Another Albertan chiming in to help out!!
Yep I’m Canadian I live in Alberta south of Sue. (The other big city) And yes I do like Aussie Rules Football. I don’t watch it much though… and I don’t know about the media coverage I’ve only caught bits of it later on at night on Fox.
If I ever knew when it was on I would watch it… also my brother has a Wallabies cap that my Uncle (who now lives in Australia with his Aussie wife and their son) sent him. I thought it was cool. grins
Alberta west? As we say here on Vancouver Island, “Easterners begin at Tswassen!” (Just kidding.)
Fish is no longer the top export here in BC: there’s hardly any salmon left! I think tourism overtook fishery in BC for top money generator.
OK, here’s my favourite Canadian trivia question:
Name Canada’s first bilingual Prime Minister.
Thats a toughie even for a Canadian eh… cuz none of them have ever spoken proper English 
Hmph… I was SURE that it was computer geeks. I know I’m tempted to let myself be exported… 
Seriously, I think forestry is our main export, and tourism provides the most jobs etc.
-niggle
Rodd,
Macdonald had enough French that he could read a speech in French, but I doubt that you’d call that bilingual.
The obvious answer would be Laurier, but I’m wondering about Abbott - he was from Montreal, but as Matt points out, that doesn’t mean he spoke French.
(I’m assuming you’re asking about the current Confederation, and not the old Province of Canada. If the latter, I would assume LaFontaine, or Cartier - both were premiers in the old dual premiership system they used.)
Now I suppose you’re going to surprise me with the news that Sandy Mackenzie learned French in Scotland before he emigrated…
Okay, here’s a question…
What happened to the Toronto Dopers meeting?
I’m moving there in a month 'cause I’m entering UofT in September, so I might actually be able to attend…
since our southern friends aren’t peppering us with questions, here’s one: who’ll win the Alliance in 2 weeks: Day or Manning? and were people surprised by the outcome?
Assuming that Prince Charles does indeed become King one day, will his face start appearing on Canadian currency?
Is there really a Tim Horton?
This is not a good question to ask Canadians. Any good sociolinguist will tell you that the “natives” are not very reliable sources when it comes to providing info about their own habitual linguistic practices. Plus, they’re touchy about it anyway.
For the REAL answer to this question, just take a drive through western Ontario someday.
jti, you were on the money with Sir John A–but it is something of a trick question! He spoke English and Gaelic. (The first time I heard this question I made the same assumption: that “bilingual” just means French and English!)
Here’s some more Canadian Trivia questions, as we approach Canada Day:
**When was slavery abolished in Canada?
When did “O Canada” become the official national anthem?
What is the only officially bilingual province?
What Canadian National Park is larger than Switzerland?
What part of Canada was given to the Netherlands during WWII, and why?**
Rodd lesse…
I don’t know.
I don’t know. (I’d assume in the 60’s about the same time we got our own flag)
Ontario I’d think it is…
I’m guessing either Banff or Jasper
and I don’t know
Pretty good for a high school student huh?
I asked:
**When was slavery abolished in Canada?
1793–although you could keep any slaves you owned prior to the proclamation.
When did “O Canada” become the official national anthem?
July 1, 1980
What is the only officially bilingual province?
New Brunswick. Since 1974, Quebec’s official language has been French.
What Canadian National Park is larger than Switzerland?
Wood Buffalo National Park is the largest National Park in the world, at just shy of 45,000 square kilometres.
What part of Canada was given to the Netherlands during WWII, and why?
A room in Ottawa Civic Hospital was deemed Dutch soil in February 1943, for the birth of Princess Margriet. Princess Juliana lived in Canada during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.**
Here’s a few more…
**What famous Canadian organization adopted its motto Maintien le Droit, in 1875?
Name the first four teams in the NHL (1917).
What Canadian wrote the “Tonight Show” theme?
Where and when was the world’s first long-distance phone call made?
What Scottish-Canadian designed Canada’s first postage stamp and invented the Standard Time?
What is the oldest brewery in Canada, and what is the motto that appears on its labels?
Who was the highest-scoring Allied air ace in WWI?
Who was Archibald Stansfield Belaney better known as?**
Ooh, I know the Netherlands one. The maternity ward of a hospital in Ottawa was temporarily loaned to the Netherlands because Princess Margaret was being born there. Ottawa receives some very large number of tulips from Holland every year in compensation.
(damn simulposts! I knew this one before he posted, I swear.)
Archibald Belaney was better known as Grey Owl.
Maintiens le Droit is the motto of the RCMP.
Trivia:
What does the acronym GRC stand for, and what is it?
Hi, Matt!
Good one on the “Grey Owl,” that’s pretty obscure! I remember seeing the tulip festival as a kid–does Ottawa ever look brighter and happier?
As an RCMP brat, I’d better know that “GRC” stands for Gendarmerie Royale du Canada, and that the Mounties changed their shoulder titles to include the French about 1970.
BYW, my late father and I visited France in 1976, when I was 15. He was asked his profession when disembarking at Calais, and got blank stares when he answered that he was in the Gendarmerie Royale du Canada. After repeating it several times, he said “Je suis un Mountie,” which was clearly understood. “Ahhh, Moontee!”
Okay, the questions some one else hasn’t answered.
First four teams in the NHL? Make that FIVE teams. I quote nhl.com: “At its inception, the NHL boasted five franchises- the Montreal Canadiens, the Montreal Wanderers, the Ottawa Senators, the Quebec Bulldogs, and the Toronto Arenas. The league’s first game was held Dec. 19, 1917.”
First long-distance phone call? 1876. Brantford to, uh, somewhere eight miles away. That Bell guy, you know…
“Tonight Show” theme? No idea. I don’t follow Hollywood (or New York for that matter)
Time zones? Sir Sanford Fleming.
Oldest brewery? Moosehead, I think. Or maybe Sleeman. But I could be wrong.
Highest-scoring Allied air ace? Crud, I knew this one… there was a big controversy about the CBC’s documentary about him a couple of years ago… wait… Billy Bishop!
Archibald Stansfield Belaney? Grey Owl. There was a movie a couple of years ago…
Oldest Brewery? My guess is Alexander Keiths… and I can’t find their motto… but they’ve been around since 1820
I have a thought on this…
This week someone commented in the paper about how heterosexuals dont get a parade -why not?
A letter responded by explaining that the gay population had been persecuted, bullied, and encouraged to ‘conform’ or act straight. The parade was their way of celebrating their own survival.
Maybe the english in Montreal dont WANT to conform, maybe they are as proud of being english as the rest of the province is of being french. Saying that they need to learn french because they are the minority is the same as saying that the french of canada should learn english - they are a minority arent they?
And as far as a reactionary attitute? Well, if the ENGLISH in Quebec have a reactionary attitude, what the heck do you call the attitude of the rest of the province?
Nobody should be coerced into speaking another language - its as reprehensible as forcing gay people to ‘act straight’.
Okay, Canadians:
How did Mr. Dressup get rid of Casey and Finnegan? Did he put out a hit or did he kill them and stuff him in his dress-up trunk?
Did anyone actually believe that Mr. Dressup died in a car accident years ago? My brother asked the people at the information center in Cornwall, but they didn’t know. Why do they call it ‘information’ if they don’t know anything about their national treasure?
And is the Friendly Giant still on TV up there?
Just thought you’d appreciate a question in this little incestuous thread here.
I’m dead serious about this…
Will Rush ever release another album? What’s the deal, anyway?