Canadian Non-Capitals Trivia Quiz

Answer: Calgary

While Edmonton may be the capital city of Alberta, Calgary is the larger city; it's one of the rare instances in the provinces where a non-capital is the bigger city. Known for its famous Stampede, Calgary also hosted the Olympic Winter Games in 1988.

A short distance from the Rocky Mountains, Calgary is situated on the rolling plains that precede the prairies to the east. Both the Elbow and Bow Rivers, which cut through the city, come from the Rockies, and circle the downtown core of Calgary, home of the Saddledome.

Answer: Moncton

Moncton (and Dieppe) is a bit of an anomaly in the east coast province of New Brunswick because it ballooned, at one point, to contain as many people as Fredericton (the capital) and the next largest city (Saint John) combined. It's probably a good thing since its position in the east of the province makes it close to both Nova Scotia and P.E.I. Slightly to the south is the Bay of Fundy and the Hopewell Rocks, well-known for their flowerpot shapes.

Answer: Vancouver

One of the largest cities in all of Canada, Vancouver actually isn't the capital of British Columbia (that would be Victoria) and, interestingly, isn't on Vancouver Island (it's on the mainland). Despite that, Vancouver is a Canadian hub city known for its large immigrant population and high density on the west coast. Considered for many years to be one of the most livable cities in the world, Vancouver became an Olympic city in 2010 and is within reach of the Rocky Mountains to the east.

Answer: Sydney

The vast majority of Nova Scotians live in the capital of the province-- Halifax. Sydney has a small fraction of the population and it is much further to the north on the more remote side of Cape Breton Island (making it one of the most easterly of the maritime cities). Sydney had its highest population during the Second World War due to its prime location on the east coast.

After the war and the significant decline in coal mining in later decades, it became less of an industrial hub and more a tourist destination.

Answer: Corner Brook

Newfoundland is somewhat remote compared to the rest of the provinces so it's likely not unexpected that besides the capital city (St. John's) on the far east coast, there aren't any large cities. The second-largest, Corner Brook, is to the west of the province and acts as the northernmost city of the Maritimes. Booming in the 1940s, the city is a gateway to the provincial parks of Northern Newfoundland and acts as a stop on the Trans-Canada Highway between Channel-Port aux Basques to the south and Gander to the east.

Answer: Saskatoon

At the end of World War II, Saskatoon overtook Regina, the provincial capital, to become the most populated city in Saskatchewan, the middle prairie province. Sitting in the middle of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon was built on the South Saskatchewan River which flows through Medicine Hat and Lethbridge towards Lake Winnipeg. Saskatoon is also a city known for its large First Nations population over the years; it's only a short distance from Wanuskewin Heritage Park which has been, historically, a settled site for more than a dozen different native groups.

Answer: Montreal

Canada's second-largest city (after Toronto), Montreal is the largest city in Quebec (over its capital, Quebec City). Sharing the metropolitan area with the city of Laval, Montreal sits primarily on an island in the St. Lawrence River and is built on and around Mount Royal.

The largest French-speaking city in the nation and the second-largest French-speaking city in the entire world, Montreal was an Olympic host city in 1976 and is known for its commitment to culture and the arts.

Answer: Summerside

Charlottetown may be the only population centre on Prince Edward Island that can constitute a full city, but Summerside would be the second-place in Canada's smallest province. Found on the western side of the island, Summerside amalgamated with a number of areas on the coast to contain about a third of the people of Charlottetown when all was said and done, and even that wasn't a high number. Established in the 1870s, it took 120 years before it became classified as a city.

Answer: Hamilton

The 'Steel City' of Ontario, Hamilton is found west of Toronto along the edge of Lake Ontario (about halfway to Niagara Falls). Although many years of industrial buildup in Hamilton led the city to be a bit dirtier than others in the region, concerted efforts at the turn of the century led Hamilton to attain a burgeoning art scene.

Although the goal of this quiz is to identify second-largest cities of provinces, this one is actually the third-largest since both Toronto and Ottawa(-Gatineau) are capitals.

Answer: Brandon

While Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, is one of Canada's largest cities (despite being somewhat isolated in the middle of the nation and on the far east of the prairie region), Brandon, the second-largest in the province, is actually quite small even though it's closer to the Saskatchewan and U.S. borders. Because of where it is, Brandon is a relatively notable location for farming; it's commonly known as the Wheat City of Canada. Brandon is located on the Assiniboine River which also cuts through Winnipeg more than two hundred kilometres away.