Names
These are the Names facts the Canadian citizenship test draws on. Each one pairs the thing worth remembering with the reason it matters, so you are not memorising a list you cannot place.
Loading the deck…
Explorers and founders
- John Cabot
- An Italian immigrant to England, the first to map Canada's Atlantic shore in 1497.
- Jacques Cartier
- The first European to explore the St. Lawrence River; heard the Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village", which gave Canada its name.
- Samuel de Champlain
- Built a fortress at Québec City in 1608 and allied the colony with the Algonquin, Montagnais and Huron.
- Jean Talon, Bishop Laval, Count Frontenac
- Outstanding leaders who built a French Empire in North America reaching from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.
- Martin Frobisher
- The English explorer who penetrated the uncharted Arctic for Queen Elizabeth I in 1576; Iqaluit was formerly Frobisher Bay.
Builders of the country
- Sir John A. Macdonald
- Canada's first Prime Minister, born in Scotland on January 11, 1815. His portrait is on the $10 bill; January 11 is Sir John A. Macdonald Day.
- Sir George-Étienne Cartier
- The key architect of Confederation from Quebec, who led Quebec into Confederation and helped negotiate the entry of Manitoba and British Columbia.
- Sir Leonard Tilley
- The Father of Confederation from New Brunswick who suggested Dominion of Canada in 1864, inspired by Psalm 72 — "dominion from sea to sea".
- Sir Wilfrid Laurier
- The first French-Canadian prime minister since Confederation, who encouraged immigration to the West. His portrait is on the $5 bill; November 20 is his day.
- Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine
- A champion of democracy and French language rights, and the first leader of a responsible government in the Canadas, in 1849.
- Louis Riel
- Leader of the Métis uprisings; executed for high treason in 1885. Seen by many as a hero, a defender of Métis rights and the father of Manitoba.
- Gabriel Dumont
- The Métis' greatest military leader.
- Donald Smith (Lord Strathcona)
- The Scottish-born director of the CPR who drove the last spike on November 7, 1885.
- John Graves Simcoe
- Upper Canada's first Lieutenant Governor, founder of York (now Toronto), who made Upper Canada the first province in the Empire to abolish slavery.
- Sir Guy Carleton (Lord Dorchester)
- As Governor of Quebec he defended the rights of the Canadiens, defeated the 1775 American invasion and supervised the Loyalist migration.
In war and service
- Sir Isaac Brock
- Captured Detroit in the War of 1812 but was killed at Queenston Heights — a battle the Americans lost.
- Chief Tecumseh
- Led the Shawnee in support of Canada's defence in the War of 1812.
- Laura Secord
- In 1813 she walked 30 km to warn Lieutenant FitzGibbon of an American attack, contributing to victory at Beaver Dams.
- Charles de Salaberry
- With 460 soldiers, mostly French Canadiens, he turned back 4,000 American invaders at Châteauguay in 1813.
- Sir Arthur Currie
- Canada's greatest soldier, who commanded the Canadian Corps in the last hundred days of the First World War.
- John McCrae
- The Canadian medical officer who composed "In Flanders Fields" in 1915, often recited on Remembrance Day.
- Alexander Roberts Dunn
- The first Canadian awarded the Victoria Cross, for the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava in 1854.
- William Hall
- From Horton, Nova Scotia, whose parents were American slaves — the first black man awarded the Victoria Cross.
- Filip Konowal
- Born in Ukraine, the first member of the Canadian Corps not born in the British Empire to be awarded the V.C., for Hill 70 in 1917.
- Billy Bishop
- The flying ace from Owen Sound, Ontario who earned the V.C. in the Royal Flying Corps and became an honorary Air Marshal of the RCAF.
- Paul Triquet
- From Cabano, Quebec, he earned the V.C. in the attack on Casa Berardi, Italy, in 1943.
- Robert Hampton Gray
- A navy pilot from Trail, B.C., killed sinking a Japanese warship in August 1945 — the last Canadian to receive the V.C. to date.
Rights and democracy
- Dr. Emily Stowe
- Founder of the women's suffrage movement in Canada and the first Canadian woman to practise medicine in Canada.
- Agnes Macphail
- A farmer and teacher who became the first woman MP in 1921.
- Thérèse Casgrain
- Through her work and that of others, Quebec granted women the vote in 1940.
- Mary Ann (Shadd) Carey
- An outspoken anti-slavery activist who in 1853 became the first woman publisher in Canada, founding The Provincial Freeman.
- John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir
- The 15th Governor General (1935-40), who said immigrant groups "should retain their individuality and each make its contribution to the national character".
- Adrienne Clarkson
- The 26th Governor General and the first of Asian origin, who established the Clarkson Cup for women's hockey in 2005.
Arts, sport and science
- The Group of Seven
- Founded in 1920, they developed a style of painting to capture Canada's rugged wilderness landscapes.
- Emily Carr
- Painted the forests and Aboriginal artifacts of the West Coast.
- Jean-Paul Riopelle
- The most notable of Les Automatistes, Quebec pioneers of modern abstract art in the 1950s.
- Kenojuak Ashevak
- Pioneered modern Inuit art with etchings, prints and soapstone sculptures.
- James Naismith
- The Canadian who invented basketball in 1891.
- Wayne Gretzky
- One of the greatest hockey players of all time, who played for the Edmonton Oilers from 1979 to 1988.
- Paul Henderson
- Scored the winning goal in the 1972 Canada-Soviet Summit Series — "the goal heard around the world".
- Terry Fox
- Lost his right leg to cancer at 18 and began the "Marathon of Hope" in 1980 to raise money for cancer research.
- Rick Hansen
- In 1985 he circled the globe in a wheelchair to raise funds for spinal cord research.
- Donovan Bailey and Chantal Petitclerc
- A world record sprinter and double Olympic gold medallist (1996); and a world champion wheelchair racer and Paralympic gold medallist.
- Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best
- Discovered insulin, a hormone to treat diabetes that has saved 16 million lives worldwide.
- Dr. Wilder Penfield
- A pioneering brain surgeon at McGill University, known as "the greatest living Canadian".
- Alexander Graham Bell
- Hit on the idea of the telephone at his summer house in Canada.
- Sir Sandford Fleming
- Invented the worldwide system of standard time zones.
- Joseph-Armand Bombardier
- Invented the snowmobile, a light-weight winter vehicle.
- Sir William Logan
- A world-famous geologist who founded and directed the Geological Survey of Canada; Mount Logan, Canada's highest mountain, is named for him.
Know these? Prove it.
A free 20-question mock test, timed and scored the way the real one is.