Canadian Prime Ministers Quiz for Experts

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Canada's first Prime Minister was, of course, Sir John A Macdonald, but what party did he lead?

Answer: Liberal-Conservative

Macdonald's party, one which he created, was a combination of both Liberal and Conservative elements, even though the concept seems oxymoronic.

2. At the time of Confederation, no residence was provided for Canada's Prime Ministers. What was the name of Macdonald's home?

Answer: Earnscliffe

Macdonald bought Earnscliffe in 1883 and lived there until his death in 1891. In 1930 it was purchased by the British government and is now the residence of the British High Commissioner to Canada. Whithearn was the home of a wealthy family in Hamilton. Dundurn was the "castle" built by Sir Alan MacNab, a Prime Minister of the United Province of Canada and military leader in the War of 1812 and the Rebellion of 1837.

3. Until 1891 Canada's Prime Ministers were born outside of Canada. They were born in the same country. What country was that?

Answer: Scotland

Macdonald came to Canada at the age of 5, was educated here and became a practicing lawyer at 21. At 29 he was elected to the legislature of the Province of Canada. Alexander Mackenzie was born in Scotland and migrated to Canada at age 20. He worked initially as a stone mason but later moved to Sarnia and became editor of the Lambton Shield.

4. The second Prime Minister of Canada was the first Liberal Prime Minister. While in opposition in 1871-1872, he served both as the federal member for Lambton Ontario and provincially as member for Middlesex West. Who was he?

Answer: Alexander Mackenzie

Laurier was the 7th individual to hold the position of Prime Minister of Canada. Langevin and Brown, although Fathers of Confederation, were not Prime Ministers. Alexander Mackenzie was offered a knighthood but declined.

5. Macdonald fought his last election campaign in 1891 but suffered a stroke shortly after the new parliament convened. The man chosen by the party as his successor was a senator who believed that he was chosen as leader because he thought that he "was not particularly obnoxious to anyone". Who was he?

Answer: Sir John Joseph Coldwell Abbott

Abbott's term was not long, less than 18 months. The pressures of leading the government from the Senate and the increasing ill health forced him to resign in 1892. He died only a few months later.

6. This Prime Minister led the government in the House during his predecessor's time as Prime Minister. Young, able and energetic, he was the hope of his party that had lost two leaders in less than two years. It was not to be, however, since, while in London being knighted, he suffered a fatal heart attack and died at age 50. Who was this Prime Minister?

Answer: Sir John Sparrow David Thompson

Thompson was the first Roman Catholic Prime Minister of Canada and also the only one to die in office while outside Canada. He was recruited by Macdonald to the federal scene and resigned from being premier of the Province of Nova Scotia to run federally. Elected in 1885, he was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General, an office he held until his untimely death.

He was the first premier to become Prime Minister of Canada.

7. Having lost three leaders in four years, the party turned again to the Senate for its next leader. This man, a past Grand Master of the Orange Lodge, faced problems in his administration due to the thorny Manitoba Schools question, a problem he was unable to solve. Internal government differences over the Schools question combined with the difficulties of attempting to lead a government from the Senate resulted in this man's resignation after only 16 months as Prime Minister. Who was this man?

Answer: Sir Mackenzie Bowell

Bowell was the last senator to be Prime Minister. After resigning as Prime Minsiter, Bowell continued his political career in the Senate where, after the 1896 election, he became opposition leader. Prior to entering politics, Bowell was a successful printer and newspaper owner. He retired from the Senate in 1906 at 83 and died ten years later.

8. With another leader gone, the party turned to a Father of Confederation for its next Prime Minister. This man, from Nova Scotia, was responsible for ensuring that his province entered Confederation in 1867. Who was he?

Answer: Sir Charles Tupper

Tupper was the second Father of Confederation to serve as Prime Minsiter. He was the oldest to assume office and also has the dubious honour of having the shortest term - a mere 69 days. As member of the House of Commons, he led several ministries including Minister of Railways and Canals.

He served as High Commissioner in London from 1883 to 1887 when he was called back by Macdonald to be Minister of Finance. After one year, he returned to his position in London where he remained until asked to help the party in 1896.

