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Canadian Citizenship Test: Who We Are Questions
Quick answer: Questions on Who We Are come from the official Discover Canada guide and appear on the real citizenship test (20 questions, 45 minutes, 75% to pass). Below are 30 practice questions with answers and explanations. Ready to be tested? Take a free timed practice test.
Canada's diverse population, Aboriginal peoples, English and French heritage, and multiculturalism. These Who We Are questions are drawn from this section of the official Discover Canada guide — the only source for the real test.
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1. What type of monarchy is Canada?
Answer: Constitutional monarchy
Canada is the only constitutional monarchy in North America.
2. What is the key phrase from Canada's original 1867 constitutional document?
Answer: Peace Order and Good Government
Peace, Order and Good Government is the key phrase in the British North America Act of 1867.
3. What language do Métis people traditionally speak?
Answer: Michif
Métis people traditionally speak Michif, a unique language that blends Cree and French. It reflects the mixed Indigenous and European heritage of the Métis people.
4. Who are the three founding peoples of Canada?
Answer: Aboriginal French and British
The three founding peoples of Canada are Aboriginal, French, and British.
5. What does the word Inuit mean in the Inuktitut language?
Answer: The people
Inuit means the people in the Inuktitut language.
6. French-speaking people are called:
Answer: Francophones
French-speaking people are called Francophones. English-speaking people are called Anglophones. About 22% of Canadians are Francophone.
7. What is the significance of Parliament Hill in Ottawa?
Answer: It is the home of Canada's federal government, where Parliament meets
Parliament Hill in Ottawa is the seat of Canada's federal government. It includes the Centre Block (with the House of Commons and Senate chambers), the Peace Tower, and the Library of Parliament.
8. Which province has the largest Francophone population?
Answer: Quebec
Quebec has the largest Francophone population in Canada, with the majority of its residents speaking French.
9. Where do the majority of Canadians live?
Answer: Within 300 kilometres of the U.S. border
The majority of Canadians live in cities and towns close to the U.S. border, within about 300 kilometres of it.
10. What two languages are Canada's official languages?
Answer: English and French
English and French are Canada's two official languages, as established by the Official Languages Act. All federal services must be available in both languages.
11. In what year did the House of Commons recognize the Quebecois as forming a nation within united Canada?
Answer: 2006
The House of Commons recognized in 2006 that the Quebecois form a nation within a united Canada.
12. Since the 1970s most immigrants to Canada have come from which part of the world?
Answer: Asian countries
Since the 1970s, most immigrants have come from Asian countries.
13. Who are the Acadians?
Answer: The descendants of French colonists who began settling in what are now the Maritime provinces in 1604.
The Acadians are descendants of French colonists who began settling in what are now the Maritime provinces in 1604. Many were deported in 1755 (the Great Expulsion) but later returned.
14. The Quebecois people are descended from approximately how many French settlers from the 1600s and 1700s?
Answer: 8500 settlers
The Quebecois are descendants of 8,500 French settlers from the 1600s and 1700s.
15. What are Canada's two official languages?
Answer: English and French
English and French are Canada's two official languages, guaranteed by the Official Languages Act. Both have equal status in federal institutions.
16. What is the meaning of the word Inuit?
Answer: The people
"Inuit" means "the people" in Inuktitut. The Inuit live primarily in Arctic regions of Canada, including Nunavut, northern Quebec, and Labrador.
17. Who were the United Empire Loyalists?
Answer: Settlers who came to Canada from the United States during the American Revolution.
United Empire Loyalists were settlers who fled the United States to Canada during the American Revolution (1775-1783) because they wished to remain loyal to the British Crown.
18. From where does the name "Canada" come from?
Answer: From "Kanata", the Huron-Iroquois word for village.
The name "Canada" comes from "Kanata," a Huron-Iroquois word meaning "village." When explorer Jacques Cartier arrived in 1535, Indigenous people used this word to describe the area, and the name stuck.
19. What is a Francophone?
Answer: A person who speaks French as their first language
A Francophone is a person who speaks French as their first language. Francophones make up about 21% of Canada's population, with the majority living in Quebec.
20. What is the largest religious affiliation in Canada?
Answer: Catholic.
Catholicism is the largest religious affiliation in Canada, reflecting the country's French and Irish heritage. Canada is a religiously diverse nation with freedom of religion protected by the Charter.
21. What is the Francophone community outside Quebec called?
Answer: Franco-Ontarians and Acadians
Outside Quebec, the main Francophone communities are Franco-Ontarians (in Ontario) and Acadians (in the Maritime provinces). Together with Quebecers, they form Canada's Francophone heritage.
22. What are the three groups of Aboriginal peoples in Canada?
Answer: First Nations, Inuit, and Métis
The three groups of Aboriginal peoples are First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. Each has distinct cultures, languages, and histories that predate European contact.
23. What does bilingualism mean in Canada?
Answer: English and French have equal status in federal institutions
Bilingualism in Canada means English and French have equal status in federal institutions. Citizens can access federal services in either language anywhere in the country.
24. Where do most Inuit live?
Answer: The Arctic regions including Nunavut
Most Inuit live in the Arctic regions, primarily in Nunavut, but also in northern Quebec (Nunavik), Labrador (Nunatsiavut), and the Northwest Territories (Inuvialuit).
25. True or False: The Métis are a distinct people of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry.
Answer: True
True. The Métis are recognized as a distinct Aboriginal people with their own unique culture, language (Michif), and identity.
26. Who are the Métis?
Answer: A distinct people of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry.
The Métis are a distinct people of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry, with their own culture, language (Michif), and identity. They played a key role in the development of western Canada.
27. Who are the Quebecers?
Answer: People of Quebec.
Quebecers (Québécois) are the people of Quebec. The term encompasses everyone living in Quebec, not just descendants of French colonists, reflecting the province's diverse modern identity.
28. What does the term "First Nations" refer to?
Answer: Aboriginal peoples who are neither Inuit nor Métis
First Nations refers to the diverse Aboriginal peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis, comprising many distinct nations with different languages and cultures.
29. What percentage of Aboriginal people are First Nations?
Answer: 65%.
About 65% of Aboriginal people in Canada are First Nations. The remaining are Métis (about 30%) and Inuit (about 4%). First Nations people live across the country in diverse communities.
30. Who are the founding peoples of Canada?
Answer: Aboriginal, French and British.
The three founding peoples of Canada are Aboriginal, French, and British. Their traditions, languages, and legal systems shaped the Canada we know today.
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