Canadian Symbols

Question 1

How long has the Crown been a symbol of the state in Canada?

Answer 1

400 years

Question 2

How long has Canada been a constitutional monarchy in its own right ?

Answer 2

Since Confederation in 1867 during Queen Victoria’s reign

Question 3

How long has Queen Elizabeth been Queen of Canada?

Answer 3

Since 1952

Question 4

When was Queen Elizabeth’s Gold Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee?

Answer 4

2002 and 2012

Question 5

What is the Crown a symbol of?

Answer 5

Government, including Parliament, the legislatures, the courts, police services and the Canadian Forces.

Question 6

When was a new Canadian flag raised for the first time?

Answer 6

1965

Question 7

Where does the red-white pattern come from?

Answer 7

The flag of the Royal Military College, Kingston, founded in 1876.

Question 8

How long has red and white been the national colors of Canada?

Answer 8

Since 1921

Question 9

What is our official Royal flag?

Answer 9

The Union Jack

Question 10

How long did the Canadian Red Ensign serve as our flag?

Answer 10

For about 100 years

Question 11

When were maple leaves adopted as our symbol?

Answer 11

Maple leaves were adopted as a symbol by French-Canadians in the 1700s, have appeared on Canadian uniforms and insignia since the 1850s, and are carved into the headstones of our fallen soldiers buried overseas and in Canada.

Question 12

What is the Fleur-de-lys

Answer 12

It is said that the lily flower (“fleur-de-lys”) was adopted by the French king in the year 496. It became the symbol of French royalty for more than a thousand years, including the colony of New France. Revived at Confederation, the fleur-de-lys was included in the Canadian Red Ensign.

Question 13

When did Quebec adopt its own flag and what is it based on?

Answer 13

1948 based on the Cross and the fleur-de-lys

Question 14

What is our national motto?

Answer 14

A Mari Usque Ad Mare, which in Latin means “from sea to sea.”

Question 15

What symbols does the arms contain?

Answer 15

Symbols of England, France, Scotland and Ireland as well as red maple leaves. Today the arms can be seen on dollar bills, government documents and public buildings.

Question 16

What is our Parliament building architechture based on?

Answer 16

French, English and Aboriginal traditions and the Gothic Revival architecture popular in the time of Queen Victoria

Question 17

When was the Center block of the Parliament buildings destroyed?

Answer 17

It was destroyed by an accidental fire in 1916 and rebuilt in 1922.

Question 18

What is the only part of the original Parliament building which remains?

Answer 18

The Library

Question 19

When was the peace tower completed?

Answer 19

1927 in memory of the First World War

Question 20

What is found within The Memorial Chamber ?

Answer 20

The Books of Remembrance in which are written the names of soldiers, sailors and airmen who died serving Canada in wars or while on duty.

Question 21

What style is The Quebec National Assembly build in vs in other provinces?

Answer 21

The French Second Empire style, while the legislatures of the other provinces are Baroque, Romanesque and neoclassical, reflecting the Greco-Roman heritage of Western civilization in which democracy originated.

Question 22

What is the national winter sport

Answer 22

Hockey

Question 23

What does the NHL play for?

Answer 23

The championship Stanley Cup, donated by Lord Stanley, the Governor General, in 1892.

Question 24

What cup is awarded for women’s hockey?

Answer 24

The Clarkson Cup, established in 2005 by Adrienne Clarkson, the 26th Governor General (and the first of Asian origin),

Question 25

What is the second most popular sport?

Answer 25

Canadian football

Question 26

What is the official summer sport?

Answer 26

lacrosse, first played by Aboriginals

Question 27

What sport has seen the most registered players of any game in Canada?

Answer 27

Soccer

Question 28

What is the beaver a symbol of?

Answer 28

The Hudson’s Bay Company. It became an emblem of the St. Jean Baptiste Society, a French-Canadian patriotic association, in 1834.

Question 29

Where can the beaver symbol be seen?

Answer 29

On the five-cent coin, on the coats of arms of Saskatchewan and Alberta, and of cities such as Montreal and Toronto.

Question 30

When was the Official Languages Act passed?

Answer 30

1969

Question 31

What are the 3 objectives of the Official Languages Act?

Answer 31

(1) Establish equality between French and English in Parliament, the Government of Canada and institutions subject to the Act;
(2) Maintain and develop official language minority communities in Canada; and
(3) Promote equality of French and English in Canadian society.

Question 32

What is the national anthem and when was is proclaimed?

Answer 32

O Canada in 1980

Question 33

When was O Canada first sung?

Answer 33

In Québec City in 1880

Question 34

What is the Royal Anthem of Canada and when is it sung?

Answer 34

God Save the Queen (or King),” can be played or sung on any occasion when Canadians wish to honour the Sovereign.

Question 35

What three honors are there?

Answer 35

Orders
Decorations
Medals

Question 36

When did Canada start its own honors system?

Answer 36

After using British honours for many years, Canada started its own honours system with the Order of Canada in 1967, the centennial of Confederation.

Question 37

What is the highest honor?

Answer 37

The Victoria Cross

Question 38

How many people has the Victoria Cross been awarded to?

Answer 38

96 Canadians since 1854

Question 39

What Are some National public holidays?

Answer 39

New Year’s Day — January 1
Sir John A. Macdonald Day — January 11
Good Friday — Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday
Easter Monday — Monday immediately following Easter Sunday
Vimy Day — April 9
Victoria Day — Monday preceding May 25 (Sovereign’s Birthday)
Fête Nationale (Quebec) — June 24 (Feast of St. John the Baptist)
Canada Day — July 1
Labour Day — First Monday of September
Thanksgiving Day — Second Monday of October
Remembrance Day — November 11
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day — November 20
Christmas Day — December 25
Boxing Day — December 26

Question 40

What are the names of some people who have been awarded the Victoria Cross?

Answer 40

(1) Then Lieutenant Alexander Roberts Dunn, born in present-day Toronto, served in the British Army in the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava (1854) in the Crimean War, and was the first Canadian to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
(2) Able Seaman William Hall of Horton, Nova Scotia, whose parents were American slaves, was the first black man to be awarded the V.C. for his role in the Siege of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
(3) Corporal Filip Konowal, born in Ukraine, showed exceptional courage in the Battle of Hill 70 in 1917, and became the first member of the Canadian Corps not born in the British Empire to be awarded the V.C.
(4) Flying ace Captain Billy Bishop, born in Owen Sound, Ontario, earned the V.C. in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, and was later an honorary Air Marshal of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
(5) Captain Paul Triquet of Cabano, Quebec, earned the V.C. leading his men and a handful of tanks in the attack on Casa Berardi in Italy in 1943 during the Second World War, and was later a Brigadier.
(6) Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray, a navy pilot born in Trail, B.C., was killed while bombing and sinking a Japanese warship in August 1945, a few days before the end of the Second World War, and was the last Canadian to receive the V.C. to date.

Question 41

What are the first two lines of the National Anthem ?

Answer 41

O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command