Canadian Citizenship Test. Exam day

Where Canadian rights come from

• Magna Carta was signed in 1215 in England and is also known as the Great Charter of Freedoms
• Sources of Canadian law: Acts of Parliament and of the provincial legislatures, English common law, French civil law, and Britain's unwritten constitution
• Canadians have an 800-year-old tradition of ordered liberty
• Habeas corpus, the right to challenge unlawful detention by the state, comes from English common law

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms

• The Constitution of Canada was amended in 1982 to entrench the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• The Charter begins with the words that Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law
• Freedom of conscience and religion is a fundamental freedom in the Charter
• Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of speech and of the press, is a fundamental freedom
• Freedom of peaceful assembly is a fundamental freedom in the Charter
• Freedom of association is a fundamental freedom in the Charter

Other rights in the Charter

• Mobility rights mean Canadians can live and work anywhere they choose in Canada, enter and leave the country freely, and apply for a passport
• The rights guaranteed in the Charter will not adversely affect any treaty or other rights or freedoms of Aboriginal peoples
• Official language rights give French and English equal status in Parliament and throughout the government
• Multiculturalism is a fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity

Responsibilities of citizenship

• Obeying the law is a responsibility of citizenship, and one of Canada's founding principles is the rule of law
• Individuals and governments are regulated by laws and not by arbitrary actions, and no person or group is above the law
• Taking responsibility for oneself and one's family means getting a job, taking care of one's family and working hard
• Work contributes to personal dignity and self-respect, and to Canada's prosperity
• When called to serve on a jury you are legally required to serve
• Serving on a jury is a privilege that makes the justice system work, because it depends on impartial juries made up of citizens
• The right to vote comes with a responsibility to vote in federal, provincial or territorial and local elections
• Helping others in the community is a responsibility of citizenship, and millions of volunteers freely donate their time
• Protecting and enjoying Canada's heritage and environment is a responsibility of citizenship

The equality of women and men, and defending Canada

• In Canada, men and women are equal under the law
• Barbaric cultural practices fall outside Canada's generosity: spousal abuse, honour killings, female genital mutilation and forced marriage among them
• Those guilty of gender-based violence are severely punished under Canada's criminal laws
• There is no compulsory military service in Canada
• Serving in the regular Canadian Forces, made up of the navy, army and air force, is a way to contribute to Canada
• You can serve in the part-time navy, militia and air reserves
• Cadets teach young people discipline, responsibility and skills
• Other ways to serve: the Coast Guard, or local emergency services such as a fire department or police force

Canada’s three founding peoples

• 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 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

• 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

• 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, 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

The first Europeans

• The Vikings from Iceland who colonized Greenland 1,000 years ago also reached Labrador and the island of Newfoundland
• The remains of the Viking settlement at l'Anse aux Meadows are a World Heritage site
• European exploration began in earnest in 1497 with the expedition of John Cabot
• John Cabot was the first to draw a map of Canada's East Coast
• John Cabot was an Italian immigrant to England who claimed the New Founde Land for England in 1497
• English settlement did not begin until 1610
• Between 1534 and 1542 Jacques Cartier made three voyages across the Atlantic, claiming the land for King Francis I of France
• Jacques Cartier was the first European to explore the St. Lawrence River and to set eyes on present-day Québec City and Montreal
• Cartier heard two captured guides speak the Iroquoian word kanata, meaning village
• By the 1550s the name of Canada began appearing on maps

Royal New France

• In 1604 the first European settlement north of Florida was established by French explorers Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain
• The first French settlement was on St. Croix Island, then at Port-Royal in Acadia, present-day Nova Scotia
• In 1608 Champlain built a fortress at what is now Québec City
• Champlain allied the colony with the Algonquin, Montagnais and Huron
• The Iroquois were a confederation of five, later six, First Nations who battled the French settlements for a century
• The French and the Iroquois made peace in 1701
• The fur-trade economy was driven by the demand for beaver pelts in Europe
• Jean Talon, Bishop Laval and Count Frontenac built a French Empire in North America that reached from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico

The struggle for a continent

• In 1670 King Charles II of England granted the Hudson's Bay Company exclusive trading rights over the watershed draining into Hudson Bay
• The men of the fur trade who travelled by canoe were called voyageurs and coureurs des bois
• In 1759 the British defeated the French in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham at Québec City
• The Battle of the Plains of Abraham marked the end of France's empire in America
• The commanders of both armies at the Plains of Abraham, Brigadier James Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm, were killed leading their troops
• After the war Great Britain renamed the colony the Province of Quebec
• The French-speaking Catholic people of Quebec were known as habitants or Canadiens

