Names of the Provinces and Territories of Canada Quiz

Answer: Princess Louise Caroline Alberta

The province of Alberta was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, who was Queen Victoria's fourth daughter. The Princess's husband the Marquess of Lorne, who was the Governor General of Canada from 1878-1883 'suggested' they should name it after her.

Answer: Rupert's Land

In 1670 a large portion of land was given to the Hudson's Bay Company, called Rupert's Land. It encompassed all of modern day northern Quebec and Ontario, Manitoba and parts of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories. John Cabot called Newfoundland New Found Isle in 1497.

The English started using the term New Found Launde in 1502, and the French used Terra Nova in 1510. The province joined Canada in 1949.

Answer: Joao Fernandes

Most historians agree it was Joao Fernandes, a Portuguese explorer and lavrador (labourer) or labrador (land owner). His name shows up on an inscription on a 1530 map near Greenland as 'One who first gave notice of it, was a labrador of the Azores, [and] they gave it the name.' Later map makers transferred the name Labrador to the north east coast of Canada. (We could have ended up with Joao's Land...)

Ok, so Labrador is NOT a separate province or territory! This is true, the island of Newfoundland and the mainland of Labrador was simply called Newfoundland when that province joined Canada in 1949. In the 1960s the provincial government started referring to itself as the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2006, an amendment was made to the constitution to change the name officially to Newfoundland and Labrador, but it's not uncommon for some of us Canucks to still call the province or the whole place Newfoundland (Poor Labrador!) Confused now? Don't forget about the original question, and the answer, Joao Fernandes!

Answer: Latin

It is Latin. In 1621 Sir William Alexander received a land grant containing the lands lying between New England and Newfoundland. It was of course to be known as New Scotland or Nova Scotia, but the name was not placed on maps till about 90 years later.

Answer: New Brunswick

In 1784 the name New Brunswick was chosen for the new province. The name was to honour King George III who was descended from the House of Brunswick. New Ireland was considered, and then so was Pittsylvania, for then British Prime Minister, William Pitt. The King won out ...

Answer: Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island. It's actually the only province listed in the choices. Champlain called it Isle de Saint Jean in his ship's logs in the early 1600s, but that name is believed to be of earlier origin. In 1798 it was changed to its present name for Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, who not only was in charge of British forces at Halifax, but later was also the father of Queen Victoria! (Notice how important or prominent people get their names on a lot things? You might rate a short suburban street or even a very small lake, but not a province!)

Answer: Algonquin

In 1632 Samuel Champlain wrote of the location, 'It is a strait of the river, so called by the Natives' referring to the Algonquin word 'kepec' for 'narrow passage' or 'strait' Don't feel bad if you got it wrong, I always thought the name Quebec was French in origin.

Answer: Lake Ontario

The name was first applied to the lake around 1640 and goes back to Native Canadian sources. It is believed to be a corruption of the word Onitariio, meaning "beautiful lake", or Kanadario, 'sparkling' or 'beautiful' water. Later Europeans would gave the name to all the land along the lake and then to an ever extending area of land being settled. If you are Canadian you will understand the 'Centre of the Universe' joke. For years Ontario, or more precisely Toronto was rightly or wrongly perceived to be 'The Centre of the Universe'. People from Alberta for example might call it that in disgust.

Some folks from Toronto might with glee call themselves that.

Answer: True

Created as a province in 1870, the name was probably first applied to Lake Manitoba. One of the possible origins of the name, is 'Mini' and 'tobow' meaning 'Lake of the Prairie', or in French 'Lac des Prairies', The most probable origin is the Cree 'maniotwapow', 'the strait of the spirit or manitobau'.

This refers to the roaring sound produced by waves hitting pebbles on a beach on Manitoba Island in Lake Manitoba. The noise 'gave rise to the superstition among the Natives that a manito or spirit beats a loud drum'.

Answer: Saskatchewan River

The name was first applied to the Saskatchewan River. In the Cree language it was known as Kisiskatchewani Sipi, or 'swift-flowing river'. The explorer Anthony Henday's spelling was Keiskatchewan, with the modern Saskatchewan, being officially approved in 1882 when a small portion of the present-day province was part of the Northwest Territories. It achieved provincial status in 1905.

Answer: British Columbia

Much of the mainland region was originally known as New Caledonia. However, this name (which is also the name of a place in the South Pacific) was discarded in favour of British Columbia. The name appears to have originated with Queen Victoria and was made official in 1858. Columbia (after the Columbia River ) had previously been applied to the southern part of the colony.

Answer: our land

This new territory came into being on 1 April 1999. It was split from the Northwest Territories and is the largest of all the Provinces and Territories of Canada. In Inuktitut Nunavut means 'our land'.

Answer: Northwest Territories

The origin of the name came from the merger of huge tracts of land known as The North-Western Territory and Rupert's Land. The North-Western Territory encompassed huge areas of vast lands of northern Quebec and Ontario, and lands west of Lake Superior. As provinces grew and new ones were formed the Territory shrunk somewhat. In 1912 it was renamed Northwest Territories and in 1999 it was split to create the territory of Nunavut, it is larger in size than India! The Inuktitut name for it means 'beautiful land'

After Nunavut was formed some residents (and politicians) thought it was time to have a different name for the Territories. They tossed around several names but decided to keep Northwest Territories. One of names suggested was 'Bob' (which was second in the polls for awhile). A few of the reasons for 'Bob' were: 'Bob is dyslexic-friendly', and 'The Bob and Doug Mackenzie River flows through it'. No one can say there is no humour up north!

The British Antarctic Territory is a area of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom. Way too cold for me!

Answer: Yukon River

The Territory was established on June 13, 1898. The name was first applied to the river and is derived from 'Yu kun ah', meaning 'great river'. It was first used by an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, who in 1846 called it by what he understood to be it's Native name. The capital is Whitehorse.

Answer: Village or Settlement

It means village or settlement. It comes from the Iroquoian word Kanata. The Native Canadians use it to send Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, and he used the word to describe all the considerable land around the the village, and by 1545 it was appearing on European maps as Canada.


Thanks to bloomsby and LDV who had the task of editing my quiz!

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