The Truth About Canada Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1867

In 1864, two conferences were held (Quebec Conference and Charlottetown Conference) in an attempt to lay the foundation to unite British colonies in North America and become a federation. By 1867, the British North America Act was passed, officially proclaiming Canada an independent nation. Until 1931, Canada was under the guidance of the British Empire, but with the Statute of Westminster, Canada officially became "independent".

**The picture represents the Roman numerals for 1867.

Answer: Magnetic Hill

Magnetic Hill is what is often referred to as a "gravity hill" or an "optical geographic illusion". Essentially, a gravity hill produces an illusion in which downhill slopes "appear" to be uphill slopes. In the early 1930s, this phenomenon was noticed in the Moncton area and eventually became a novelty for tourists. By the 1960s, it was essentially a full-on tourist attraction. To experience Magnetic Hill, tourists are required to pay a sum of money as a means to maintain the road through the area.

**The picture represents a magnet and a hill in the background.

Answer: Edmonton Oilers

Contrary to what many people often think, Wayne Gretzky was never drafted as an NHL player. Prior to his career in the NHL, he had spent time playing in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Indianapolis Racers and the Edmonton Oilers. When the WHA folded after the 1978-79 season, some teams merged with the NHL (the Oilers being one of them). The team decided to protect Gretzky and therefore he was one of the original players to play for the NHL Oilers. During his first nine seasons in the NHL as a member of the Oilers, he would go on to win four Stanley Cups, set the NHL record for goals in a season (with 92), set the assist record three times (breaking his own twice), and setting the NHL point record in 1985-86 with 215 points.

**The picture represents a jersey with Edmonton Oilers colours and Gretzky's #99.

Answer: Robertson Davies

Robertson Davies was a Canadian novelist, playwright and journalist. He is often distinguished as one of Canada's most popular and famous authors. During his career, he was recognized for various contributions including a Stephen Leacock Award for Humour for his work "Leaven of Malice" in 1955, a Governor General's Literary Award in English for his work "The Manticore" in 1972 and he became the first Canadian to become and honorary member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He wrote three trilogies ("Salterton", "Deptford", and "Cornish") as a writer and had been working on a fourth one, "The Toronto Trilogy", but passed away prior to completing the series.

**The picture represents a Robertson Screw head (patented by Canadian R.L. Robertson in 1909).

Answer: Canadian Pacific Railway

In 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway was finalized with the "last spike" being hammered in Craigellachie, British Columbia and Jackfish, Ontario in 1885. A series of other lines were also being established in Eastern Canada. With the building of the railway, Canada was finally connected coast-to-coast. The railway was deemed necessary as Canada was attempting to become an economic player at the global level. The railway would be an excellent way to connect families, tourism, resources and transportation across the nation. It was a difficult project to complete, a good portion of which was built at the expense of an immigrant population (especially Chinese immigrants, many who died of illness and dangerous working conditions). A formal Canadian government apology was made regarding the treatment of the Chinese in 2006.

**The picture is an outline of Canada with a line depicting a railway route.

Answer: A case of beer

A two-four is a Canadian slang way of saying the number "24". It applies specifically to a case of twenty-four cans of beer (or bottles). A "case" would refer to twelve cans. A "six-pack" would refer to six cans. Canadians have a slew of slang terms when referring to various beverages of the alcoholic kind. For example, a "mickey" is a measurement of alcohol that typically equals 375 mL. A "twenty-sixer" would be a 750 mL bottle. Canadians even have something they refer to as a "Texas mickey" which is a 3 litre bottle of alcohol. Yes, it's that big!

**The picture is a lame sketch of a beer can (note the percentage of alcohol).

Answer: BeaverTails

BeaverTails is a Canadian restaurant chain that specializes in making fried dough pastries known as "Beavertails". The BeaverTail is a piece of dough shaped like a "beaver's tail", deep fried and then coated in cinnamon and sugar. The restaurant franchise itself was founded in 1978 and by 2018 had roughly 140 locations across Canada, the United States, Mexico, France, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.

**The photo depicts a sketch of a beaver with a large tail.

Answer: Loverboy

Loverboy formed in Calgary, Alberta in 1979. The founding lineup included singer Mike Reno, guitarist Paul Dean, keyboardist Doug Johnson, bass guitar player Scott Smith, and drummer Matt Frenette. Between 1980 and 1987, Loverboy produced nine Top 40 hits on the Billboard charts and ten Top 40 hits on the Canadian charts. Popular hit singles included "Turn Me Loose", "Working For The Weekend" and "Hot Girls in Love". "Heaven In Your Eyes" was a power ballad released for the 1986 "Top Gun" soundtrack.

**The photo consists of a heart (representing love) and a male gender symbol.

Answer: Narwhal

The narwhal is the only selection of the four answers that appears in the northern hemisphere. The Emperor Penguin, Leopard Seal and Snow Petrel are all found in the Antarctic region of the world. The narwhal is a unique Arctic water creature with a large tusk that protrudes from a canine tooth. They feed primarily on other fish species such as flatfish, cod and halibut. They have been harvested by Indigenous people thousands of years and the process continues for subsistence hunting. In recent years, they have been declared a "nearly threatened" species due to illegal hunting as well as formation of sea ice in the Arctic (narwhals often become trapped and suffocate).

**The photo depicts a sketch of a narwhal.

Answer: John Candy

John Candy was an award winning Canadian comedy actor that had a tragic ending to his career. Born in Newmarket, Ontario in 1950, he gained popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s appearing on the comedy variety show "Second City Television". He also had roles in various low budget films such as the horror film "The Clown Murders" and comedy flick "Find the Lady" in 1976.

His career began to take off following his cameo appearance as a security guard in "National Lampoons Vacation" and headlining in the Canadian film "Berserk" in 1983. By the mid to late 1980s, Candy worked under a variety of popular movie directors including Carl Reiner and John Hughes starring in various films including "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" in 1987, "The Great Outdoors" in 1988 and two major films "Cannonball Fever" and "Uncle Buck" in 1989.

By 1991, he had partnered with Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall to co-own the Toronto Argonauts CFL club. In 2007, his name was even added to the 1991 Grey Cup winning squad as an owner. During the last few years of his acting career, he starred in a variety of unsuccessful comedy films that include "Only the Lonely" in 1991 and "Once Upon a Crime..." in 1992. One of his final successful comedy films was "Cool Runnings" in which he coached a Jamaican bobsled team to compete at the Calgary Olympic Winter Games. He would sadly pass away at the age of 43 during the final days of filming "Wagons East" in 1994. Sadly, Candy had been afflicted with binge eating and drug abuse which is believed to have taken his life at an early age.

**The picture depicts a variety of candies (a play on John Candy's name).