The Quebec Act and the Loyalists

• The British Parliament passed the Quebec Act of 1774 to better govern the French Roman Catholic majority
• The Quebec Act is one of the constitutional foundations of Canada
• The Quebec Act allowed religious freedom for Catholics and permitted them to hold public office, a practice not then allowed in Britain
• The Quebec Act restored French civil law while maintaining British criminal law
• In 1776 the 13 British colonies to the south of Quebec declared independence and formed the United States
• More than 40,000 Loyalists fled the American Revolution to settle in Nova Scotia and Quebec
• Joseph Brant led thousands of Loyalist Mohawk Indians into Canada
• About 3,000 black Loyalists, freedmen and slaves came north seeking a better life
• In 1792 some black Nova Scotians moved on to establish Freetown, Sierra Leone, a new British colony for freed slaves

The beginnings of democracy and the abolition of slavery

• The first representative assembly was elected in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1758
• Prince Edward Island elected a representative assembly in 1773 and New Brunswick in 1785
• Upper Canada and Lower Canada were carved out of the Province of Quebec by the Constitutional Act of 1791
• Upper Canada was mainly Loyalist, Protestant and English-speaking
• Lower Canada was heavily Catholic and French-speaking
• The Constitutional Act granted the Canadas legislative assemblies elected by the people for the first time
• The name Canada became official in 1791 and has been used ever since
• In 1793 Upper Canada, led by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, became the first province in the Empire to move toward abolition of slavery
• In 1807 the British Parliament prohibited the buying and selling of slaves
• In 1833 Britain abolished slavery throughout the Empire
• Thousands of slaves escaped from the United States and settled in Canada via the Underground Railroad, a Christian anti-slavery network

The War of 1812

• The Royal Navy defeated Napoleon Bonaparte's fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805
• The United States launched an invasion of Canada in June 1812
• Alongside British soldiers in 1812 stood Canadian volunteers and First Nations, Chief Tecumseh's Shawnee among them
• Major-General Sir Isaac Brock captured Detroit but was killed defending against an American attack at Queenston Heights
• At Châteauguay in 1813, 460 soldiers under Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry — mostly French Canadiens — halted 4,000 American invaders
• York, today Toronto, lost its Parliament Buildings and Government House to American burning in 1813
• In retaliation in 1814 Major-General Robert Ross led an expedition that burned down the White House in Washington
• By 1814 the American attempt to conquer Canada had failed
• The present-day Canada-U.S.A. border is partly an outcome of the War of 1812
• The War of 1812 ensured that Canada would remain independent of the United States
• In 1813 Laura Secord made a dangerous 19-mile journey on foot to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon of a planned American attack

Rebellions and responsible government

• In the 1830s reformers in Upper and Lower Canada believed progress toward full democracy was too slow
• Armed rebellions occurred in 1837-38 outside Montreal and in Toronto and were defeated by British troops and Canadian volunteers
• Lord Durham recommended that Upper and Lower Canada be merged and given responsible government
• Responsible government means that the ministers of the Crown must have the support of a majority of the elected representatives in order to govern
• Under responsible government, if the government loses a confidence vote in the assembly it must resign
• In 1840 Upper and Lower Canada were united as the Province of Canada
• The first British North American colony to attain full responsible government was Nova Scotia in 1847-48
• Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine was a champion of French language rights and became the first head of a responsible government in Canada in 1849
• Robert Baldwin and Joseph Howe worked with British governors toward responsible government

Confederation

• From 1864 to 1867 representatives of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada worked to establish a new country
• The men who established the new country are known as the Fathers of Confederation
• Confederation created two levels of government: federal and provincial
• The old Province of Canada was split into two new provinces, Ontario and Quebec
• Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia formed the new country called the Dominion of Canada
• Each province would elect its own legislature and have control of such areas as education and health
• The British Parliament passed the British North America Act in 1867
• The Dominion of Canada was officially born on July 1, 1867
• Until 1982 July 1 was celebrated as Dominion Day, and today it is officially known as Canada Day
• The phrase Dominion of Canada was proposed in 1864 by Sir Leonard Tilley of New Brunswick, a Father of Confederation
• Tilley took the phrase from Psalm 72, on dominion from sea to sea

