Sherry's Pick for 20 Great Canadians
(In no particular order)
1. John Candy 11. Dancing Gabe
2 . Michael J. Fox 12. David Milgard's Mom
3. The Tragically Hip 13. Margaret Atwood
4. Jacques Cartier 14. Our Lady Peace
5. Louis Riel 15. Barenaked Ladies
6. Pierre Elliot Trudeau 16. Dan Akroyd
7. Tim Horton 17. Jim Carry
8. Patrick Roy 18. Pamela Lee Anderson
9. Rocket Richard 19. Hugh MacLennan
10.Terry Fox 20. Hal from Power 97
Happy 139th Birthday Canada...
Dene Moore, Canadian PressPublished: Friday, June 30, 2006
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VANCOUVER -- Where would the world be without green garbage bags, zippers and ginger ale?
Canadians have made some wonderful, weird and sometimes dubious contributions to humankind.
Were it not for Canadians, the world would be devoid of paint rollers, snowmobiles and five-pin bowling.
There would be no electric organ, green ink or multiplex movie theatres.
And yes, the recipe for Nanaimo bars comes from the British Columbian town of the same name.
Without Canada, time as we know it would end. Sir Sanford Fleming, a Scottish immigrant to the New World, devised the world's 24-zone standard time system.
"Canadians aren't boring in the least," says Will Ferguson, award-winning author of Canadian History for Dummies and Why I Hate Canadians.
Politically, the country has staked its claim in the "radical middle," he says, but don't let that fool you.
Canadians are diverse, eclectic and eccentric, he says. And pragmatic. Rather than wither in the winter cold, Canadians pulled the toques down over their ears and invented snowmobiles, the electric car heater and the snowblower.
Thank Canada for toboggans.
Canada comes from the native words meaning big village -- much better than Efisga, Tuponia or Colonia.
Those names were proposed for the motherland during debates on Confederation.
It is arguably the most ethnically diverse country in the world.
Canada has the highest population of Icelanders outside Iceland and the most Italians outside Italy.
"It's such a culturally diverse and interesting country that has geography and history and people that come from every corner of the globe," says Heritage Minister Sheila Copps. "That's what makes it really unique."
Unique is one way to put it.
Each month in each province there is at least one report of a UFO.
Of all the road accidents that occur in Canada, 0.3 per cent involve a moose. And a Calgary tour company offers a course in igloo building.
Maybe such madness is what makes comedian Rick Mercer feel so lucky to be Canadian.
"I just always feel . . . that we won the Lotto and anyone who was born in Canada or has come to Canada, you won the Lotto," says Rick Mercer, star of CBC's hit comedies Made in Canada and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
"You know, Canadians don't take themselves that seriously, and quite often we're self-deprecating and that's a character trait I admire greatly in an individual and so I admire it in a nation," says Mercer.
Canadians may not take themselves seriously, but they do some seriously strange stuff.
Canada holds the world record for the highest stunt freefall for a 1,100 foot plunge from the CN Tower.
The world's oldest snowboarder hits the slopes in Canada. Wong Yui Hoi, of British Columbia, took up the sport at 75 according to the folks at Guiness.
Canadian Jack McKenzie, 77, is the oldest person to ski to the north pole.
Those months spent with scant daylight hiding from frostbite may go a long way to explain some other Canadian, uh, accomplishments.
Canada boasts the longest gum wrapper chain in the world - 10,387 metres- according to the Guiness book of world records, and the most push-ups in an hour - 3,416.
Canadians hold the record for pogo-stick jumping and the largest hug. They baked the world's largest cherry pie, made the world's largest block of cheese and hold the world kissing title for the most couples smooching simultaneously.
Maybe it's not cabin fever, but brain freeze. A 7-Eleven store in Winnipeg sells more Slurpees per capita than anywhere else in the world. Yahhhhhh!!!!! Winnipeg Rocks!!!!!!!!
Canadians eat more Kraft dinner and Albertans more Jello. Details were not available on the favoured flavour. Kraft Dinner Rocks!!!!!!
Canadians have such an imagination they try to take credit for basketball and the telephone, says Ferguson.
"They'll claim the telephone as a Canadian invention. Alexander Graham Bell was born in Scotland, educated in Scotland and most of his research took place in Boston . . . but that doesn't matter because he lived in Canada," Ferguson says.
Yet Canada claims basketball because James Naismith was born in Canada, although he came up with the sport while living in the U.S.
But there's no denying that Toronto's Joe Shuster was co-creator of that greatest of American heroes, Superman.
And who else but the first nation of hockey could have invented Plexiglas, the goalie mask or the referee whistle?
Since beer is practically a sport unto itself in Canada, Vancouver's Steve Pasjack came up with those built-in, tuck-away handles for beer cases in 1957. Yaaaaaaaa Steve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And women can blame Canada. Montreal's Canadelle company invented the push-up bra in 1964 and Dennis Colonello invented the abdominizer in 1984.
Our greatest achievement?
"I think Canada's greatest achievement is Canada, just the existence of this country, this wildly diverse, huge, rich, quirky, wonderful country," Ferguson says.
© Canadian Press 2006
The Gazette and the Dominion Institute present the 2006 Canada Day quiz. So sit back, pour yourself a cool Canadian beverage, and enjoy.You can always click here for the answers.
