How many of you could pass the Canadian citizenship test?

Bob Cook · Oct 8, 2007

19 out of 20. My French forefathers (LaFlamme) got chased out of Europe and into Quebec in the late 1600s, so it stands to reason I should know a lot about my Canada.

Actually, I guessed, mostly. The one I missed was the province with the most bilingual Canadians. I thought it might be a trick question, because there so many Ontarians who live near the border, and because I figured "bilingual" counted immigrants.

Still, can I move to Canada, now?

Philosopher · Oct 8, 2007

15 out of 20. I got 10, 11, 13, 14, and 18 wrong. I largely made educated guesses.

imjustagirl2 · Oct 8, 2007

Flash said:

15. Sir John A. Macdonald. Not a drunk as is traditionally believed ... rather a tea-totaler.
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He was neither. (Good Scottish stock...plus, an ancestor) From http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=40370:

It may be well to confront the legend that Macdonald was a chronic drunkard. He was not. He was a spasmodic one: now and then, as the dialectic of life and politics went too savagely against him, or as the sheer strain of running or some inner compulsion, now beyond analysis, drove him. The numerous stories may; be exaggerated but cannot be safely denied. A few examples suggest the general point. During the exertions and the parties of the Quebec conference of 1864, a friend discovered Macdonald standing in his room in front of a mirror, dressed in his nightshirt, a train rug thrown over his shoulder, practising lines from Hamlet. He was not sober. Such incidents were not always so innocent of effect. In the late stages of negotiations with the Manitoba delegates in April 1870, Macdonald, after having been on the wagon for several months, became quite hors de combat on a Friday, and could not be got working again until the Monday. He was tired from overwork, distracted by worries, and demoralized by the sudden death of a friend. In some ways that combination was typical. Still, it was also true that Macdonald was ill from gallstones. Perhaps the worst period of drinking occurred in 1872–73, at the time of the election and Pacific Scandal. In reviewing the fall of the government, Alexander Campbell told Alexander Morris*, lieutenant governor of Manitoba and the North-West Territories, that Macdonald, â€œfrom the time he left Kingston, after his own election, . . . kept himself more or less under the influence of wine, and . . . really has no clear recollection of what he did on many occasions at Toronto and elsewhere after that period.â€

Macdonald’s drinking had been serious enough that when he had consulted Hewitt Bernard about marrying his sister Agnes, Bernard replied that he had only one objection. Macdonald promised reformation. Another source said that Bernard tried to dissuade his sister from the marriage for that reason. Altogether, there is no doubt that Agnes had some idea of what she was getting into when she married Macdonald in 1867. And it was easier for Macdonald to promise reformation than to effect it. His reformations were spasmodic too. His having joined the Church of England in March 1875 did not prevent an unpleasant incident at a dinner party in T. C. Patteson’s house in Toronto some months later. Macdonald got drunk, insulted Tupper, and finally went dopily upstairs to bed. Agnes went out the front door, and was still outside, sitting on the gate, when Patteson looked out at 6:00.a.m. Macdonald’s political colleagues were philosophical; they would try to get him where he could sleep it off. Agnes could usually handle him, but, as this incident shows, not always. Of course people made allowances. His drinking may not have harmed him all that much in a world that tolerated a good deal of heavy drinking; it may even have had advantages in an age when men voted and women did not. What it did to him morally and physically is difficult to know; and one can only imagine what it did to Agnes. Some of her feelings surface in her diary.
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Flash · Oct 8, 2007

LOL. I guess Canadians are guilty of revisionist history because I only went on what Sister Hughena taught me!

Fly · Oct 8, 2007

Like my Canadian brotha Huggy, I also got 17/20 (5,7,9 did me in...I KNEW Sir John A MacDonald was the first PM, but since the first four questions were all answer D, I thought maybe there was a pattern...).

Can I be honourary??

finishthehat · Oct 9, 2007

imjustagirl said:

Flash said:

15. Sir John A. Macdonald. Not a drunk as is traditionally believed ... rather a tea-totaler.
Click to expand...

He was neither. (Good Scottish stock...plus, an ancestor) From http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=40370:

It may be well to confront the legend that Macdonald was a chronic drunkard. He was not. He was a spasmodic one: now and then, as the dialectic of life and politics went too savagely against him, or as the sheer strain of running or some inner compulsion, now beyond analysis, drove him. The numerous stories may; be exaggerated but cannot be safely denied. A few examples suggest the general point. During the exertions and the parties of the Quebec conference of 1864, a friend discovered Macdonald standing in his room in front of a mirror, dressed in his nightshirt, a train rug thrown over his shoulder, practising lines from Hamlet. He was not sober. Such incidents were not always so innocent of effect. In the late stages of negotiations with the Manitoba delegates in April 1870, Macdonald, after having been on the wagon for several months, became quite hors de combat on a Friday, and could not be got working again until the Monday. He was tired from overwork, distracted by worries, and demoralized by the sudden death of a friend. In some ways that combination was typical. Still, it was also true that Macdonald was ill from gallstones. Perhaps the worst period of drinking occurred in 1872–73, at the time of the election and Pacific Scandal. In reviewing the fall of the government, Alexander Campbell told Alexander Morris*, lieutenant governor of Manitoba and the North-West Territories, that Macdonald, â€œfrom the time he left Kingston, after his own election, . . . kept himself more or less under the influence of wine, and . . . really has no clear recollection of what he did on many occasions at Toronto and elsewhere after that period.â€

Macdonald’s drinking had been serious enough that when he had consulted Hewitt Bernard about marrying his sister Agnes, Bernard replied that he had only one objection. Macdonald promised reformation. Another source said that Bernard tried to dissuade his sister from the marriage for that reason. Altogether, there is no doubt that Agnes had some idea of what she was getting into when she married Macdonald in 1867. And it was easier for Macdonald to promise reformation than to effect it. His reformations were spasmodic too. His having joined the Church of England in March 1875 did not prevent an unpleasant incident at a dinner party in T. C. Patteson’s house in Toronto some months later. Macdonald got drunk, insulted Tupper, and finally went dopily upstairs to bed. Agnes went out the front door, and was still outside, sitting on the gate, when Patteson looked out at 6:00.a.m. Macdonald’s political colleagues were philosophical; they would try to get him where he could sleep it off. Agnes could usually handle him, but, as this incident shows, not always. Of course people made allowances. His drinking may not have harmed him all that much in a world that tolerated a good deal of heavy drinking; it may even have had advantages in an age when men voted and women did not. What it did to him morally and physically is difficult to know; and one can only imagine what it did to Agnes. Some of her feelings surface in her diary.
Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Gotta love the phrasing: "The numerous stories may be exaggerated but cannot be safely denied."

Fenian_Bastard · Oct 9, 2007

17 out of 20!
I missed the national critter.
And, Canadian government folks, it makes the test a lot harder if the answer to Question No. 6 is not contained in Question No. 7.

TrooperBari · Oct 9, 2007

Got 18 out of 20 ... missed Nos. 10 and 19.

Not too shabby.

EDIT: Saw the giveaway, too, FB. Another example of Canadian generosity?

Flash · Oct 9, 2007

Gretzky remains spelled incorrectly ... although I emailed CBC about it.

JR · Oct 9, 2007

Fenian_Bastard said:

17 out of 20!
Click to expand...

Tell you what? You become one of us and I'll make you the Canadian Ambassador to the U.S.

Ronnie "Z-Man" Barzell · Oct 9, 2007

19 out of 20.

I missed the question about electoral districts.

Danny Noonan · Oct 9, 2007

19 out of 20. Not bad for a boy from the States, but I did spend quite a bit of time north of the border.

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