After his defeat in the 1896 election, he remained as leader of the opposition until 1900 and then retired to England. He died in 1915 at age 94.

9. Sir Wilfrid Laurier won the election for the Liberals in 1896. What was he noted for?

Answer: all of these

Laurier was knighted by Queen Victoria during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 1897. When he died, he was still a member of the House of Commons and Leader of the Opposition. Laurier is depicted on the Canadian 5 dollar bill.

10. Laurier' wife Zoe's will stated that Laurier House was to be inherited by William Lyon Mackenzie King.

Answer: True

Canadian Prime Ministers did not have an offical residence (24 Sussex Drive) until 1949.

11. Which Canadian Prime Minister graces the $100 bill?

Answer: Sir Robert Laird Borden

Neither Mackenzie nor Meighen have as yet found their place on Canadian currency. Mackenzie King in on the $50.00 bill.

12. This Prime Minister was the last to be knighted while in office.

Answer: Robert Laird Borden

Borden was knighted in 1914. He led Canada during World War I during which Canada with a population of only 8.000,000 fielded an army of 425,000 - almost 6% of total population.

13. Borden was a member of the Imperial War Cabinet and responsible for ensuring that the Canadian troops remained as a distinct entity rather than being absorbed into British units.

Answer: True

A quiet man, Borden was probably one of the most respected and honoured of Canadian Prime Ministers. As Canada trod the road to complete independence, Borden was the Prime Minister that took a giant step on that road. Due to Borden, Canada participated in the peace conference at Versailles, signed the peace treaty as a separate entity and became a member of the League of Nations. Borden, in addition to being knighted, was honoured by the governments of France and Belgium.

14. The government, under Borden, was Conservative from 1911 until his retirement in 1920.

Answer: False

Although a Conservative, Borden in order to broaden support for the war effort, Borden undertook a Union Government composed of Conservative and non Conservative members. This coalition lasted from October 12, 1917 until July 10, 1920.

15. Forced to retire in 1920 due to ill health, Borden was succeeded by whom?

Answer: Arthur Meighen

Meighen, although gifted, was one of Canada's least successful politicians. Becoming Prime Minister on the retirement of Borden, he lost power in the election of December 1921. In 1926, Mackenzie King, leading a minority government, lost a vote of confidence.

He requested the Governor-General Lord Byng to call a general election. Byng, however, felt that a new election was unnecessary since there was a viable alternative and he requested Meighen to form a government. The second Meighen government lasted for less than three months before it too was defeated and a new election called. Mackenzie King won a majority in the 1926 election.

16. This Prime Minister was the longest serving Prime Minister in the Commonwealth. His term, however, was interrupted. He hosted King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on their triumphant royal tour of 1939 - the first time a reigning monarch had visited Canada. Who was he?

Answer: William Lyon Mackenzie King

King, a remote descendent of William Lyon Mackenzie, leader of the Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada, also hosted the Quebec Conference which was a meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt. He was a spiritualist and believed that he had communicated with spirits.

17. This Liberal succeeded as Prime Minister when Mackenzie King retired. During his time as Prime Minister, Newfoundland became the 10th province of Canada.

Answer: Louis Stephen St Laurent

St Laurent obtained the leadership of the Liberal Party after serving as Justice Minister and as Minister of External Affairs, the first time that that position had not been occupied by the Prime Minister. In 1957 he led his party to a narrow defeat and John Diefenbaker formed a minority Conservative government. George Drew was leader of the Conservative Opposition during St Laurent's early years as Prime Minister.

He was a former premier of Ontario.

18. Who defeated Mackenzie King in the 1930 election?

Answer: Richard Bedford Bennett

The depression of 1929 had a drastic impact upon Canada and in 1930 the government was changed. During his term of office he was responsible for organizing the Imperial Economic Conference in Ottawa which adopted Imperial Preferential tariff provisions.

He passed legislantion establishing the Bank of Canada. Upon defeat in 1935 he retired to England and was created a viscount. He died in 1947.

