Canadian History Exam Review 2024- 2025

Exam Breakdown

  • Categories and Percentages

    • Knowledge: 27%

    • Thinking: 27%

    • Application: 26%

    • Communication: 20%

  • Total Marks Per Part

    • Part A: Multiple Choice [use scantron]: 20 / 20

    • Part B: True or False [use scantron]: 10 / 10

    • Part C: Identify & State the Significance: 20 / 25

    • Part E: Long Answer [use foolscap]: 10 / 20

Study Topics by Unit

Unit One: Historiography

  • You will NOT be tested on the material from this unit.

Unit Two: World War One

  • Key Dates

    • WWI began in 1914 and ended in 1918.

  • Causes of WWI

    • MAIN: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism.

    • Trigger: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip.

  • Important Figures

    • Prime Minister of Canada: Robert Borden.

  • New Weapons

    • Mechanized warfare: machine guns, tanks, and chemical weapons like chlorine gas.

  • Conscription

    • Mandatory enlistment for military service; supported by British Canadians, opposed by Francophones.

  • Key Battles

    • Vimy Ridge: Significant Canadian victory.

    • Battle of the Somme: Notorious for high casualties.

    • Battle of Ypres: First major use of gas in warfare.

  • Other Key Concepts

    • War Measures Act: Government powers expanded during wartime.

Unit Three: The Roaring 20s and the Dirty 30s

  • Important Events

    • Winnipeg General Strike: Year and significance.

    • Stock Market Crash: Year, definition of Black Tuesday, and consequences.

  • Significant Figures

    • Famous Five, Edmonton Grads, Dionne Quintuplets, etc.

  • Key Legislation

    • Statute of Westminster: Importance for Canada’s autonomy.

    • Prohibition: Reasons for and consequences of prohibition in Canada.

  • Crisis Events

    • King-Byng Crisis: Sequence of events and outcome.

    • On-To-Ottawa Trek: Causes and implications.

Unit Four: World War Two

  • Key Dates

    • WWII began in 1939 and ended in 1945.

  • Causes

    • Define and discuss appeasement.

  • Important Figures

    • Canadian PM during WWII: William Lyon Mackenzie King.

    • Hitler: Nazi Party leader, significant for his strategies and ideologies.

  • Major Concepts & Events

    • Nazi-Soviet Pact: Significance and outcomes.

    • Blitzkrieg: Military strategy explained.

    • Dunkirk: Evacuation of Allied forces; significance to the war effort.

    • D-Day: Details about the event and its historical importance.

Unit Five: Cold War

  • Overview of the Cold War

    • Period: 1946-1991; main factions: US allies vs. USSR.

  • Key Terms

    • Iron Curtain, NATO, NORAD, Warsaw Pact.

  • Key Figures

    • Stalin, Khrushchev, Pearson, and others.

  • Significant Events

    • Suez Crisis: Canada’s involvement and Pearson's role.

    • Vietnam War: Causes and impacts.

    • Fall of the Berlin Wall: Symbolism and significance.

Social Movements and Civil Rights

  • Civil Rights and Social Movements in Canada

    • Discuss topics like Residential Schools, Women's Movement, FLQ Crisis, etc.

  • October Crisis: Involvement of FLQ and War Measures Act.

Key Historical Concepts

  • Understand the causes of WWI and WWII.

  • Define totalitarianism and differentiate between communism, fascism, and Nazism.

  • Discuss the socio-economic causes of the Great Depression and government responses.

  • Explore key legislative and cultural changes post-WWII.