Canadian Citizenship Study Guide Flashcards

Flashcards about Canadian history and government from pages 1-36 of the Canadian Citizenship Study Guide

What did Europeans call the native peoples when they explored Canada?

Indians, because they thought they had reached the East Indies.

Name three Aboriginal groups in Canada and how they lived off the land.

Huron-Wendat: farmers and hunters. Cree and Dene: hunter-gatherers. Sioux: nomadic, following the bison herd. Inuit: lived off Arctic wildlife. West Coast natives: preserved fish by drying and smoking.

What impact did European arrival have on Aboriginal populations?

Large numbers of Aboriginals died of European diseases; however, Aboriginals and Europeans formed strong economic, religious, and military bonds.

Who was the first European explorer to map Canada's East Coast?

John Cabot in 1497.

Which explorer claimed the land for King Francis I of France?

Jacques Cartier between 1534 and 1542.

What is the origin of the name Canada?

Jacques Cartier heard two captured guides speak the Iroquoian word kanata, meaning village

Where was the first European settlement north of Florida established and by whom?

In 1604, by French explorers Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain, first on St. Croix Island, then at Port-Royal, in Acadia (present-day Nova Scotia).

Name three leaders who helped build a French Empire in North America.

Jean Talon, Bishop Laval, and Count Frontenac.

What was the Hudson's Bay Company and what rights did it have?

King Charles II of England granted the Hudson’s Bay Company exclusive trading rights over the watershed draining into Hudson Bay.

What happened in 1759 that marked the end of France's empire in America?

The British defeated the French in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham at Québec City.

What was the Quebec Act of 1774 and what did it do?

It accommodated the principles of British institutions to the reality of the province, allowed religious freedom for Catholics, permitted them to hold public office, restored French civil law, and maintained British criminal law.

Who are the United Empire Loyalists?

More than 40,000 people loyal to the Crown, who fled the oppression of the American Revolution to settle in Nova Scotia and Quebec. They came from Dutch, German, British, Scandinavian, Aboriginal and other origins and from Presbyterian, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Jewish, Quaker and Catholic religious backgrounds

When was the first representative assembly elected in Halifax, Nova Scotia?

1758

What was the Constitutional Act of 1791?

It divided the Province of Quebec into Upper Canada (later Ontario) and Lower Canada (later Quebec) and granted the Canadas legislative assemblies elected by the people.

Who was John Graves Simcoe and what did he do?

Upper Canada’s first Lieutenant Governor and founder of the City of York (now Toronto). Simcoe also made Upper Canada the first province in the British Empire to abolish slavery

When did the British Parliament prohibit the buying and selling of slaves?

1807

Name a woman who was an outspoken activist in the movement to abolish slavery in the U.S.A.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary. In 1853 she became the first woman publisher in Canada, helping to found and edit The Provincial Freeman, a weekly newspaper dedicated to anti-slavery, black immigration to Canada, temperance, and upholding British rule

What was the Underground Railroad?

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

When did the Montreal Stock Exchange open?

1832

Who was Laura Secord and why is she considered a heroine?

She made a dangerous 19-mile journey on foot to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon of a planned American attack, contributing to victory at the Battle of Beaver Dams.

What role did the Duke of Wellington play in Canada's defense?

He sent some of his best soldiers to defend Canada in 1814 and chose Bytown (Ottawa) as the endpoint of the Rideau Canal.

What was the outcome of the War of 1812?

The American attempt to conquer Canada had failed, and it ensured that Canada would remain independent of the United States. The present-day Canada-U.S.A. border is partly an outcome.

Who was Major-General Sir Isaac Brock?

He captured Detroit but was killed while defending against an American attack at Queenston Heights, near Niagara Falls

Who was Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry?

He and 460 soldiers, mostly French Canadiens, turned back 4,000 American invaders at Châteauguay, south of Montreal.

What happened in 1814 in retaliation of the Americans burning Government House and the Parliament Buildings in York (now Toronto)?

Major-General Robert Ross led an expedition from Nova Scotia that burned down the White House and other public buildings in Washington, D.C.

What were the Rebellions of 1837-38?

Armed rebellions occurred in the area outside Montreal and in Toronto. They were defeated by British troops and Canadian volunteers.

What was Lord Durham's recommendation after the rebellions?

That Upper and Lower Canada be merged and given responsible government.

Who was Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine?

A champion of French language rights, he became the first head of a responsible government (similar to a prime minister) in Canada in 1849

What did Sir Leonard Tilley suggest in 1864?