Macdonald, Cartier and expansion of the Dominion

• Sir John Alexander Macdonald became Canada's first Prime Minister in 1867
• Sir John A. Macdonald was born in Scotland on January 11, 1815 and came to Upper Canada as a child
• Parliament has recognized January 11 as Sir John A. Macdonald Day
• Sir John A. Macdonald's portrait is on the $10 bill
• Sir George-Étienne Cartier was the key architect of Confederation from Quebec
• Sir George-Étienne Cartier led Quebec into Confederation and helped negotiate the entry of the Northwest Territories, Manitoba and British Columbia
• Manitoba and the Northwest Territories joined Canada in 1870
• British Columbia joined Canada in 1871
• Prince Edward Island joined Canada in 1873
• Yukon Territory joined Canada in 1898
• Alberta and Saskatchewan joined Canada in 1905
• Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada in 1949
• Nunavut was created in 1999

Louis Riel, the Métis and the Mounties

• Canada took over the vast northwest region from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869
• The 12,000 Métis of the Red River were not consulted when Canada took over the northwest
• Louis Riel led an armed uprising and seized Fort Garry, the territorial capital
• Ottawa sent soldiers to retake Fort Garry in 1870 and Canada established a new province, Manitoba
• Riel was elected to Parliament but never took his seat
• A second rebellion in 1885 in present-day Saskatchewan led to Riel's trial and execution for high treason
• Riel is seen by many as a hero, a defender of Métis rights and the father of Manitoba
• Prime Minister Macdonald established the North West Mounted Police in 1873
• The North West Mounted Police founded Fort Calgary, Fort MacLeod and other centres that are today cities and towns
• Regina became the headquarters of the North West Mounted Police
• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are the national police force and one of Canada's best-known symbols
• Gabriel Dumont was the Métis' greatest military leader

The Canadian Pacific Railway and westward growth

• Ottawa's promise of a railway to the West Coast brought British Columbia in during 1871
• On November 7, 1885 Donald Smith, Lord Strathcona, drove the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway
• The Canadian Pacific Railway was a powerful symbol of unity
• Funding for the Canadian Pacific Railway came from British and American investors; the labour was European and Chinese
• Discrimination followed for Chinese railway workers, the Head Tax among it — a race-based entry fee
• The Government of Canada apologized in 2006 for the Head Tax
• Sir Wilfrid Laurier became the first French-Canadian prime minister since Confederation
• Sir Wilfrid Laurier's portrait is on the $5 bill
• The railway made it possible for 170,000 Ukrainians, 115,000 Poles and tens of thousands from Germany, France, Norway and Sweden to settle in the West before 1914
• One million British and one million American immigrants came to Canada during the boom of the 1890s and early 1900s

The First World War

• Over 7,000 Canadians volunteered to fight in the South African War of 1899-1902, popularly known as the Boer War, and over 260 died
• Ottawa formed the Canadian Expeditionary Force, later the Canadian Corps, when Britain declared war in 1914
• More than 600,000 Canadians served in the First World War, most of them volunteers, out of a population of eight million
• The Canadian Corps captured Vimy Ridge in April 1917, with 10,000 killed or wounded
• Vimy Ridge secured the Canadians' reputation for valour as the shock troops of the British Empire
• April 9 is celebrated as Vimy Day
• General Sir Arthur Currie was Canada's greatest soldier and commanded the Canadian Corps in 1918
• The Battle of Amiens on August 8, 1918 was called the black day of the German Army by the Germans
• The First World War ended in the Armistice on November 11, 1918
• In total 60,000 Canadians were killed and 170,000 wounded in the First World War
• From 1914 to 1920 Ottawa interned over 8,000 former Austro-Hungarian subjects, mainly Ukrainian men, as enemy aliens in 24 labour camps

Remembrance Day

• Remembrance Day is observed each year on November 11
• Wearing the poppy remembers every Canadian who served or died in war, up to the present day
• Canadians wear the red poppy and observe a moment of silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month
• Over a million brave men and women have served, and 110,000 have given their lives
• Canadian medical officer Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae composed the poem In Flanders Fields in 1915

Between the wars and the Second World War

• After the First World War the British Empire evolved into a free association of states known as the British Commonwealth of Nations
• Canada remains a leading member of the Commonwealth
• The stock market crash of 1929 led to the Great Depression, also called the Dirty Thirties
• Unemployment reached 27% in 1933
• The Bank of Canada, a central bank to manage the money supply, was created in 1934
• The Second World War began in 1939 when Adolf Hitler, the Nazi dictator of Germany, invaded Poland
• More than one million Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in the Second World War, out of a population of 11.5 million
• 44,000 Canadians were killed in the Second World War
• Canadians fought in the unsuccessful defence of Hong Kong in 1941 and a failed raid on Dieppe in 1942
• Canadians took part in the liberation of Italy in 1943-44
• On D-Day, June 6, 1944, 15,000 Canadian troops stormed and captured Juno Beach in Normandy
• Approximately one in ten Allied soldiers on D-Day was Canadian
• The Canadian Army liberated the Netherlands in 1944-45
• The German surrender of May 8, 1945 brought six years of war in Europe to an end
• Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945
• At the end of the Second World War Canada had the third-largest navy in the world
• The Royal Canadian Navy saw its finest hour in the Battle of the Atlantic, protecting convoys of merchant ships against German submarines

