Many new Canadians, like this one at their citizenship ceremony in Vancouver, need to pass a test before taking the Oath. How does your knowledge stack up?DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Each year, thousands of people take the Oath of Citizenship to officially become Canadian citizens, and many of them are required to demonstrate their knowledge of this country’s history, heritage and institutions.
The multiple-choice test has 20 questions on everything from Confederation to culture, and economy to politics. Citizens-to-be must get at least 15 answers right to pass.
So, to celebrate Canada Day, we’ve created our very own citizenship test for readers to see how their knowledge stacks up.
Explore all of The Globe's Canada Day coverage
Whether you were born and raised in Canada, arrived more recently or have perhaps already taken the citizenship test yourself, try your hand at this unofficial but very patriotic quiz.
And if you want to brush up before you give it a go, most of the questions and answers are based on the federal government’s Discover Canada study guide, with a few more recent questions crafted by us.
a. The King. In our constitutional monarchy, the flag, country and Constitution are all encompassed by the Sovereign (King or Queen). It is a simple yet remarkable principle that Canada is personified by the Sovereign, and the Sovereign is personified by Canada.
b. Multiculturalism and mobility rights. The 1982 Charter amended Canada’s Constitution to summarize the fundamental rights held by Canadians and set out additional rights, including multiculturalism, which is treated as a fundamental characteristic of the country, and mobility rights, which grant citizens the freedom to live and work across the country, and to get a passport so they can come and go freely.
c. Serving on a jury and voting in elections. Rights carry certain responsibilities in Canada, including a legal requirement to serve on a jury if you are called to do so. Voting in elections at all levels of government is also a key responsibility, though it is not mandated by law.
d. The British North America Act. Canada’s institutions pledge to uphold a commitment to “peace, order and good government,” a key phrase in Canada’s original constitutional document, the British North America Act of 1867.
c. 11. Canada was responsible for addressing any and all First Nations claims to land after it purchased the title to Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1868 and 1870. The Crown negotiated a total of 11 numbered treaties between 1871 and 1921, covering parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, the Northwest Territories, and a small portion of British Columbia.
b. New Brunswick. While the majority of francophones live in Quebec, a total of one million live in Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba. Acadian culture – of those descended from French colonists who began arriving in the Maritimes in the early 17th Century – thrives in New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province.
a. Christianity - Catholic denomination. The majority of Canadians identify as Christians, and Catholicism is the largest denomination, followed by various Protestant churches. The number of Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs and members of other religions is growing, as well as people who say they have no religious affiliation.
a. 1833. Upper Canada moved toward abolition in 1793. The British Parliament banned the buying and selling of slaves in 1807, and abolished slavery throughout the empire in 1833. This resulted in many enslaved people who had escaped in the U.S. making their way to Canada via the Underground Railroad, an anti-slavery network.
b. Nunavut was created and became Canada’s third territory in 1999, when it officially separated from the Northwest Territories. The last province to join Confederation was Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949.
b. Manitoba became the first province where women could vote in 1916, and Quebec was the last in 1940. However most Indigenous men and women (with the exception of Métis) were not eligible to vote in federal elections without forfeiting their status under the Indian Act until 1960.
d. Guaranteed federal government services in both French and English. The act was an attempt to assuage separatist concerns that the French language would be lost in Canada, and it ensures all federal government services are available in both French and English.
a. Dominion Day. The passage of a private member’s bill in the House of Commons in late 1982 renamed the July 1 anniversary of Confederation as “Canada Day” to reflect the country’s evolving identity and independence from the British Empire. It has been celebrated as “Canada Day” since July 1, 1983.
c. Royal assent. After a bill has been read, printed and then debated in its first and second readings in the House of Commons, committees - made up of members of Parliament - study it clause by clause. Members can make amendments in the report stage, before voting on it in the third reading. If it passes, it follows a similar process in the Senate, and it then receives royal assent after being passed by both houses. Royal assent is now given by the Governor-General.
b. Lacrosse. Indigenous peoples played variations of lacrosse long before colonization and have deep ties to the game, which was recognized as Canada’s official summer sport in 1994. Canada’s official winter sport is, of course, hockey.
c. 94. The Commission’s final report issued 94 calls to action for Canadians and decision-makers to pursue reconciliation in every aspect of life, from education and the legal system to the economy and media.
c. To be more gender inclusive. The lyrics have been amended three times, most recently in 2018, when then-prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government enacted legislation aimed at making the anthem more inclusive. It changed the line “In all thy sons’ command” to “In all of us command.” Calls have also emerged to change the words from “Our home and native land” to “Our home on native land” after singer Jully Black performed it that way in 2023.
a. Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Saskatchewan is the only province that does not use daylight saving time and does not change the clocks in fall or winter. Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province with its own time zone, Newfoundland Time Zone (NT). It is 30 minutes ahead of Atlantic Time.
b. A mari usque ad mare. The motto, which means “from sea to sea” in Latin, was officially adopted after the First World War.
b. 24. Mr. Carney became the 24th Prime Minister in Canada’s history when he was sworn into office on March 14.
a. The cellphone. Alexander Graham Bell, a Scottish-Canadian inventor, did create the first practical telephone in 1876, but the first cellular telephone was an American invention. However Canadians Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie invented the BlackBerry at Waterloo-based Research in Motion, which revolutionized the smartphone industry before the rise of the iPhone.