Free Discover Canada study guide practice on Modern Canada: 17 questions; the real Canadian citizenship test has 20 questions and you need 15 right, per IRCC. How many can you get wrong?
Modern Canada
Which law, passed in 1969, guarantees federal government services in French and English across Canada?
Keyboard: A to D or 1 to 4 picks an answer. Enter moves on.
Modern Canada: questions and answers from Discover Canada
Modern Canada is part 4 of Discover Canada, the Canadian citizenship test study guide. Some people call the Canadian citizenship test the Discover Canada test, because its questions come from this guide.
Answers and explanations (text version)
All 17 questions in this practice set, each with the right answer, the reason, and where it is in Discover Canada. Try the questions first.
Question 1. Which law, passed in 1969, guarantees federal government services in French and English across Canada?
- A. The Quebec Act
- B. The Official Languages Act
- C. The Canada Health Act
- D. The Constitution Act, 1982
Answer: B. The Official Languages Act
The work of the royal commission led to the Official Languages Act of 1969.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (Canada and Quebec)
Question 2. What is the Canadarm?
- A. A type of snowmobile for the Arctic
- B. A hockey stick
- C. A robotic arm used in space
- D. A heart pacemaker
Answer: C. A robotic arm used in space
The Canadarm is a robotic arm used in space, invented by SPAR Aerospace and the National Research Council.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (Science and Technology)
Question 3. After the Communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975, how many Vietnamese found refuge in Canada?
- A. About 500
- B. About 5,000
- C. Over 50,000
- D. About 1 million
Answer: C. Over 50,000
Over 50,000 Vietnamese came to Canada as refugees after 1975.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (A Changing Society)
Question 4. In what year was oil discovered in Alberta, starting Canada's modern energy industry?
- A. 1905
- B. 1929
- C. 1947
- D. 1965
Answer: C. 1947
The 1947 oil discovery in Alberta began Canada's modern energy industry.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (Trade and Economic Growth)
Question 5. For which team did Wayne Gretzky play from 1979 to 1988?
- A. The Edmonton Oilers
- B. The Montreal Canadiens
- C. The Toronto Maple Leafs
- D. The Calgary Flames
Answer: A. The Edmonton Oilers
From 1979 to 1988, Gretzky played hockey for the Edmonton Oilers.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (Sports)
Question 6. Mathew Evans and Henry Woodward sold the patent for their electric light bulb to whom?
- A. Alexander Graham Bell
- B. Reginald Fessenden
- C. Sandford Fleming
- D. Thomas Edison
Answer: D. Thomas Edison
Evans and Woodward sold their light bulb patent to Thomas Edison, who made it a commercial success.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (Science and Technology)
Question 7. Who invented the first cardiac pacemaker?
- A. Dr. Wilder Penfield
- B. Sir Frederick Banting
- C. Dr. John A. Hopps
- D. Reginald Fessenden
Answer: C. Dr. John A. Hopps
The first cardiac pacemaker was invented by John Hopps, a Canadian doctor.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (Science and Technology)
Question 8. Which pioneering brain surgeon at McGill University was called "the greatest living Canadian"?
- A. Dr. John A. Hopps
- B. Dr. Wilder Penfield
- C. Dr. Emily Stowe
- D. Sir Frederick Banting
Answer: B. Dr. Wilder Penfield
Dr. Wilder Penfield was a famous brain surgeon in Montreal.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (Science and Technology)
Question 9. Canada and other free Western countries founded which military group?
- A. NATO
- B. The Warsaw Pact
- C. La Francophonie
- D. The Commonwealth
Answer: A. NATO
During the Cold War, Canada joined other Western democracies in founding NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (International Engagement)
Question 10. In 1948, which group of Canadians of Asian descent was the last to win the vote?
- A. Japanese-Canadians
- B. Chinese-Canadians
- C. Indo-Canadians
- D. Vietnamese-Canadians
Answer: A. Japanese-Canadians
Most Canadians of Asian descent were once denied the vote. Japanese-Canadians were the last group to gain it, in 1948.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (A Changing Society)
Question 11. In which field did Sir Ernest MacMillan and Healey Willan become famous?
- A. Painting
- B. Hockey
- C. Science
- D. Music
Answer: D. Music
Ernest MacMillan and Healey Willan were musicians who became famous at home and abroad.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (Arts and Culture in Canada)
Question 12. In what year were Aboriginal people granted the right to vote?
- A. 1918
- B. 1948
- C. 1960
- D. 1982
Answer: C. 1960
Aboriginal people gained the vote in 1960.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (A Changing Society)
Question 13. Professional Canadian Football League teams compete for which trophy?
- A. The Stanley Cup
- B. The Grey Cup
- C. The Clarkson Cup
- D. The Davis Cup
Answer: B. The Grey Cup
Lord Grey, a Governor General, gave the Grey Cup in 1909; CFL teams play for it.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (Sports)
Question 14. How many Canadians died in the Korean War?
- A. 500
- B. 5,000
- C. 44,000
- D. 60,000
Answer: A. 500
In the Korean War, 500 Canadians died and 1,000 were wounded.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (International Engagement)
Question 15. In which year was Quebec sovereignty defeated in the first referendum?
- A. 1970
- B. 1980
- C. 1982
- D. 1995
Answer: B. 1980
The sovereignty movement was defeated in Quebec referendums in 1980 and again in 1995.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (Canada and Quebec)
Question 16. In 1963, Parliament set up which royal commission?
- A. The Royal Commission on Railways and Canals
- B. The Royal Commission on the Fur Trade and Fisheries
- C. The commission on bilingualism and biculturalism
- D. The Royal Commission on Free Trade and Tariffs
Answer: C. The commission on bilingualism and biculturalism
In 1963 a royal commission was set up to look at bilingualism and biculturalism.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (Canada and Quebec)
Question 17. Where was Alexander Graham Bell when he first thought of the telephone?
- A. At his summer home in Canada
- B. In a laboratory in Ottawa
- C. On a ship to England
- D. At McGill University
Answer: A. At his summer home in Canada
Bell's telephone idea came to him during a stay at his summer home in Canada.
In Discover Canada: Modern Canada (Science and Technology)
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