Modern Canada, the Cold War and Quebec

• The discovery of oil in Alberta in 1947 began Canada's modern energy industry
• In 1951, for the first time, a majority of Canadians were able to afford adequate food, shelter and clothing
• Canada joined international organizations such as the United Nations
• Canada participated in the UN operation defending South Korea in the Korean War of 1950-53, with 500 dead and 1,000 wounded
• Canada joined other democratic countries to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance
• Canada joined with the United States in the North American Aerospace Defence Command
• Unemployment insurance, now called employment insurance, was introduced by the federal government in 1940
• Old Age Security was devised as early as 1927 and the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans in 1965
• Quebec experienced an era of rapid change in the 1960s known as the Quiet Revolution
• In 1963 Parliament established the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism
• The Official Languages Act of 1969 guarantees French and English services in the federal government across Canada
• In 1970 Canada helped found La Francophonie, an international association of French-speaking countries
• The movement for Quebec sovereignty was defeated in a referendum in 1980 and again in 1995
• In 1982 the Constitution was amended without the agreement of Quebec
• Publicly funded education is provided by the provinces and territories

Canadian achievements and inventions

• Sir Frederick Banting of Toronto and Charles Best discovered insulin, a hormone to treat diabetes
• The discovery of insulin has saved 16 million lives worldwide
• It was at his Canadian summer house that Alexander Graham Bell conceived the telephone
• Joseph-Armand Bombardier invented the snowmobile, a light-weight winter vehicle
• Sir Sandford Fleming invented the worldwide system of standard time zones
• The first electric light bulb was the work of Matthew Evans and Henry Woodward, who sold the patent on to Thomas Edison
• Reginald Fessenden contributed to the invention of radio, sending the first wireless voice message in the world
• Dr. Wilder Penfield was a pioneering brain surgeon at McGill University and was known as the greatest living Canadian
• Dr. John A. Hopps invented the first cardiac pacemaker
• SPAR Aerospace and the National Research Council invented the Canadarm, a robotic arm used in outer space
• Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie of Research in Motion produced the BlackBerry
• Basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith in 1891
• Hockey is Canada's most popular spectator sport and is considered the national winter sport
• Lacrosse, an ancient sport first played by Aboriginals, is the official summer sport

Three facts about Canada’s system of government

• Canada's system of government is a federal state, a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy
• The three branches of government are the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial
• The interplay between the three branches of government helps to secure the rights and freedoms of Canadians
• It is important for Canadians aged 18 or more to participate in their democracy by voting in federal, provincial or territorial and municipal elections

Canada as a federal state

• Canada has federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments
• The responsibilities of the federal and provincial governments were defined in 1867 in the British North America Act, now known as the Constitution Act, 1867
• The federal government takes responsibility for defence, foreign policy, interprovincial trade and communications, currency, navigation, criminal law and citizenship
• The provinces are responsible for municipal government, education, health, natural resources, property and civil rights, and highways
• The federal government and the provinces share jurisdiction over agriculture and immigration
• Federalism allows different provinces to adopt policies tailored to their own populations
• Every province has its own elected Legislative Assembly
• The three northern territories do not have the status of provinces, but their governments and assemblies carry out many of the same functions

Constitutional monarchy and the Sovereign

• As a constitutional monarchy, Canada's Head of State is a hereditary Sovereign who reigns in accordance with the Constitution
• The Sovereign is a part of Parliament and plays an important non-partisan role as the focus of citizenship and allegiance
• The Sovereign is a symbol of Canadian sovereignty, a guardian of constitutional freedoms and a reflection of Canada's history
• As Head of the Commonwealth the Sovereign links Canada to 53 other nations
• Other constitutional monarchies include Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Spain, Thailand, Japan, Jordan and Morocco
• Canada has been a constitutional monarchy in its own right since Confederation in 1867, during Queen Victoria's reign
• The Crown has been a symbol of the state in Canada for 400 years
• The Crown is a symbol of government, including Parliament, the legislatures, the courts, police services and the Canadian Forces

