Some Key Moments in Ontario History Quiz

Answer: Henry Hudson

In the early 1600s, three explorers made their way into the province now known as Ontario. French explorer Etienne Brule explored there from 1610 to 1612. French explorer Samuel de Champlain found his way there in 1615, finding Lake Huron. Henry Hudson sailed into Hudson Bay in 1611.

He claimed the area for England. Hudson and his crew spent what must've been a very cold winter there. He wanted to keep going west but was thrown out by his crew and was never seen again. Before any of these explorers made their way to this land, it was inhabited by Algonquian and Iroquoian tribes.

Answer: Great Britain and France

The Seven Years War, fought from 1756-63, is considered the first global war. It was fought by France and Great Britain in India, America and Europe. One of the main causes of the war was control of trade and colonies and fighting took place in North America. Early in the war, France won some key victories and had control of the Great Lakes region.

However Britain saw victories later in the war including at Fort Frontenac (in Kingston, Ontario) and Niagara, Ontario. Britain won the war and there were two key impacts as a result. One was the Quebec Act which gave language and religious freedoms and helped set up Canada as a bilingual country.

The other was around the relationship with Indigenous peoples as only the British could make treaties with Indigenous tribes. With respect specifically to Ontario, the area was contested between the French and the British until the end of the war when it was controlled by the British.

Answer: Upper Canada

As a result of the Constitutional Act of 1791 by the Parliament of Britain, the Province of Quebec was divided into two parts, depending on the location of the area along the St Lawrence River. Lower Canada was on the eastern side of the river and is now southern Quebec. French laws and institutions remained in place in Lower Canada. Upper Canada was on the western side of the river and is now known as the area of southern Ontario. British laws and institutions remained in place.

The two Canadas were united again, as the Province of Canada, in 1840. On July 1st, 1867, the Province of Canada (Ontario and Quebec) formed the Dominion of Canada along with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Answer: Laura Secord

During the War of 1812, this Canadian heroine purportedly walked 20 miles (32 km) to warn the British of an American attack. Her bravery allowed British and Mohawk fighters to be ready for the attack and ultimately win the Battle of Beaver Dams. Born in Massachusetts, Secord lived in the Niagara region of Ontario with her husband, who fought for the British.

Her heroic walk meant that American forces were impeded in their goal to control the Niagara peninsula. Many battles were fought throughout the region, including the Battle of Queenston Heights and a battle at Fort George, Niagara-on-the-Lake which the Americans had won.

The Laura Secord Chocolate company, headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, was named after her, on the 100 year anniversary of her walk.

Answer: Family Compact

From the 1810s to the 1840s a group of powerful men ruled politically, economically and judicially in Upper Canada. It was a conservative group that was not in favour of democracy, which was a reason why it was protested and did not rule for very long. One of the core beliefs of the elite members of this group was loyalty to Britain, as the original members had fled the USA and thought that was essentially a wild and unruly place.

They believed in loyalty to the King, to the church and to the British Empire and thought that social elites made good lawmakers.

The group had their hands in the Executive and Legislative Councils, the Bank of Upper Canada, the Law Society and Upper Canada College.

Answer: John Sandfield Macdonald

John Sandfield Macdonald was Premier of Ontario from 1867 to 1871 as a member of the Liberal-Conservative Party. He instituted a number of acts that paved the way for the province's growth, including an act that encouraged individuals to take up land in northern parts of Ontario.

He created the District of Muskoka which also encouraged colonization in more northern parts of the province. He provided education aid to the University of Toronto, which was the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada (it was established as King's College in 1827).

He was a Roman Catholic Premier and there wasn't another Roman Catholic Premier of Ontario after him until 2003.

Answer: 1912

The Conservative government of Premier James Whitney passed Regulation 17 in July 1912. This regulation was written by the Ministry of Education and forbade teaching French in separate schools in Ontario beyond the second grade. As expected, French people reacted with great anger and this had an impact on young French men signing up to participate in the First World War.

The regulation was repealed in 1927 but despite that, it wasn't until 1968 that French-language schools in Ontario were recognized under the Education Act.

The Regulation remained a point of contention for French speaking Ontarians for years.

Answer: Berlin

The city of Kitchener has a strong German heritage and German language schools and churches were created there. By 1871 the city that was then known as Berlin was bilingual in both English and German, with German being the main language. During World War One with Germany being one of the Axis Powers, the Canadian government became suspicious of Germans in Canada and there was anti-German sentiment. Germans were place in internment camps and cultural sanctions were placed on German communities. The city of Berlin, Ontario changed its name to Kitchener, Ontario in 1916 as a result of a referendum in which just over fifty one percent of voters said yes to the proposed name change.

It was named Kitchener after a British commander Horatio Herbert Kitchener.

Answer: 1917

Ontario became the fifth Canadian province to give women the right to vote, in April 1917. This was after decades of activism. Prominent suffragettes who fought for the right of Ontario women to vote included Dr. Emily Stowe and her daughter Dr. Augusta Stowe-Gullen.

In 1917 when women were given the right to vote, there were restrictions on who could vote. Those left out included anyone under the age of twenty one, Indigenous women, women in prison and women in asylums. Ontario became the first Canadian province to elect a woman to the House of Commons when, in 1921, Agnes Macphail was elected as a Member of Parliament.

Answer: Alcohol sales

The Ontario government prohibited the sale of alcohol in Ontario in 1916. Inspiration for the movement came from similar movements in the UK and USA and was strongly supported by groups who believed that alcohol led to all kinds of societal problems. When the Act was first passed, alcohol sales were prohibited (however, alcohol could still be manufactured and imported). Actually drinking alcohol was also never made illegal. Ontario became a hub for illegal alcohol smuggling to the USA. Prohibition ended in 1927 and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario was set up.

It controls the sale and consumption of alcohol in the province.