freely, and apply for a passport.

Official Language Rights

A Charter right ensuring that French and English have equal status in Parliament and within the federal government.

Rule of Law

The principle that all individuals and the government are subject to and must obey the law.

Aboriginal Peoples

A collective term in the Canadian Constitution encompassing three distinct groups: First Nations ($65\%$), Mtis ($30\%$), and Inuit ($4\%$).

The Royal Proclamation of $1763$

Issued by King George III, it guaranteed Aboriginal territorial rights and created the basis for future treaty negotiations.

Residential Schools System

A federal government system used from the $1800s$ to the $1980s$ to forcibly assimilate Aboriginal children; an official apology was issued in $2008$.

Acadians

Descendants of French colonists who settled in the Maritimes in $1604$ and suffered the "Great Upheaval" deportation between $1755$ and $1763$.

Quebecois

Recognized by the House of Commons in $2006$ as a nation within a united Canada.

United Empire Loyalists

A group of over $40,000$ people, including black Loyalists and Mohawk Indians, who fled the American Revolution in the $1780s$ to settle in Nova Scotia and Quebec.

L'Anse aux Meadows

A World Heritage site in Newfoundland containing the remains of a $1,000$-year-old Viking settlement.

John Cabot

An Italian navigator who, in $1497$, produced the first map of Canada's East Coast while sailing for England.

Kanata

The Iroquoian word meaning "village," from which French explorer Jacques Cartier derived the name "Canada."

Samuel de Champlain

The "Father of New France" who founded the fortress at Quebec City in $1608$.

Battle of the Plains of Abraham

The $1759$ clash at Quebec City that ended France's North American empire and resulted in the deaths of commanders James Wolfe and Marquis de Montcalm.

Quebec Act of $1774$

Legislation that allowed religious freedom for Catholics, restored French civil law, and maintained British criminal law.

Constitutional Act of $1791$

Divided the Province of Quebec into Upper Canada (English/Protestant) and Lower Canada (French/Catholic), granting elected legislative assemblies for the first time.

John Graves Simcoe

Lieutenant Governor who led Upper Canada in $1793$ to become the first province in the British Empire to move toward the abolition of slavery.

War of $1812$

A conflict sparked by American resentment of British shipping interference; the failed U.S. invasion ensured Canada remained independent of the United States.

Major-General Sir Isaac Brock

A War of $1812$ hero who captured Detroit but was killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights.

Laura Secord

A civilian who walked $19$ miles ($30\,km$) to warn of an American attack in $1813$, leading to a victory at Beaver Dams.

Responsible Government

A system where ministers must have the support of a majority of elected representatives to govern; first attained by Nova Scotia in $1847-48$.

British North America Act

The legislative act that officially created the Dominion of Canada on $July\,1,\,1867$, with the original provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.

Sir John A. Macdonald

Canada's first Prime Minister, whose portrait appears on the $\text{\$10}$ bill.

Louis Riel

The Mtis "Father of Manitoba" who led armed uprisings in $1869$ and $1885$ and was executed for high treason.

Head Tax

A race-based entry fee imposed on Chinese workers following the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in $1885$.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier

The first French-Canadian Prime Minister, featured on the $\text{\$5}$ bill.

Battle of Vimy Ridge

A pivotal WWI battle on $April\,9,\,1917$, led by General Sir Arthur Currie, regarded as a "birth of a nation" milestone for Canada.

Agnes Macphail

The first female Member of Parliament, elected in $1921$ after most women gained federal voting rights in $1918$.

Bank of Canada

Created in $1934$ to manage the money supply following the economic collapse of the Great Depression.

Battle of the Atlantic

The Royal Canadian Navy's finest hour in WWII, protecting supply convoys against German U-boats.

Juno Beach

The location where $15,000$ Canadian troops successfully landed during the D-Day Invasion on $June\,6,\,1944$.

Quiet Revolution

A period of rapid social and cultural change in Quebec in the $1960s$ that led to the Official Languages Act of $1969$.

Marathon of Hope

A $1980$ cross-country run by Terry Fox to raise funds for cancer research after he lost his leg to the disease.

Frederick Banting & Charles Best

The Canadian scientists who discovered insulin to treat diabetes.

Constitutional Monarchy

Canada's system of government where the hereditary Sovereign (King or Queen) is the Head of State, while the Prime Minister is the Head of Government.

Governor General

The representative of the Sovereign in Canada who appoints the Senate and grants Royal Assent to bills.

Senate

The part of Parliament whose members are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister and serve until the age of $75$.

Minority Government

A government formed by a party that holds less than half of the seats in the House of Commons and must maintain the "confidence" of other parties to govern.

Supreme Court of Canada

The highest court in the Canadian justice system.

A mari usque ad mare

Canada's national motto, which is Latin for "from sea to sea."

Victoria Cross (V.C.)

The highest honor for conspicuous bravery; first awarded to Canadian Alexander Roberts Dunn and black seaman William Hall.

NAFTA

The North American Free Trade Agreement, formed in $1994$ when Mexico joined the existing $1988$ free trade pact between Canada and the U.S.