Thursday, July 2, 2009

Canada Day Answers

Here are the answers:

1) Who was our first prime minister? Sir John A. MacDonald. He governed out of my hometown, because my hometown was Canada's first capital. It's now Ottawa, but it was here!

2) What does Canada Day commemorate? Canadian Confederation, when the Dominion of Canada was formed by the joining of PEI, Nova Scotia, Ontario (formerly Upper Canada up to this point) and Quebec (formerly Lower Canada up to this point)

3) What part of the Canadian Constitution protects our rights and freedoms? The Charter of Rights & Freedoms.

4) What is the slogan of our constituion?
(b) Peace, order and good government
(Note: From sea to sea ("A mari usque ad mare") is our "motto".)

5) In what year was Confederation? (Bonus if you can name where it occurred.) 1867 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

6) Who is our CURRENT head of state? Queen Elizabeth II (although she doesn't do much, and we're really governed by our prime minister, she's officially our head.)

7) In what decade of the 20th century were Canadian women first given the right to vote? 1910s (I had to look this up.) We weren't the first (New Zealand was), but we also weren't by any means the last.

8) Which of the following chains is Canadian-owned?
(c) The Second Cup
*Until about two years ago, LaSenza was Canadian owned, but is now owned by Victoria's Secret. The Hudson's Bay Company, which is something like 400 years old, is no longer owned by a Canadian. Laura Secord, while a Canadian chocolatier, is no longer Canadian owned. Tim Hortons is owned by Wendy's, although there's speculation a Canadian may buy it back. As of Canada Day 2009, The Second Cup is the only Canadian company still owned by Canadians.

9) In what year did the most recent province join Canada? 1949, when Newfoundland joined us.

10) In what year did the most recent territory form in Canada? 1999 (I thought it was 1995, but it turns out that was when they decided they were going to form Nunavut, but it wasn't formed actually formed until 1999.)

Happy (slightly early) Independence Day to you Americans out there!

2 comments:

Mary B. said...

This is really random, because I found Canadian Bride by blog-hopping, but PEI wasn't one of the original provinces. It was Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Prince Edward Island joined six years later in 1873.

Krista said...

You're right, Mary B.! It is quite curious that it was formed in the Charlottetown Conference, but PEI didn't join right away.