The Governor General and the Lieutenant Governors

• There is a clear distinction in Canada between the head of state, the Sovereign, and the head of government, the Prime Minister
• The Prime Minister actually directs the governing of the country
• The Sovereign is represented in Canada by the Governor General
• The Governor General is appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister, usually for five years
• In each of the ten provinces the Sovereign is represented by the Lieutenant Governor
• The Lieutenant Governor is appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister, normally for five years
• In each province the Premier has a role similar to that of the Prime Minister in the federal government
• In the three territories the Commissioner represents the federal government and plays a ceremonial role

Parliament and how a bill becomes law

• Parliament has three parts: the Sovereign, the Senate and the House of Commons
• The House of Commons is the representative chamber, made up of members of Parliament elected by the people, traditionally every four years
• Senators are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister and serve until age 75
• No bill can become law in Canada until it has been passed by both chambers and has received royal assent
• Royal assent is granted by the Governor General on behalf of the Sovereign
• First reading: the bill is printed and counted as read once
• At second reading members debate the bill's principle
• At committee stage committee members study the bill clause by clause
• At report stage members can make other amendments
• At third reading members debate and vote on the bill
• Provincial legislatures comprise the Lieutenant Governor and the elected Assembly

The Cabinet and confidence

• In Canada's parliamentary democracy the people elect members to the House of Commons in Ottawa and to the provincial and territorial legislatures
• Elected representatives are responsible for passing laws, approving and monitoring expenditures, and keeping the government accountable
• Cabinet ministers must retain the confidence of the House and have to resign if they are defeated in a non-confidence vote
• The Prime Minister selects the Cabinet ministers and is responsible for the operations and policy of the government
• The Prime Minister chooses the ministers of the Crown, most of them from among members of the House of Commons
• Cabinet ministers are responsible for running the federal government departments
• The Prime Minister and the Cabinet ministers prepare the budget and propose most new laws
• Cabinet decisions can be questioned by all members of the House of Commons

Federal elections

• MP, or member of Parliament, is the other name for a member of the House of Commons
• Federal elections must be held on the third Monday in October every four years following the most recent general election
• The Prime Minister may ask the Governor General to call an earlier election
• An electoral district is also known as a riding or a constituency
• An electoral district is a geographical area represented by a member of Parliament
• The citizens in each electoral district elect one MP who sits in the House of Commons to represent them, as well as all Canadians
• Canadian citizens who are 18 years old or older may run in a federal election
• The people who run for office are called candidates
• The candidate who receives the most votes becomes the MP for that electoral district

Who can vote, and the secret ballot

• To vote in a federal election you must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old on voting day, and on the voters' list
• The voters' lists used during federal elections and referendums are produced from the National Register of Electors
• Elections Canada is a neutral agency of Parliament
• The National Register of Electors is a permanent database of Canadian citizens 18 years of age or older who are qualified to vote
• Once an election has been called, Elections Canada mails a voter information card to each elector
• The voter information card lists when and where you vote
• You can be added to the voters' list at any time, including on election day
• Canadian law secures the right to a secret ballot
• No one can watch you vote and no one should look at how you voted
• No one, including family members, your employer or union representative, has the right to insist that you tell them how you voted
• Immediately after the polling stations close, election officers count the ballots and the results are announced

Voting procedures

• A voter information card goes to every elector listed in the National Register of Electors
• That card confirms your place on the voters' list and tells you where and when to vote
• If you do not receive a voter information card you should call your local elections office
• Cannot make election day, or would rather not? Advance polls and the special ballot are the alternatives
• On election day bring your voter information card and proof of your identity and address to the polling station
• Marking the ballot means putting an X in the circle beside your chosen candidate
• A screen is provided, and you are invited behind it to mark the ballot
• Once marked, fold the ballot and present it to the poll officials
• The ballot number is torn off by the poll official, who hands the ballot back for you to put in the box
• Counting follows the close of the polls, and the result is published

After an election: government and opposition

• After an election the leader of the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons is invited by the Governor General to form the government
• After being appointed by the Governor General, the leader of the party with the most seats becomes the Prime Minister
• If the party in power holds at least half of the seats in the House of Commons, this is called a majority government
• If the party in power holds less than half of the seats in the House of Commons, this is called a minority government
• The Prime Minister and the party in power run the government as long as they have the confidence of the majority of the MPs
• A vote on a major issue such as the budget is considered a matter of confidence
• If a majority of members vote against a major government decision, the party in power is defeated
• The parties that are not in power are known as opposition parties
• The opposition party with the most members of the House of Commons is the Official Opposition, or Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition
• The role of opposition parties is to peacefully oppose or try to improve government proposals

