The Canadian citizenship test study sheet: every key date, name and fact, checked and printable

Dates are where most marks are lost. Watch the look-alikes: 1927, 1940 and 1965 are three different social programs.

• About 1,000 years agoVikings from Iceland, who had colonized Greenland, reached Labrador and Newfoundland (L'Anse aux Meadows).
• 1215Magna Carta, the Great Charter of Freedoms, signed in England.
• 1497John Cabot, an Italian sailing for England, is the first to map Canada's Atlantic shore.
• 1534 to 1542Jacques Cartier makes three voyages and claims the land for King Francis I of France.
• 1550sThe name "Canada" begins appearing on maps.
• 1604First European settlement north of Florida, by Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain (St. Croix Island, then Port-Royal in Acadia).
• 1608Champlain builds a fortress at what is now Quebec City.
• 1610English settlement of Newfoundland begins.
• 1670King Charles II grants the Hudson's Bay Company exclusive trading rights.
• 1701The French and the Iroquois make peace.
• 1755 to 1763The Great Upheaval: more than two-thirds of the Acadians are deported.
• 1758First representative assembly, in Halifax, Nova Scotia (then PEI 1773, New Brunswick 1785).
• 1759The British defeat the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, Quebec City.
• 1763Royal Proclamation by King George III: the basis for negotiating treaties with First Nations.
• 1774Quebec Act: religious freedom for Catholics, French civil law kept.
• 1791Constitutional Act splits the Province of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada, each with an elected assembly.
• 1792Some Black Nova Scotians sail to West Africa and found Freetown, Sierra Leone.
• 1793Upper Canada, under Simcoe, is the first province in the Empire to move toward abolishing slavery.
• June 1812The United States invades Canada. The War of 1812 lasts until 1814; the invasions are repelled.
• 1832The Montreal Stock Exchange opens. Canada's first financial institutions date from the late 1700s and early 1800s.
• 1833Slavery is abolished throughout the British Empire.
• 1837 to 1838Armed rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada.
• 1840Upper and Lower Canada are united as the Province of Canada.
• 1847 to 1848Nova Scotia becomes the first British North American colony with full responsible government.
• 1849The Province of Canada gets responsible government under Lord Elgin; LaFontaine leads it.
• 1857Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as the capital.
• 1860sThe Parliament Buildings are completed.
• 1864Sir Leonard Tilley suggests the name "Dominion of Canada" (from Psalm 72).
• July 1, 1867Confederation. The British North America Act creates the Dominion of Canada: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick.
• 1870 to 1873Manitoba and the Northwest Territories (1870), British Columbia (1871), PEI (1873) join. North West Mounted Police founded 1873.
• 1876Royal Military College founded in Kingston. Its red-white-red flag inspired today's flag pattern.
• 1885The Canadian Pacific Railway is finished with the "last spike". Built by European and Chinese workers, financed by British and American investors.
• 1890sGold Rush in the Yukon. Economic boom through the 1890s and early 1900s.
• 1899 to 1902South African War: over 7,000 Canadians volunteer, more than 260 die. Battles of Paardeberg and Lillefontein, 1900.
• 1905Alberta and Saskatchewan become provinces.
• 1914First World War begins; Canada forms the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
• 1916Manitoba is the first province to give women the vote.
• April 9, 1917The Canadian Corps captures Vimy Ridge. April 9 is celebrated as Vimy Day.
• 1918Most Canadian women get the federal vote. The war ends November 11, 1918 (Remembrance Day).
• 1921Agnes Macphail, first woman MP. King George V proclaims red and white Canada's national colours; the coat of arms is adopted after the war.
• 1927The Peace Tower is completed, a memorial to the First World War. Old Age Security is first devised.
• 1931Statute of Westminster. (Background only: it is not in Discover Canada.)
• June 6, 1944D-Day: Canadians capture Juno Beach in the Second World War (1939 to 1945).
• 1940Unemployment insurance (now Employment Insurance) introduced. Quebec women get the vote.
• 1947Oil discovered in Alberta, the start of Canada's modern energy industry.
• 1948Japanese Canadians, the last Asian Canadians denied it, gain the vote.
• 1949Newfoundland and Labrador joins, the last province to do so.
• 1960Aboriginal people gain the federal vote. (The Canadian Bill of Rights also dates from 1960, but it is not in Discover Canada.)
• 1965The maple leaf flag is raised for the first time, February 15. Canada and Quebec Pension Plans introduced.
• 1969Official Languages Act.
• 1970sThe term "First Nations" comes into use. Since then most immigrants have come from Asian countries.
• 1980"O Canada" is proclaimed the national anthem.
• 1982The Constitution is amended and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is added.
• 1988Free trade agreement with the United States. Government apology to Japanese Canadians.
• 1994NAFTA adds Mexico to the free trade area.
• 1999Nunavut is created, the newest territory.
• 2006The House of Commons recognizes that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada.
• September 8, 2022King Charles III becomes King of Canada. (Discover Canada still shows Queen Elizabeth II.)

