Canadian Citizenship

What/who is the oath professed to?

The Monarch. Not a document (e.g. constitution), a banner (e.g. flag), or a geopolitical entity (e.g. country).

What is the Magna Carta also known as?

The Great Charter of Freedoms (created in 1215)

What does the Magna Carta include?

Freedom of conscience and religion; of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including of speech and of the press; of peaceful assembly; and of association.

What is the Habeas corpus?

The right to challenge unlawful detention by the state. It comes from English common law.

When was the Constitution of Canada amended?

1982

What does the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms include?

Mobility Rights, Aboriginal Peoples' Rights, Official Language Rights and Minority Language Educational Rights, and Multiculturalism. It also attempts to summarize fundamental freedoms.

What are the Mobility Rights?

Canadians can live and work anywhere they choose in Canada, enter and leave the country freely, and apply for a passport.

What are the Aboriginal Peoples' Rights?

The rights guaranteed in the Charter will not adversely affect any treaty or other rights or freedoms of Aboriginal peoples.

What are the Official Language Rights and Minority Language Educational Rights?

French and English have equal status in Parliament and throughout the government.

What is Multiculturalism (with respect to the charter)?

A fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity. Canadians celebrate the gift of one another's presence and work hard to respect pluralism and live in harmony.

What are the Citizenship Responsibilities?

Obeying the law, Taking responsibility for oneself and one's family, Serving on a jury, Voting in elections, helping others in the community, protecting and enjoying our heritage and environment.

What is the name of Canada's original constitutional document?

The British North America Act. It is also known as the Constitution Act.

When was the British North America Act created?

July 1, 1867.

What is the key phrase in Canada's original constitutional document in 1867 (the British North America Act)?

Peace, Order and Good Government. The act officiated the Dominion of Canada.

What is Canada's three founding peoples?

Aboriginal, French and British

When were Territorial rights first guaranteed?

1763 in the Royal Proclamation by King George III. Unfortunately, treaties that were not always fully respected.

During what time period did the federal government place many Aboriginal children in residential schools to educate and assimilate them into mainstream Canadian culture?

From the 1800s until the 1980s

When did the federal government formally apologize to the former (Aboriginal) students?

2008

What are the three distinct groups referred to by the term Aboriginal peoples?

First Nations (formerly Indian), Inuit, and Metis.

Who are the Inuit?

The Inuit, which means "the people" in the Inuktitut language, live in small, scattered communities across the Arctic.

Who are the Metis?

The Metis are a distinct people of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry, the majority of whom live in the Prairie provinces. They come from both French- and English-speaking backgrounds and speak their own dialect, Michif.

What is the approximate geographic distribution of the First Nations people?

About half live on reserve land in about 600 communities while the other half live off-reserve, mainly in urban centres.

What is the approximate population distribution of the Aboriginal people?

About 65% are First Nations, while 30% are Metis, and 4% are Inuit.

Who was John Buchan?

A popular Governor General of Canada (1935-40).

Approximately how many Francophones are there in Canada?

7 million, mostly in Quebec. One million in Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba.

Which province is officially bilingual?

New Brunswick

Who are the Acadians?

Descendants of French colonists who began settling in what are now the Maritime provinces in 1604.

What is known as the "Great Upheaval"?

The deportation of two-thirds of the Acadians during the war between Britain and France from 1755 to 1763.

In what year did the House of Commons recognize the Quebecois as a nation within a united Canada?

2006

What is the name of the descendants of 8,500 French settlers from the 1600s and 1700s whom maintain a unique identity, culture and language?

Quebecers. They are the people of Quebec, the vast majority French-speaking.

Since the 1970s, which continent do most immigrants come from?

Asia

What is the second most-spoken language at home?

Chinese

What percent of the population speak Chinese at home in Vancouver and Toronto?

13% (Vancouver) and 7% (Toronto)

What is the first and second largest religious affiliations?

Catholic, followed by various Protestant churches. The great majority of Canadians identify as Christians.

Who are the Iroquois?

A confederation of five (later six) First Nations from the Great Lakes region who were farmers and hunters. They battled with French settlements for a century (1600s). The French and the Iroquois made peace in 1701.

Who are the Cree and Dene?

The Aboriginal people of the Northwest who were hunter-gatherers.

Who are the Sioux (pronounced su)?

The nomadic Aboriginal people who followed the bison herd.

Who are the Inuit?

The Aboriginal people of the Northwest who were hunter-gatherers.

What did West Coast natives commonly eat?

Preserved fish by drying and smoking.