Provincial, territorial and municipal government

• Each provincial and territorial government has an elected legislature where provincial and territorial laws are passed
• Members of provincial and territorial legislatures are called members of the Legislative Assembly, members of the National Assembly, members of the Provincial Parliament or members of the House of Assembly
• By-laws are what a municipal council passes, and they bind only the local community
• A municipal council usually includes a mayor or a reeve and councillors or aldermen
• Municipalities are normally responsible for urban or regional planning, streets and roads, sanitation, snow removal, firefighting, ambulance and other emergency services, recreation facilities and public transit
• Most major urban centres have municipal police forces
• First Nations have band chiefs and councillors who have major responsibilities on reserves, including housing and schools
• Provincial, territorial and municipal elections are held by secret ballot, but the rules are not the same as those for federal elections

The justice system

• The Canadian justice system guarantees everyone due process under the law
• Presumption of innocence underpins criminal matters: guilt has to be proven
• Due process is the principle that the government must respect all the legal rights a person is entitled to under the law
• Canada's legal heritage: the rule of law, freedom under law, democratic principles, due process
• The law in Canada applies to everyone, including judges, politicians and the police
• Laws are written rules intended to guide people in society and are made by elected representatives
• Canada's laws are intended to provide order in society, offer a peaceful way to settle disputes, and express the values and beliefs of Canadians
• The courts settle disputes and the police enforce the laws
• The Supreme Court of Canada is the country's highest court
• The Supreme Court of Canada has nine judges appointed by the Governor General
• The Federal Court of Canada deals with matters concerning the federal government
• In most provinces there is an appeal court and a trial court, sometimes called the Court of Queen's Bench or the Supreme Court
• There are also provincial courts for lesser offences, family courts, traffic courts and small claims courts

The police

• The police are there to keep people safe and to enforce the law
• You can ask the police for help if there has been an accident, if something has been stolen, if you are a victim of assault, if you see a crime taking place or if someone you know has gone missing
• There are provincial police forces in Ontario and Quebec and municipal police departments in all provinces
• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police enforce federal laws throughout Canada
• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police serve as the provincial police in all provinces and territories except Ontario and Quebec
• Concerns about police service or conduct are yours to raise
• Nearly every Canadian force runs a process for hearing such concerns and acting on them
• Lawyers can help you with legal problems and act for you in court
• Legal aid services exist in most communities, free or low-cost, for those who cannot pay a lawyer

The Canadian flag and the maple leaf

• A new Canadian flag was raised for the first time in 1965
• The red-white-red pattern of the Canadian flag comes from the flag of the Royal Military College, Kingston, founded in 1876
• Red and white had been colours of France and England since the Middle Ages
• Red and white have been the national colours of Canada since 1921
• The Union Jack is Canada's official Royal Flag
• The Canadian Red Ensign served as the Canadian flag for about 100 years
• The provinces and territories also have flags that embody their distinct traditions
• The maple leaf is Canada's best-known symbol
• Maple leaves were adopted as a symbol by French Canadians in the 1700s
• Maple leaves have appeared on Canadian uniforms and insignia since the 1850s
• Maple leaves are carved into the headstones of fallen Canadian soldiers buried overseas and in Canada

Other Canadian symbols

• The fleur-de-lys is said to have been adopted by the French king in the year 496
• The fleur-de-lys became the symbol of French royalty for more than 1,000 years, including the colony of New France
• The fleur-de-lys was included in the Canadian Red Ensign
• In 1948 Quebec adopted its own flag, based on the Cross and the fleur-de-lys
• The beaver was adopted centuries ago as the symbol of the Hudson's Bay Company
• The beaver became an emblem of the St. Jean Baptiste Society, a French-Canadian patriotic association, in 1834
• The beaver can be seen on the five-cent coin
• The beaver appears on the coats of arms of Saskatchewan and Alberta and of cities such as Montreal and Toronto
• As an expression of national pride after the First World War, Canada adopted an official coat of arms and a national motto
• Canada's national motto is A mari usque ad mare, which in Latin means from sea to sea
• The Canadian coat of arms contains symbols of England, France, Scotland and Ireland as well as red maple leaves

Parliament buildings, the anthem and honours

• The Parliament Buildings were completed in the 1860s
• The Centre Block was destroyed by an accidental fire in 1916 and rebuilt in 1922
• The Library is the only part of the original Parliament building remaining
• Completed in 1927, the Peace Tower commemorates the First World War
• The Memorial Chamber within the Peace Tower contains the Books of Remembrance
• The Books of Remembrance record the names of those who died serving Canada in wars or while on duty
• O Canada was proclaimed as the national anthem in 1980
• O Canada was first sung in Québec City in 1880
• French and English Canadians sing different words to the national anthem
• The Royal Anthem of Canada can be played or sung on any occasion when Canadians wish to honour the Sovereign
• Confederation's centennial year, 1967, brought Canada its own honours system, opening with the Order of Canada
• The Victoria Cross is the highest honour available to Canadians
• The Victoria Cross rewards the most conspicuous bravery before the enemy: valour, self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty
• The Victoria Cross has been awarded to 96 Canadians since 1854

