# Could you pass the Canadian Citizenship test? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 4, 2008, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292 "2008-07-04T13:34:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/81 "2008-07-05T15:46:59Z")
65% I’m a little embarassed that I didn’t alter my answer to the question of where the the capitol is when I realized that the answers for where the Parliment is located didn’t include it, but otherwise most of the ones I got wrong were either stupid trivia–how many electoral districts-- or arguable. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/82 "2008-07-05T15:56:46Z")
What is the passing score? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/83 "2008-07-05T16:24:58Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] What is the passing score? [/QUOTE] In theory, there should no longer be a need to pass any more in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/84 "2008-07-05T20:43:12Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] Canadians are quiet?? :dubious: 😛 [/QUOTE] On the outside. On the inside, it’s a different story… ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/85 "2008-07-05T20:48:06Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] So when are you going to visit Canada? ::d&r:: FWIW, **Sunspace** , since I know you in real life, I am confident that you are one of the “most” Canadians I know. I just wish you could visit us here in the West more often. [/quote] Thanks. And I plan to get out there soon to The Beautiful Land (The _Other_ Beautiful Land, that is…) I just gotta pay for a new tooth first, which has put my plans somewhat in disarray. My insurance through work does not cover the replacement tooth. (Canadians: wanna know what privatised medical care is like? Imagine if everything worked like dental coverage here.) > [@Spoons](#): > > Hey, some of us Canucks still remember those units: Yo-so-many, and 'Bout-that-much and Like-this … yeah, they’re still understood at Home Depot and similar. ‘Yay big’, ‘about this size’, and so on. Yup. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/86 "2008-07-05T20:49:54Z")
[QUOTE=mnemosyne] Three "sorry"s on one page… see, I _am_ Canadian! [/QUOTE] And if I knew more French, I’d be going to Montreal more permanently… as it is, I’m just going there week after next. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/87 "2008-07-06T00:16:11Z")
I got 95%. How recent is the test? Perhaps some of the wrong options could be updated to at least include the current GG. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/88 "2008-07-06T00:23:21Z")
I got 85% but it was sheer lucky (and educated) guesses. I’m a good test-taker. Also, I’m pretty sure Wayne Gretsky’s office is only symbolic. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/89 "2008-07-06T03:01:03Z")
I got 19 of 20. Not bad for a Yank who’s never studied Canadian history. I had absolutely no idea how many electoral districts Canada has. The rest were pretty easy, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/90 "2008-07-06T03:18:57Z")
80% Not bad for an American in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/91 "2008-07-06T03:22:05Z")
[QUOTE=Cunctator] I got 95%. How recent is the test? Perhaps some of the wrong options could be updated to at least include the current GG. [/QUOTE] Since that would still be the wrong answer, why does it matter? 🙂 [QUOTE=zsofia] ..Gretsky… [/QUOTE] Gret **z** ky! His office isn’t symbolic. It’s divine. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/92 "2008-07-06T03:42:37Z")
This is embarassing: I did better on the Canadian Citizenship test than I did on the US Citizenship test. 100%. (Though, part of that was that I was paying more attention to what I was reading. Still…) ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/93 "2008-07-06T19:10:22Z")
90% missed #2, #10. I could be a Canuck! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/94 "2008-07-06T23:20:11Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] This is embarassing: I did better on the Canadian Citizenship test than I did on the US Citizenship test.) [/QUOTE] That’s because it is harder to be an American. ---
**Author:** ![Coil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Coil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coil)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/95 "2008-07-07T11:32:32Z")
I got 80% on this one and only 60% on the US one so I guess I’d make a better Canadian than American. I’d question both tests though. How important is it really to know whether the Confederation was in 1867 or 1871? Does that 4 year difference make someone unfit to be Canadian? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/96 "2008-07-07T15:07:42Z")
[QUOTE=Coil] How important is it really to know whether the Confederation was in 1867 or 1871? Does that 4 year difference make someone unfit to be Canadian? [/QUOTE] I think this sort of question is somewhat as result of Canada trying to find or create an identity. The fact of the matter is that we gradually became the nation that we are today, with Confederation being arguably the singlemost significant step along the way. Note that although Confederation was in 1867, independence was not complete until 1982. It has been a very long and complicated process ( [What's the Deal with Canada's Queen](http://my.tbaytel.net/culpeper/WhatsTheDealWithCanadasQueen.html) ). When encouraging citizens to have a grasp of their nation’s past, there is a tendancy to over-simplify, and to draw particular attention to key events. Confederation is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/97 "2008-07-07T15:07:53Z")
[QUOTE=Coil] I got 80% on this one and only 60% on the US one so I guess I’d make a better Canadian than American. I’d question both tests though. How important is it really to know whether the Confederation was in 1867 or 1871? Does that 4 year difference make someone unfit to be Canadian? [/QUOTE] Yes, absolutely. That alone is the main gatekeeper question, sufficient to cause them to bar the doors, lock the gates, and generally give you the same treatment given to R2D2 by the swamp monster on Dagobah. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/98 "2008-07-07T15:48:14Z")
[QUOTE=Coil] How important is it really to know whether the Confederation was in 1867 or 1871? [/QUOTE] I got a kick out of that queston (OK, I lead a boring life). The qeustion was “What year was confederation?” The possible answers were: “1777, 1867, 1871 and 1967.” 1777 was as trick question, for yes, 1777 was the date of Confederation – only it was not a Canadian confederation, but rather an American confederation ([Continental Congress: Articles of Confederation, 15 November 1777](http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/artconf.htm)). 1867 was the “correct” answer, in that the Constitution Act 1867 (previously known as the British North America Act 1867) brought together Upper Canada, Lower Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia into a new entity called the Dominion of Canada, despite there already being a couple of Canadas, and despite most of what is now Canada not being part of the deal at that time. As it happens, we have a lot of Constitution Acts, ranging from 1867 to 2001, with no end of them in sight. 1871 was another trick question, for yes indeedy, there was a Constitution Act 1871 (previously known as the British North America Act 1871), and it brought in a massive expanse of land into Canada, the Northwest Territories of our anthem’s “Our True North Strong and Free.” 1967 was yet another trick question, for that was the Centennial of our original Confederation, despite our then Minister of Justice (Trudeau) having not yet obtained the final step in our independence from England, which he later did as Prime Minister in 1982, which in turn helps explain why the British North America Act 1867 is called the Constitution Act 1867 but includes an amendment from the Constitution Act 1982, which itself is part of the Canada Act 1982. Well, OK, it doesn’t really help explain anything. In fact, any question pertaining to our constitution is by its very nature a trick question. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/99 "2008-07-07T16:25:56Z")
90%. How, how, how? I am a nice Louisiana born and bred boy. We are barely supposed to know what a Canada is. However, my MIL is Canadian. I guess she has worn off on me way more than I thought without me even noticing. In any case, I am a Canadian citizen now so look out. Serve up the poontang and keep it warm for me. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292/100 "2008-07-07T16:54:32Z")
70%, with a ton of guesses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-canadian-citizenship-test/455292.md?page=6)