• John CabotFirst to map Canada's Atlantic shore, 1497.
• Jacques CartierFirst European to explore the St. Lawrence River and see the sites of Quebec City and Montreal.
• Samuel de ChamplainBuilt a fortress at what is now Quebec City, 1608. Allied the colony with the Algonquin, Montagnais and Huron, enemies of the Iroquois.
• Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'IbervilleA great hero of New France who won many victories over the English (late 1600s to early 1700s).
• Sir Guy CarletonLater Lord Dorchester. As Governor of Quebec he defended the rights of the Canadiens, defeated the American invasion of 1775, and supervised the Loyalist migration to Nova Scotia and Quebec in 1782 to 1783.
• Joseph BrantLed thousands of Loyalist Mohawk into Canada.
• John Graves SimcoeFirst Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada; founded York (now Toronto); moved to abolish slavery, 1793.
• Mary Ann (Shadd) CareyAnti-slavery activist; first woman publisher in Canada, The Provincial Freeman, 1853. (Spelled Carey in Discover Canada, Cary in most other sources.)
• Major-General Sir Isaac BrockCaptured Detroit in the War of 1812; killed at Queenston Heights.
• Chief TecumsehShawnee chief who helped defend Canada alongside the British in the War of 1812.
• Laura SecordWalked about 30 km in 1813 to warn of an American attack.
• Lord DurhamEnglish reformer sent to report on the 1837 to 1838 rebellions; recommended union of Upper and Lower Canada and responsible government.
• Joseph HoweLed Nova Scotia to responsible government, 1847 to 1848.
• Sir Louis-Hippolyte La FontaineFirst head of a responsible government in Canada, 1849; champion of French language rights.
• Lord ElginGovernor of United Canada who introduced responsible government in 1848 to 1849.
• Sir Leonard TilleyFather of Confederation from New Brunswick; suggested "Dominion of Canada", 1864.
• Sir John A. MacdonaldFirst Prime Minister; Father of Confederation. Discover Canada: his portrait is on the $10 bill (the newer $10 note shows Viola Desmond).
• Sir George-Étienne CartierRailway lawyer and Montrealer who led Quebec into Confederation and helped bring in Manitoba, the NWT and BC.
• Louis RielMétis leader; seen by many as the father of Manitoba.
• Gabriel DumontThe Métis' greatest military leader.
• Sir Wilfrid LaurierFirst French-Canadian Prime Minister since Confederation; encouraged immigration to the West. Discover Canada: his portrait is on the $5 bill (Terry Fox has been chosen for the next $5 note).
• Sir Robert BordenPrime Minister during the First World War. On the $100 bill.
• General Sir Arthur CurrieCommanded the Canadian Corps; called Canada's greatest soldier.
• Lt.-Col. John McCraeWrote "In Flanders Fields", 1915.
• Dr. Emily StoweFirst Canadian woman to practise medicine in Canada; founded the women's suffrage movement.
• Thérèse CasgrainLed the fight that won Quebec women the vote, 1940.
• Agnes MacphailFirst woman elected to the House of Commons, 1921.
• Wayne GretzkyOne of the greatest hockey players of all time; Edmonton Oilers 1979 to 1988.
• Terry FoxRan the Marathon of Hope for cancer research, 1980.

• Three key factsCanada is a federal state, a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.
• ParliamentThe Sovereign, the Senate and the House of Commons.
• Levels of governmentFederal, provincial or territorial, and municipal.
• Shared jurisdictionFederal and provincial governments share agriculture and immigration.
• Head of StateThe Sovereign, represented by the Governor General (federally) and a Lieutenant Governor in each province. Territories have Commissioners.
• Head of governmentThe Prime Minister, who chooses the Cabinet ministers.
• SenatorsAppointed by the Governor General on the Prime Minister's advice; serve until age 75.
• Royal assentGiven by the Governor General on behalf of the Sovereign; a bill then becomes law.
• Founding principlesThe Charter begins: Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.
• "Peace, order and good government"The phrase from the British North America Act, 1867.
• Magna Carta and habeas corpusFreedoms from English law; habeas corpus is the right to challenge unlawful detention.
• Election dayBy law, the third Monday in October every four years. An election can be called earlier: the 2025 election was April 28.
• Electoral districtsAlso called ridings or constituencies. Discover Canada says 308; there have been 343 since the 2025 election.
• Who can voteCanadian citizens 18 or older. The National Register of Electors lists voters; a returning officer runs the election in each riding.

• National flagMaple leaf flag raised February 15, 1965. The Canadian Red Ensign served for about 100 years before it.
• Union JackCanada's official Royal Flag.
• Maple leafCanada's best-known symbol: used by French Canadians from the 1700s, on uniforms and insignia since the 1850s.
• Red and whiteProclaimed Canada's national colours by King George V in 1921.
• Coat of armsAdopted after the First World War. Symbols of England, France, Scotland and Ireland, plus red maple leaves. Motto: A mari usque ad mare, "from sea to sea".
• BeaverOn the five-cent coin.
• Anthems"O Canada" (national anthem, 1980). "God Save the King" (royal anthem).
• Parliament BuildingsGothic Revival style; completed in the 1860s. Peace Tower completed 1927.

• Three founding peoplesAboriginal, French and British.
• Aboriginal peoplesFirst Nations about 65%, Métis about 30%, Inuit about 4%.
• First NationsAbout half live on reserve land in about 600 communities.
• Inuit"The people" in Inuktitut; live in the Arctic.
• MétisMixed Aboriginal and European ancestry; mostly in the Prairie provinces.
• Official languagesAbout 18 million Anglophones and 7 million Francophones. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province.
• AcadiansDescendants of French colonists who settled in the Maritimes from 1604.
• Maritime provincesNova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Add Newfoundland and Labrador for the Atlantic provinces.
• Provinces and territories10 provinces and 3 territories. Nunavut (1999) is the newest and largest territory.
• MontrealCanada's second largest city, and the second largest mainly French-speaking city in the world after Paris.
• Chinese languagesSpoken at home by 13% of people in Vancouver and 7% in Toronto.