Official languages and popular sports

• English and French are the two official languages and are important symbols of identity
• Anglophones and Francophones have lived together in partnership and creative tension for more than 300 years
• You must have adequate knowledge of English or French to become a Canadian citizen
• Adult applicants 55 years of age or over are exempted from the language requirement
• Parliament passed the Official Languages Act in 1969
• The Official Languages Act aims to establish equality between French and English in Parliament, the Government of Canada and institutions subject to the Act
• The Official Languages Act aims to maintain and develop official language minority communities in Canada
• The Official Languages Act aims to promote equality of French and English in Canadian society
• Ice hockey was developed in Canada in the 1800s
• The National Hockey League plays for the championship Stanley Cup
• The Stanley Cup was donated by Lord Stanley, the Governor General, in 1892
• Canadian football is the second most popular sport in Canada
• Curling was introduced by Scottish pioneers and is popular in Canada
• Soccer has the most registered players of any game in Canada

National holidays and important dates

• New Year's Day is January 1
• Sir John A. Macdonald Day is January 11
• Good Friday is the Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday
• Easter Monday is the Monday immediately following Easter Sunday
• Vimy Day is April 9
• Victoria Day is the Monday preceding May 25 and marks the Sovereign's birthday
• Fête nationale in Quebec is June 24, the Feast of St. John the Baptist
• Canada Day is July 1
• Labour Day is the first Monday of September
• Thanksgiving Day is the second Monday of October
• Remembrance Day is November 11
• Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day is November 20
• Christmas Day is December 25 and Boxing Day is December 26

Canada’s size, oceans and regions

• Canada is the second largest country on earth, at 10 million square kilometres
• Oceans on three sides: Pacific to the west, Atlantic to the east, Arctic to the north
• Canada has ten provinces and three territories
• Each province and territory has its own capital city
• Canada includes five distinct regions: the Atlantic Provinces, Central Canada, the Prairie Provinces, the West Coast and the Northern Territories
• Ottawa, located on the Ottawa River, was chosen as the capital in 1857 by Queen Victoria
• Ottawa is Canada's fourth largest metropolitan area
• The National Capital Region covers 4,700 square kilometres surrounding Ottawa
• Canada has a population of about 34 million people
• The majority of Canadians live in cities

The Atlantic Provinces

• The Atlantic Provinces are Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
• St. John's is the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador
• Charlottetown is the capital of Prince Edward Island
• Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia
• Fredericton is the capital of New Brunswick
• North America's most easterly point is Newfoundland and Labrador, which keeps a time zone of its own
• Newfoundland was the oldest colony of the British Empire
• Smallest of the provinces is Prince Edward Island, known for red soil, beaches and potatoes
• Prince Edward Island is the birthplace of Confederation
• Prince Edward Island is connected to mainland Canada by the Confederation Bridge, one of the longest continuous multispan bridges in the world
• Anne of Green Gables was set in Prince Edward Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery
• Nova Scotia is the most populous Atlantic Province
• The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia has the world's highest tides
• Halifax is home to Canada's largest naval base
• New Brunswick was founded by the United Empire Loyalists
• Saint John is New Brunswick's largest city, port and manufacturing centre
• About one-third of New Brunswick's population lives and works in French

Central Canada

• Central Canada is made up of Quebec and Ontario
• Québec City is the capital of Quebec
• Toronto is the capital of Ontario
• Over half of Canada's people live in the towns and cities along the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence
• Ontario and Quebec together produce more than three-quarters of all Canadian manufactured goods
• Nearly eight million people live in Quebec
• More than three-quarters of Quebecers speak French as their first language
• Quebec is Canada's main producer of pulp and paper
• Quebec is Canada's largest producer of hydro-electricity
• Montreal ranks second among Canadian cities, and after Paris no mainly French-speaking city in the world is bigger
• Ontario's population passes 12 million — over a third of all Canadians
• Largest Canadian city, and its main financial centre, is Toronto
• Ontario has the largest French-speaking population outside of Quebec
• The Niagara region is known for its vineyards, wines and fruit crops
• Five Great Lakes lie between Ontario and the United States: Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario
• Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world

