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Canadian Citizenship Test

Chapter 2

Who we are

Canada's three founding peoples, First Nations, Inuit and Métis, the two official language communities and the Acadians.

Test yourself on this chapter

Canada’s three founding peoples

Understanding Canada starts with three founding peoples: Aboriginal, French and British. Canada is described as a strong and free country with the oldest continuous constitutional tradition anywhere, and as the only constitutional monarchy in North America. Its institutions are committed to Peace, Order and Good Government — wording lifted from the British North America Act, the country's original constitutional document of 1867. Poets and songwriters called the country the Great Dominion.

Testable facts

  • Canada's three founding peoples are Aboriginal, French and British
  • Canada has inherited the oldest continuous constitutional tradition in the world
  • Canada is the only constitutional monarchy in North America
  • Peace, Order and Good Government is a key phrase in Canada's original constitutional document of 1867, the British North America Act
  • Poets and songwriters have hailed Canada as the Great Dominion

Aboriginal peoples

The ancestors of Aboriginal peoples are believed to have come from Asia many thousands of years ago, long before Europeans reached North America. First Nations cultures were diverse and rooted in beliefs about their relationship to the Creator, the natural world and each other. Aboriginal and treaty rights sit in the Constitution; territorial rights were first guaranteed by King George III's Royal Proclamation of 1763, which set the basis for treaty negotiation — treaties that were not always honoured. From the 1800s to the 1980s the federal government placed many Aboriginal children in residential schools to assimilate them. The schools were poorly funded, inflicted hardship, some students were physically abused, and Aboriginal languages and cultural practices were largely forbidden. Ottawa apologised formally to former students in 2008.

Testable facts

  • The ancestors of Aboriginal peoples are believed to have migrated from Asia many thousands of years ago
  • Aboriginal peoples were well established in Canada long before explorers from Europe first came to North America
  • Aboriginal and treaty rights are in the Canadian Constitution
  • Territorial rights were first guaranteed through the Royal Proclamation of 1763 by King George III
  • The Royal Proclamation of 1763 established the basis for negotiating treaties with the newcomers
  • From the 1800s until the 1980s the federal government placed many Aboriginal children in residential schools to assimilate them
  • Aboriginal languages and cultural practices were mostly prohibited in residential schools
  • In 2008 Ottawa formally apologized to the former students of residential schools

First Nations, Inuit and Métis

Aboriginal peoples is an umbrella term for three distinct groups. Indian refers to Aboriginal people who are neither Inuit nor Métis, and from the 1970s the term First Nations came into use; today about half of First Nations people live on reserve land in roughly 600 communities and half off-reserve, mostly in cities. Inuit means the people in Inuktitut; they live in small scattered communities across the Arctic, and their knowledge of land, sea and wildlife let them adapt to one of the harshest environments on earth. The Métis are a distinct people of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry, most of them in the Prairie provinces, drawn from both French- and English-speaking backgrounds, with their own dialect, Michif. About 65% of Aboriginal people are First Nations, 30% Métis and 4% Inuit.

Testable facts

  • The term Aboriginal peoples refers to three distinct groups: First Nations, Inuit and Métis
  • Indian refers to all Aboriginal people who are not Inuit or Métis
  • In the 1970s the term First Nations began to be used
  • About half of First Nations people live on reserve land in about 600 communities, and the other half live off-reserve mainly in urban centres
  • Inuit means the people in the Inuktitut language
  • The Inuit live in small, scattered communities across the Arctic
  • Inuit knowledge of the land, sea and wildlife enabled them to adapt to one of the harshest environments on earth
  • The Métis are a distinct people of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry
  • The majority of Métis live in the Prairie provinces
  • The Métis speak their own dialect, Michif
  • About 65% of Aboriginal people are First Nations, 30% are Métis and 4% are Inuit

English, French and the Acadians

Canadian society today grows largely out of the English- and French-speaking Christian civilisations brought from Europe by settlers, and English and French are the country's official languages; Ottawa is required by law to deliver services in both across Canada. There are 18 million Anglophones and seven million Francophones. Most Francophones live in Quebec, but a million live in Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba, with smaller numbers elsewhere. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province. The Acadians descend from French colonists who began settling the present-day Maritimes in 1604; between 1755 and 1763, during the war between Britain and France, more than two-thirds of them were deported in what became known as the Great Upheaval, yet Acadian identity survived.

Testable facts

  • English and French are the official languages of Canada
  • The federal government is required by law to provide services throughout Canada in English and French
  • There are 18 million Anglophones, people who speak English as a first language
  • There are seven million Francophones, people who speak French as their first language
  • One million Francophones live in Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba
  • New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province
  • The Acadians are the descendants of French colonists who began settling in what are now the Maritime provinces in 1604
  • Between 1755 and 1763 more than two-thirds of the Acadians were deported from their homeland
  • The deportation of the Acadians is known as the Great Upheaval

Quebec, diversity and religion

Quebecers are the people of Quebec, a mostly French-speaking province, and most descend from the 8,500 French settlers of the 1600s and 1700s. In 2006 the House of Commons recognised that the Quebecois form a nation within a united Canada. A million Anglo-Quebecers have a heritage going back 250 years. Most Canadians were born in Canada, and have been since the 1800s, yet the country is often called a land of immigrants because millions have arrived over the past two centuries; since the 1970s most have come from Asian countries. The largest groups are the English, French, Scottish, Irish, German, Italian, Chinese, Aboriginal, Ukrainian, Dutch, South Asian and Scandinavian. Most Canadians identify as Christian, the largest affiliation being Catholic, followed by Protestant churches.

Testable facts

  • Quebecers are the people of Quebec, the vast majority French-speaking
  • Most Quebecers are descendants of 8,500 French settlers from the 1600s and 1700s
  • The House of Commons recognized in 2006 that the Quebecois form a nation within a united Canada
  • One million Anglo-Quebecers have a heritage of 250 years
  • The majority of Canadians were born in Canada, and this has been true since the 1800s
  • Canada is often referred to as a land of immigrants because millions of newcomers have arrived over the past 200 years
  • Since the 1970s most immigrants have come from Asian countries
  • The largest ethnic groups in Canada are the English, French, Scottish, Irish, German, Italian, Chinese, Aboriginal, Ukrainian, Dutch, South Asian and Scandinavian
  • The great majority of Canadians identify as Christians, and the largest religious affiliation is Catholic
  • Gay and lesbian Canadians enjoy the full protection of and equal treatment under the law, including access to civil marriage

This is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorised by the government of Canada. Practice questions are written from the official study guide and are not the real exam questions. No government publishes those.