Who were the people that Europeans formed strong economic, religious and military bonds with in the first 200 years of coexistence, which laid the foundations of Canada?

the Aboriginal people

Who were the first known Europeans in North America?

The Vikings from Iceland who colonized Greenland 1000 years ago.

Where did the first Vikings settle in Canada?

Labrador and the island of Newfoundland. The remains of their settlement, l'Anse aux Meadows, are a World Heritage site.

Who was the first to draw a map of Canada's East Coast? When?

John Cabot in 1497 when European exploration began in earnest.

Who made three voyages across the Atlantic, claiming the land for King Francis I of France? When?

Jacques Cartier between 1534 and 1542.

What is the origin of Canada's name?

Jacques Cartier heard two captured guides speak the Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village", throughout his three voyages across the Atlantic between 1534 and 1542. By the 1550s, the name of Canada began appearing on maps. The name became official in the Constitutional Act of 1791.

Who established the first European settlement north of Florida? When?

French explorers Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain in 1604. The first settlement was on St. Croix Island (in present-day Maine). A second settlement was at Port-Royal, in Acadia (present-day Nova Scotia).

Which French explorer built a fortress at what is now Quebec City? When?

Samuel de Champlain in 1608.

What was the first collaborative economy between the French and Aboriginal people based upon?

Fur-trading, driven by the demand for beaver pelts in Europe.

Who were some of the notable leaders of the French Empire in North America that reached from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico?

Jean Talon, Bishop Laval, and Count Frontenac

In what year did King Charles II of England grant the Hudson's Bay Company exclusive trading rights over the watershed draining into Hudson Bay?

1670

What were the English and French fur-traders that formed strong alliances with First Nations called?

Voyageurs and coureurs des bois

What marked the end of France's empire in America?

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 -- the British defeated the French.

Who were the commanders of the English and French armies at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham?

Brigadier James Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm. Both were killed leading their troops in battle.

What were the 1700s people in the British renamed colony of the "Province of Quebec" called?

Canadiens or habitants. They strove to preserve their French-speaking Catholic way of life in the English-speaking, Protestant-ruled British Empire.

What is the Quebec Act?

The Quebec Act restored French civil law while maintaining British criminal law. It allowed religious freedom for Catholics and permitted them to hold public office, a practice not then allowed in Britain.

When was the Quebec Act passed?

1774

When did the 13 British colonies to the south of Quebec declare independence and form the United States?

1776

Who were the "Loyalists"?

More than 40,000 people loyal to the Crown, called "Loyalists," fled the oppression of the American Revolution to settle in Nova Scotia and Quebec. About 3,000 black Loyalists, freedmen and slaves came north seeking a better life.

Who was Joseph Brant?

He led thousands of Loyalist Mohawk Indians into Canada to flee the oppression of the American Revolution.

Where and when was the first representative assembly?

Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1758

In what year did Prince Edward Island have its first representative assembly?

1773

In what year did New Brunswick have its first representative assembly?

1785

What act granted legislative assemblies elected by the people to Upper and Lower Canada? When?

the Constitutional Act of 1791

What was collectively known as British North America?

The Atlantic colonies and the two Canadas (Upper/Lower)

What province in the British Empire was the first to abolition slavery? When?

Upper Canada in 1793.

Who was Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe?

A Loyalist military officer who led Upper Canada toward abolition of slavery in 1793.

What is the "Underground Railroad"?

A Christian anti-slavery network that helped thousands of slaves escape from the United States.

In what year did the Montreal Stock Exchange open?

1832

What was the War of 1812?

A battle between Canada and the United States that lasted about two and a half years. In 1813 the Americans burned Parliament Buildings in York (now Toronto). In 1814, the White House was burned down in retaliation.

Who was Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry?

A military officer that, with the help of 460 soldiers, turned back 4000 American invaders at Chateauguay, south of Montreal.

Who was Major-General Robert Ross?

A military officer that led an expedition from Nova Scotia that burned down the White House and other public buildings in Washington, DC

Who was Lord Durham?

An English reformer sent to report on the rebellions of 1837-38. He recommended that Upper and Lower Canada be merged and given responsible government.

How many square kilometers is Canada?

10 million

What are the five regions of Canada?

The Atlantic Provinces, Central Canada, The Prairie Provinces, The West Coast, The Northern Territories

What is the National Capital and when/who chose it?

Ottawa, located on the Ottawa River, was chosen as the capital in 1857 by Queen Victoria, the great-great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II.

What are the 10 provinces and 3 territories, and their capital cities?