The Prairie Provinces

• Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are the Prairie Provinces
• Winnipeg is the capital of Manitoba
• Regina is the capital of Saskatchewan
• Edmonton is the capital of Alberta
• The Prairie Provinces are rich in energy resources and have some of the most fertile farmland in the world
• Manitoba's economy is based on agriculture, mining and hydro-electric power generation
• Winnipeg's French Quarter, St. Boniface, has Western Canada's largest Francophone community at 45,000
• Manitoba has the largest Aboriginal population of any province, at over 15%
• Saskatchewan was once known as the breadbasket of the world and the wheat province
• Two-fifths of Canada's arable land sits in Saskatchewan, the leading producer of grains and oilseeds
• Saskatchewan has the world's richest deposits of uranium and potash
• Regina is home to the training academy of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
• Saskatoon is Saskatchewan's largest city and the headquarters of the mining industry
• Alberta is the most populous Prairie province
• Alberta has five national parks, including Banff National Park, established in 1885
• Alberta is the largest producer of oil and gas in Canada
• Alberta was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria
• Alberta's Badlands hold some of the richest prehistoric fossil and dinosaur deposits anywhere

The West Coast

• British Columbia is Canada's westernmost province, on the Pacific coast
• Victoria is the capital of British Columbia
• Victoria is a tourist centre and the headquarters of the navy's Pacific fleet
• British Columbia has a population of four million
• The Port of Vancouver is Canada's largest and busiest port
• The Port of Vancouver is Canada's gateway to the Asia-Pacific
• About one-half of all the goods produced in British Columbia are forestry products, including lumber, newsprint, and pulp and paper
• British Columbia has the most valuable forestry industry in Canada
• British Columbia is known for mining, fishing, and the fruit orchards and wine industry of the Okanagan Valley
• British Columbia has the most extensive park system in Canada, with approximately 600 provincial parks
• Warm airstreams from the Pacific Ocean give the British Columbia coast a temperate climate
• Chinese and Punjabi are the most spoken languages in British Columbia's cities after English

The Northern Territories

• A third of Canada's land mass lies in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon, home to just 100,000 people
• Yellowknife is the capital of the Northwest Territories
• Iqaluit is the capital of Nunavut
• Whitehorse is the capital of Yukon
• Land of the Midnight Sun is the North's nickname: midsummer daylight can run a full 24 hours
• In winter the sun disappears in the North and darkness sets in for three months
• Much of the North is made up of tundra, the vast rocky Arctic plain
• Because of the cold Arctic climate there are no trees on the tundra and the soil is permanently frozen
• Yukon drew thousands of miners in the Gold Rush of the 1890s
• Yukon holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in Canada, at -63°C
• Mount Logan, located in the Yukon, is the highest mountain in Canada
• Nunavut means our land in Inuktitut
• Nunavut was established in 1999 from the eastern part of the Northwest Territories
• Iqaluit was formerly called Frobisher Bay, named after the English explorer Martin Frobisher
• Roughly 85% of Nunavut is Inuit; Inuktitut is official there and the first language of its schools
• Nunavut's 19-member Legislative Assembly chooses a premier and ministers by consensus
• Yellowknife is called the diamond capital of North America
• More than half the population of the Northwest Territories is Aboriginal
• At 4,200 kilometres the Mackenzie is North America's second-longest river system, after the Mississippi
• The Canadian Rangers are part of the Canadian Forces Reserves and play a key role in Canada's North

Canada’s economy

• Trade has always driven Canada, and commerce remains the engine of its growth
• In 1988 Canada enacted free trade with the United States
• 1994 brought Mexico into the broader North American Free Trade Agreement
• Canada has one of the ten largest economies in the world
• Canada sits in the G8 alongside the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Russia
• Canada's economy includes three main types of industries: service industries, natural resources industries and manufacturing industries
• Service industries provide jobs in transportation, education, health care, construction, banking, communications, retail services, tourism and government
• More than 75% of working Canadians have jobs in service industries
• Natural resources industries include forestry, fishing, agriculture, mining and energy
• Manufactured products include paper, high technology equipment, aerospace technology, automobiles, machinery, food and clothing
• Canada's largest international trading partner is the United States
• Over three-quarters of Canadian exports are destined for the United States
• Canada and the United States have the biggest bilateral trading relationship in the world
• The Canada-United States border is traditionally known as the world's longest undefended border
• The Peace Arch at Blaine in the State of Washington symbolizes the close ties between Canada and the United States

The House of Commons today

• There are 343 members of the House of Commons following the 2025 general election
• The number of electoral districts changes with periodic redistribution
• Senators are appointed, not elected, and serve until age 75