Canada, Big and Small Trivia Quiz

Answer: Québec

When Québec became a province under Confederation in 1867, it was much smaller, just straddling the St. Lawrence Seaway. The remainder of what is now part of the much larger province was part of Rupert's Land, which combined with the North-Western Territory to become the North-West Territories in 1870.

In 1898, at the same time that the Yukon Territory was created from the NWT, Québec expanded northward with the Québec Boundary Extension Act. Just 14 years later in 1912, a second Québec Boundary Extension Act expanded the province to its current size, more than triple the original area.

Answer: Prince Edward Island

Île Saint-Jean was first claimed by the French in 1704 with colonists arriving in 1720, but the defeat of France in the Seven Years' War ceded the island to British control in 1763. It became the British colony of St. John Island in 1769, but in 1798 would be renamed to Prince Edward Island, for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III and the father of Queen Victoria.

After Confederation (1867), Prince Edward Island became the seventh province of Canada, joining on July 1st, 1873.

Answer: British Columbia

Canada has 243,042 km of coastline, with the majority of it found in the Territories' arctic archipelago. As provinces go, however, British Columbia also has a large number of coastal islands that add to the overall length of the coastline.

If you just went from the southern tip of Vancouver Island along the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the community of Stewart at the head of Portland Canal, the straight-line aerial distance would only amount to 954 km.

Answer: Manitoba

One might think that the smallest province by area (Prince Edward Island) would have a small coastline, and one would be correct. PEI's coast is only 1,800 km around. But that distance is still more than the snippet of north-eastern Manitoba that borders Hudson Bay, itself considered an arm of the Arctic Ocean.

For many years, Manitoba's port of Churchill was an important part of the economy of the prairies with a deep water seaport in the center of the country. In 1997 the port was privatized, then with the end of the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly in 2016, the port was closed. In 2018 the port was purchased and refurbished by Arctic Gateway Group, which began shipping out of Churchill once again in 2019.

Answer: Ontario

Manitoulin Island lies within the waters of Lake Huron, fully within Canadian territorial waters (the lake is one of four Great Lakes shared with the United States). The island is big enough that it has more than 100 lakes within its own boundaries.

The name 'Manitoulin' comes from the Ojibwe word 'Manidoowaaling', which means 'cave of the spirit', referring to an underwater cave where a powerful spirit was said to live.

Answer: New Brunswick

There are 58 covered bridges within the province of New Brunswick, but the Hartland Bridge, which crosses the Saint John River between Hartland and Somerville, is the longest at 391 metres.

The bridge was constructed in 1901, and has seen its share of damage and repairs over the years. In 1980 it was declared a National Historic Site, and a Provincial Historic Site in 1999.

Answer: Newfoundland & Labrador

St. John's, the capital of the province of Newfoundland & Labrador, was founded on June 24th of 1497. Tradition has it that that was the date that John Cabot sailed into the harbour, naming the site in honour of the feast day of Saint John the Baptist. It is located on the eastern point of the Avalon Peninsula, with Cape Spear (the easternmost point on the North American continent) just a 15 minute drive away.

Even though St. John's was founded in 1497, it was not incorporated as a city until 1888.

Answer: Saskatchewan

Canada's sunbelt covers southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, with different locations earning the title of 'sunniest city' at different times. But with decades of tracking, the Environment Canada National Climate Data website puts Saskatchewan just ahead of Alberta.

Answer: Nova Scotia

The Bay of Fundy lies between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but it is the Minas Basin extension of the bay that has the highest tides. On the (U.S.) National Ocean Service website is a list of the top 50 highest tides in the world, and eight of the top ten are all found in the Bay of Fundy, with the top four in Nova Scotia.

Number one on the list is Burnthead Cove, NS. As noted, the average range is 11.7 metres, but at its most, it has reached a record 16.3 metres.

Answer: Alberta

Canada only has one international neighbour, and between us there lies 8,891 km of border, mixed between land and water.

Seven provinces (and one territory) border thirteen states, with only Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia (and Nunavut and the Northwest Territory) not physically connected to the United States by land. In order from longest border to shortest, here they are:

Ontario - 2,760 km
British Columbia - 2,168 km
Yukon Territory - 1,210 km
Québec - 813 km
Saskatchewan - 632 km
New Brunswick - 513 km
Manitoba - 497 km
Alberta - 298 km