Newfoundland and Labrador - St. John's, Prince Edward Island - Charlottetown, Nova Scotia - Halifax, New Brunswick - Fredericton, Quebec - Québec City, Ontario - Toronto, Manitoba - Winnipeg, Saskatchewan - Regina, Alberta - Edmonton, British Columbia - Victoria, Nunavut - Iqaluit, Northwest Territories - Yellowknife, Yukon Territory - Whitehorse

What is the population of Canada?

34 million

What natural resources do the Atlantic Provinces have?

Fishing, farming, forestry and mining

What are the Atlantic Provinces?

Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick

What are some facts about Newfoundland and Labrador?

It is the most easterly point in North America and has its own time zone. It is the oldest colony of the British Empire and is known for its fisheries, coastal fishing villages and distinct culture. It also has immense hydro-electric resources.

What are some facts about Prince Edward Island?

It is the smallest province, known for its beaches, red soil and agriculture, especially potatoes. P.E.I. is the birthplace of Confederation.

What are some facts about Nova Scotia?

Is the most populous Atlantic Province, world's highest tides in the Bay of Fundy, shipbuilding, fisheries and shipping. Halifax is home to Canada's largest naval base.

What are some facts about New Brunswick?

In the Appalachian Range, founded by the United Empire Loyalists, has the second largest river system on North America's Atlantic coastline, the St. John River system. Forestry, agriculture, fisheries, mining, food processing and tourism are the principal industries. Moncton is the principal Francophone Acadian centre. Is the only officially bilingual province, and about one-third of the population lives and works in French.

Which provinces are in Central Canada?

Quebec and Ontario

What percentage of the population live in Central Canada?

50%

What area is considered the industrial and manufacturing heartland?

Central Canada; Quebec and Ontario together produce 3/4 of all Canadian manufactured goods

What are some facts about Quebec?

Eight million people live in Quebec, 3/4 speak French as their first language. Industries include forestry, energy and mining, main producer of pulp and paper, Canada's largest producer of hydro-electricity. Montreal is Canada's second largest city and the second largest mainly French-speaking city in the world after Paris.

What are some facts about Ontario?

12 million people of Ontario make up more than one-third of Canadians. Toronto is the largest city in Canada and the country's main financial centre. Founded by United Empire Loyalists, Ontario also has the largest French speaking population outside of Quebec.

How many Great Lakes do Canada/US share?

There are five Great Lakes located between Ontario and the United States: Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan (in the U.S.A.) and Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world.

What are the Prairie Provinces?

Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta

What are some facts about Manitoba?

Economy is based on agriculture, mining and hydro-electric power generation. The province's most populous city is Winnipeg, whose Exchange District includes the most famous street intersection in Canada, Portage and Main. Winnipeg's French Quarter, St. Boniface, has Western Canada's largest Francophone community at 45,000. Manitoba is also an important centre of Ukrainian culture, with 14% reporting Ukrainian origins, and the largest Aboriginal population of any province, at over 15%.

What are some facts about Saskatchewan?

Known as the "breadbasket of the world" and the "wheat province," has 40% of the arable land in Canada and is the country's largest producer of grains and oil-seeds. World's richest deposits of uranium and potash, used in fertilizer, and produces oil and natural gas. Regina, the capital, is home to the training academy of the RCMP. Saskatoon, the largest city, is the headquarters of the mining industry.

What are some facts about Alberta?

Alberta is the most populous Prairie province. The province, and the world-famous Lake Louise in the Rocky Mountains, were both named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. Has five national parks, including Banff National Park, established in 1885. Alberta is the largest producer of oil and gas, and the oil sands in the north are being developed as a major energy source. Alberta is also renowned for agriculture, especially for the vast cattle ranches that make Canada one of the world's major beef producers.

Which province is in the West Coast region?

British Columbia (known as Canada's Pacific Gateway)

What is Canada's largest and busiest port?

Vancouver

What are some facts about British Columbia?

Has a population of 4 million. About one-half of all the goods produced in B.C. are forestry products, including lumber, newsprint, and pulp and paper products—the most valuable forestry industry in Canada. B.C. is also known for mining, fishing, and the fruit orchards and wine industry of the Okanagan Valley. B.C. has the most extensive park system in Canada, with approximately 600 provincial parks. Chinese and Punjabi the most spoken languages in the cities after English. The capital, Victoria, is a tourist centre and headquarters of the navy's Pacific fleet.

What are the three Northern Territories?

Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut

What percentage of Canada's land mass do the Northern Territories contain?

33%, but population is only 100,000

What are the main resources in the Northern Territories?

Gold, lead, copper, diamond and zinc mines. Oil and gas deposits

What region of Canada is referred to as the "Land of the Midnight Sun"?

The North