The term Dominion of Canada. He was inspired by Psalm 72 in the Bible which refers to dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.

When was the Dominion of Canada officially born?

July 1, 1867

Name the original four provinces that formed the Dominion of Canada.

Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick

Who was Canada's first Prime Minister?

Sir John Alexander Macdonald

Who was Sir George-Étienne Cartier?

He was the key architect of Confederation from Quebec.

Who was Louis Riel?

He led an armed uprising and seized Fort Garry, the territorial capital in response to the 12,000 Métis of the Red River not being consulted when Canada took over the vast northwest region from the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1869

When was the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) established?

1873

What is the NWMP known as today?

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP or the Mounties)

When did British Columbia join Canada?

1871. Ottawa promised to build a railway to the West Coast.

When was the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) completed?

November 7, 1885

Who was Sir Wilfrid Laurier?

The first French-Canadian prime minister since Confederation. He encouraged immigration to the West.

When did Germany attack Belgium and France, leading Britain to declare war?

1914

When was the Battle of Vimy Ridge?

April 1917

From 1914 to 1920, what did Ottawa do to over 8,000 former Austro-Hungarian subjects?

They were interned as enemy aliens in 24 labour camps across Canada.

Who was General Sir Arthur Currie?

Canada’s greatest soldier, he commanded the Canadian Corps in the last hundred days of World War 1

When is Remembrance Day celebrated?

November 11th

Who composed the poem In Flanders Fields?

Canadian medical officer Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae in 1915

What did the British Empire evolve into after the First World War?

A free association of states known as the British Commonwealth of Nations.

When was the Bank of Canada created?

1934

When did the Second World War begin?

1939 when Adolf Hitler, the National Socialist (Nazi) dictator of Germany, invaded Poland and conquered much of Europe.

What happened on D-Day, June 6, 1944?

15,000 Canadian troops stormed and captured Juno Beach from the German Army, a great national achievement

In the Second World War, where did the Canadians capture Juno Beach?

Normandy

What did the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) do in WWII?

Took part in the Battle of Britain and provided a high proportion of Commonwealth aircrew in bombers and fighter planes over Europe. Canada contributed more to the Allied air effort than any other Commonwealth country, with over 130,000 Allied air crew trained in Canada under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

What was the finest hour of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in WWII?

The Battle of the Atlantic, protecting convoys of merchant ships against German submarines. Canada’s Merchant Navy helped to feed, clothe and resupply Britain.

In the postwar years, what was opened up by treaties such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)?

The world’s restrictive trading policies in the Depression era.

When was oil discovered in Alberta?

1947

When was unemployment insurance introduced by the federal government?

1940

What is NORAD?

North American Aerospace Defence Command. Canada joined with the United States in it.

When did Parliament establish the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism and what did it lead to?

1963. This led to the Official Languages Act (1969), which guarantees French and English services in the federal government across Canada.

When did Aboriginal people get the right to vote?

1960

When did the Japanese-Canadians gain the right to vote?

1948

Which Canadian artists developed a style of painting to capture the rugged wilderness landscapes and when were they founded?

The Group of Seven, founded in 1920.

Who invented basketball and when?

Canadian James Naismith in 1891.

In 1980, Terry Fox began a cross-country run to raise money for what?

Cancer research

How is Canada's judicial system founded?

Presumption of innocence in criminal matters, meaning everyone is innocent until proven guilty

What are the three key facts about Canada's system of government?

Our country is a federal state, a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.

What are the responsibilities of the federal government?

Defence, foreign policy, interprovincial trade and communications, currency, navigation, criminal law and citizenship.

What are the responsibilities of the provincial governments?

Municipal government, education, health, natural resources, property and civil rights, and highways.

Name the three parts of the Canadian Parliament.

The Sovereign (Queen or King), the Senate and the House of Commons

Who appoints the senators?

The Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister

How many electoral districts is Canada divided into?

308, also known as ridings or constituencies.

What is the role of opposition parties in the Canadian government?

To peacefully oppose or try to improve government proposals.

What are municipal governments usually responsible for?

Urban or regional planning, streets and roads, sanitation (such as garbage removal), snow removal, firefighting, ambulance and other emergency services, recreation facilities, public transit and some local health and social services.

Who invented the worldwide system of standard time zones?

Sir Sandford Fleming

Who discovered insulin?

Sir Frederick Banting of Toronto and Charles Best