19. One of the outstanding pieces of legislation introduced by this prairie lawyer from Saskatchewan was the Canadian Bill of Rights. As leader of the Conservatives, he led minority governments in 1957 and 1962 and a huge majority in 1958. Who was he?

Answer: John George Diefenbaker

The Liberal Party had been in power for 22 years when the Conservatives came to power. The desire for change and the acrimony of the pipeline debate in 1956 combined with the fact that St Laurent was viewed as tired at 75 compared to the dynamic Diefenbaker who was a comparatively young 62. David Fulton was Justice Minister in the Diefenbaker government. Robert Stanfield succeeded Diefenbaker as Conservative leader.

20. This Prime Minister won the Nobel Peace Prize for proposing the solution to the Suez Crisis of 1956. Prior to entering politics, he was in the Department of External Affairs and in the office of the High Commissioner to London. During World War I he served in the Royal Flying Corps. He was Canadian Ambassador to the United States in 1946 left to enter the political area becoming Minister of External Affairs in 1948 a position he held until becoming Liberal Leader in 1958.

Answer: Lester Pearson

Lester Bowles Pearson was one of the founders of the United Nations, leading the Canadian delegation. He was president of the 7th Session of the General Assembly. He led a minority government in 1963 and another minority in 1965. His term of office saw the adoption of the maple leaf flag; the Canada Pension Plan and Canadian medicare provisions in conjunction with the provinces.

He retired from political life in 1968.

21. Brought into government by Pearson, this man was Prime Minister from 1968 until 1984 with one brief interruption. One of the significant events of his tenure was the proclamation of the War Measures Act which suspended civil rights throughout Canada in response to a perceived separatist threat in Quebec.

Answer: Pierre Elliott Trudeau

John Turner led the Liberal Party after the retirement of Pierre Trudeau. Jean Chretien succeeded John Turner and Jean Charest was a member of the cabinet of Brian Mulroney, the leader of the Conservative Party federally and is now Liberal premier of the Province of Quebec.

22. This Prime Minister was in office for slightly less than nine months. He later left the leadership of the Conservative Party but continued to sit as a member. When the Conservative party was returned to power, he became Minister of External Affairs for 7 years and the Minister for Constitutional Affairs. Upon the resignation of Jean Charest, he again led the Conservatives. Who was he?

Answer: Joseph Charles Clark

Clark had an unfortunate relationship with the media. Elected to the paty leadership as a virtual unknown, the newspaper headlines proclaimed 'Joe Who?', a nickname that clinged to him for years. William Grenville Davis was Premier of the Province of Ontario.

23. Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister from 1984 to 1993 attempted to reach an accommodation between Quebec and the rest of Canada with the Meech Lake Accord.

Answer: True

The Meech Lake Accord resulted in one of the few national referenda Canada has ever held. It was defeated.

24. When Brian Mulroney retired from office, he was succeeded as leader and Prime Minister by a woman, Canada's only female Prime Minister. Who was she?

Answer: Kim Campbell

Kim Campbell had been Minister of Justice in the Mulroney government. After slightly over four months, her government was soundly defeated in the 1993 election and the Liberals returned to office. Flora Macdonald was Minister of External Affairs in the short lived Joe Clark government. During her term of office, the American embassy officials in Tehran were hidden in the Canadian embassy there when the American embassy was invaded by militants. Ellen Fairclough was the first woman to be appointed to the Cabinet by John Diefenbaker in 1957. Jeanne Sauve was the first woman cabinet member from Quebec, the first woman speaker and the first woman Governor-General of Canada.

25. For the first time, this Prime Minister faced, as Her Majesty's Loyal Oppositon, a party whose aim was to remove the Province of Quebec from Confederation. Who was he?

Answer: Jean Chretien

Paul Martin was another Prime Minister of Canada. Jean Lesage was Liberal Prime Minister of Quebec. He presided over the Quiet Revolution.

Source: Author tripeuro

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor thejazzkickazz before going online.
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Canadian Prime Ministers Quiz for Experts | Government

A quiz about the Prime Ministers of Canada.

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