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Canadian Citizenship Test study guide

How to prepare for the Canadian citizenship test

The test is 20 multiple-choice questions and you need 15 right. This plan covers everything in Discover Canada without spending time on what you already know.

Step 1: Read the study guide once, all the way through

The material falls into six areas: rights and responsibilities, who we are, Canada’s history, how Canadians govern themselves, Canadian symbols, and Canada’s regions. Read through all of it once without trying to memorise anything, so you know the shape of what is coming.

Step 2: Learn the lists deliberately

A large part of the test is lists: the capital of every province and territory, the year each one joined Canada, the national symbols and what they stand for, and who invented what. These reward memorising, so learn them as lists rather than hoping they stick from reading.

Step 3: Test yourself one chapter at a time

After each area, take that chapter’s test. It separates what you know from what you merely recognise, and it tells you where to go back. History is the biggest chapter — 130 of our 410 questions — so it usually needs the most passes.

Step 4: Switch to full practice tests under time

Once every area is familiar, move to full-length tests at the real format — 20 questions in 45 minutes. After each one, go through every question you got wrong. That list, not the study guide, is your plan from here on.

Step 5: Know when you are ready

Our readiness score calls you ready when your last five mock exams average at least 12 percentage points above the pass mark. The day before, read the exam-day brief rather than starting anything new.

Test yourself on this

Reading it once is not the same as being able to answer it. The chapter test uses the same format as the real Canadian Citizenship Test.

Free to read, always

Questions on this topic

Every question here was checked by hand against Discover Canada. How we check

  1. 1.Which is the second largest country on earth?

    • AThe United States
    • BChina
    • CAustralia
    • DCanada

    Canada is the second largest country on earth, at 10 million square kilometres. (Canada’s size, oceans and regions)

    Think this is wrong? Tell us

  2. 2.Who was Canada’s first Prime Minister?

    • ASir Leonard Tilley
    • BSir Wilfrid Laurier
    • CSir George-Étienne Cartier
    • DSir John Alexander Macdonald

    Sir John Alexander Macdonald became Canada's first Prime Minister in 1867. (Macdonald, Cartier and expansion of the Dominion)

    Think this is wrong? Tell us

  3. 3.In which year was the Canadian flag first raised?

    • A1965
    • B1921
    • C1867
    • D1876

    A new Canadian flag was raised for the first time in 1965. (The Canadian flag and the maple leaf)

    Think this is wrong? Tell us

  4. 4.What is the significance of the discovery of insulin by Banting and Best?

    • AIt was the first Canadian Nobel Prize
    • BIt treats diabetes and has saved 16 million lives worldwide
    • CIt made Canada a leader in radio technology
    • DIt led to the founding of McGill University

    The discovery of insulin has saved 16 million lives worldwide. (Canadian achievements and inventions)

    Think this is wrong? Tell us

  5. 5.Which three oceans border Canada?

    • AThe Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic
    • BThe Pacific, Arctic and Indian
    • CThe Atlantic, Arctic and Southern
    • DThe Pacific, Atlantic and Indian

    Oceans on three sides: Pacific to the west, Atlantic to the east, Arctic to the north. (Canada’s size, oceans and regions)

    Think this is wrong? Tell us

  6. 6.On which bill does Sir John A. Macdonald’s portrait appear?

    • AThe $50 bill
    • BThe $10 bill
    • CThe $20 bill
    • DThe $5 bill

    Sir John A. Macdonald's portrait is on the $10 bill. (Macdonald, Cartier and expansion of the Dominion)

    Think this is wrong? Tell us

More Canadian Citizenship Test topics, explained

Questions are original works testing facts published in Discover Canada (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada). Not affiliated with or endorsed by IRCC or the Government of Canada.