Hidden Canada Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ottawa

"... BoycOTT AWAy!" The capital of Canada, Ottawa is located in southeast Ontario and is home to about 800,000 people. Founded in 1850, it probably took its name from the Odawa, an Algonquin people who had lived in the area from time immemorial. Many Ottawans work for the federal government or for computer-related firms: "Silicon Valley North" is on the south bank of the Ottawa River.

Answer: Ellesmere

"... to exploit the bELLES, MEREly to help ..." Ellesmere Island, the third-largest island in the country, includes Canada's northernmost point. Part of the territory of Nunavut, the spectacularly beautiful island has supported both Inuit and Norse hunters in its day, though it now has a population of just under 150 people.

Answer: Regina

"... with only a dREG IN A mug." Regina, the provincial capital of Saskatchewan, was founded in 1882 on a wide plain, and named after Queen Victoria. A city of some 175,000 people, it is known for its fine art as well as for its industry.

Answer: Quebec

"... The BaroQUE BECkons." Quebec, which covers the most territory of any of Canada's provinces, is located in the east of the country. Its name comes from the Algonquin for "where the river narrows," describing the stretch of the St. Lawrence River where the provincial capital, Quebec City, is located.

The province has a large French-speaking population; France ceded it to Britain in 1763, after the Seven Years' War.

Answer: Saskatoon

"... abilitieS, ASK A TOON trainer." Saskatoon, with 200,000 people the largest city in Saskatchewan, takes its name from a purple berry that grows locally. Founded in 1883 by Methodists wanting to live in a dry (alcohol-free) community, the city saw a tremendous population boom when the railroad arrived. Mining, oil extraction, and farming form the basis of the city's economy.

"Toon," short for "cartoon," refers to a playable character in a video game.

Answer: Toronto

"... your other fooT OR ONTO your other side." Toronto, founded in 1793, is the provincial capital of Ontario. More than two and a half million people live in this beautiful city on the shore of Lake Ontario. "Toronto" derives from a Mohawk place name, "Tkaronto" ("where there are trees standing in the water"), which originally applied to a water channel some 150 kilometers northeast of the modern city.

Answer: Yukon

"... slapped a Mr. YUK ON every medicine bottle." Yukon, a territory in Canada's northwest corner, covers nearly 475,000 square miles of land but is inhabited by fewer than 40,000 people. Named for the Yukon River, this beautiful Arctic land is known for tourism, as well as for mining, manufacturing and water power.

Mr. Yuk stickers are green and circular, with the image of a face sticking out its tongue in disgust. They're widely used in North America to mark things like medicines and household chemicals, to discourage curious children from sampling them.

Answer: Winnipeg

"... To WIN, NIP EGgs gently ..." Winnipeg, the provincial capital of Manitoba, was founded in 1738 at the place where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers meet, but the area was a center of farming and trade for thousands of years before that. The name of the city, which is now home to some 700,000 people, is derived from the Cree meaning "muddy waters." During World War I, a Winnipeg soldier named his regiment's mascot -- a black bear cub -- after his hometown. A. A. Milne's famous fictional bear, Winnie the Pooh, got his name from that bear (via a teddy bear) and thus from Canada's seventh-largest city.

Answer: Montreal

"Is PiedMONT REALly the best ..." Montreal, the largest city in Quebec with a population of some 1.6 million people, takes its name from the hill in the city's center. Founded in 1642 by French settlers, where the Ottawa River meets the St. Lawrence, it is now renowned for its history, architecture, commerce, and incredible pastries.

Piedmont Airlines is a regional airline partnered with US Airways.

Answer: Hudson

"... fell with a tHUD. SONic booms ..." Hudson Bay is a huge, shallow body of water in northeastern Canada, opening out into the Arctic Ocean. Nunavut, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec all have shoreline along the bay, which was named after the English explorer Henry Hudson. Hudson mapped much of the bay's eastern edge in 1610, and he most likely died on its waters.

His ship had been caught in winter ice, and when the spring thaw freed them, his crew set him adrift rather than go along with his plan to continue exploring.