Land and landscape
1. How many provinces and territories are there in Canada?
2. Name the Canadian territory that was created on April 1, 1999.
3. Name the five Great Lakes.
4. Name the largest of the five Great Lakes.
5. What three oceans border Canada?
6. Which river is Canada's longest?
a) The Mackenzie
b) The St. Lawrence
c) The Red
d) The Fraser
7. Which province in Canada is the smallest in land size?
8. Which province has the largest land size?
9. In which province can you find a provincial park famous for its deposits of dinosaur bones?
Politics and politicians
10. In 1864, colonial representatives first met in P.E.I. to discuss the idea of a federal union of all the British North American provinces. What is the name of this famous meeting?
11. Name the original provinces that joined in Confederation.
12. Name the Scottish immigrant, skilled lawyer and father of Confederation who became Canada's first prime minister.
13. Which Canadian prime minister sought the advice of his dead mother and dog?
14. What was the name that the prime minister in question No. 13 gave to all of his dogs?
15. Which of the following provincial politicians could be called "the last father of Confederation" ?
a) Lucien Bouchard
b) Mike Harris
c) Joey Smallwood
d) Tommy Douglas
16. When did the Quiet Revolution occur in Quebec?
a) 1920s
b) 1960s
c) 1830s
d) 1759
17. Who was the conservative Quebec premier whose hard-line government was a major cause of the the Quiet Revolution?
Citizenship and Government
18. Who is Canada's head of state?
19. The government of Canada is best described as:
a) A representative republic
b) A co-operative association
c) Constitutional monarchy
d) People's Democracy
20. In which year was the Canadian constitution patriated?
21. What part of the constitution legally protects the basic rights and freedoms of all Canadians?
22. Name the constitutional clause that allows the federal or provincial governments to override certain parts of the constitutional document mentioned in question No. 17.
23. Which of the following slogans is best associated with Canada's constitution?
a) Liberty, equality, fraternity
b) Peace, order and good government
c) Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
24. Name three requirements that a person must meet in order to vote in a federal election.
People and places
25. Which of the following is associated with the first permanent European settlement in what became Canada?
a) Henry Hudson
b) Jacques Cartier
c) Samuel de Champlain
d) Christopher Columbus
26. Name the city that sprung from this first settlement, which will be celebrating its 400th
anniversary in 2008.
27. What agricultural community, founded by the Earl of Selkirk in 1812, became the first permanent European colony in the Canadian West?
28. The Canadian north was transformed in the late 1890s when about 100,000 prospectors poured into the Yukon hoping to "strike it rich." What name was given to this colourful period in Canadian history?
29. What famous schooner, commemorated on the 10 cent coin, was built in Nova Scotia in 1921?
Industry and Finance
30. Owing to a shortage of coins in New France in the 17th century, settlers used which non-traditional form of currency?
a) Birch Bark
b) Playing Cards
c) Croissants
d) Muskets
31. The Hudson's Bay Company is the world's oldest chartered trading company, having been in business for 336 years. What product gave this company its start?
32. Name the vast stretch of land where the Hudson's Bay Company had a trading monopoly.
33. What was the French name given to the rugged woodsmen who worked for the Hudson's Bay Company?
34. What product, made of dried meat and berries, was sold to fur traders for their long voyages into and out of the Canadian interior and became a competitive industry in Canada's West.
35. What automobile company attempted to establish a luxury car production plant in New Brunswick in the 1970s only to abandon the project in bankruptcy with fewer than 3,000 cars ever produced?
a) Ford
b) DeLorean
c) Massey Ferguson
d) Bricklin
36. When was the last time that $1 Canadian was equal to $1 American?
a) 1937
b) 1957
c) 1977
d) 1997
Women
37. In what decade of the 20th century were Canadian women first given the right to vote in federal elections?
38. In 1929, the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council overturned the Supreme Court of Canada and determined that women could hold office as senators. What was the name of this landmark decision?
39. What major historical event brought more than 1 million women into the Canadian work force?
a) Prohibition
b) Expo 67
c) Second World War
d) Auto Pact
40. In 1992, Roberta Bondar became the first Canadian woman:
a) To play in the National Hockey League
b) To be launched into outer space
c) To win an Oscar for best actress
d) To become president of General Motors of Canada
Arts and Culture
41. What is Canada's national anthem?
42. What are the first two lines of the anthem?
43. Who composed our national anthem?
a) Sir John A. Macdonald
b) Calixa Lavalee
c) Robert Charlebois
d) Gordon Lightfoot
44. Which of the following artists are Canadian?
a) Emily Carr
b) Andy Warhol
c) Tom Thomson
d) Jean-Paul Riopelle
e) Norman Rockwell
45. Which of the artists from questions No. 44 inspired the formation of the Canadian art collective the Group of Seven?
Canada-U.S. Relations
46. Name one of the wars in which Canada was invaded by the United States.
47. What group fled the United States to settle in Canada after the American Revolution?
48. What was the name of the route used by fleeing American slaves to get to Canada?
49. Which American war sped the move toward Confederation?
50. Name the Irish-independence movement whose raids were also an important factor in the move toward Confederation.
International Affairs
51. After the First World War, Canada helped found the League of Nations. What similar body did Canadians help create in the aftermath of the Second World War?
52. Since 1949, Canada, the U.S. and the democracies of Western Europe have belonged to a transatlantic military alliance. What is the name of this multilateral organization?
53. Canada was instrumental in drafting the famous United Nations declaration that sets forth the basic rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons. What is its name?
54. Canadian prime ministers culminating with Brian Mulroney led international opposition to what South African government policy?
55. Recently, Canada played a role in the establishment of what international body for investigating genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes?
56. Which prominent Canadian Supreme Court judge was involved in the international body mentioned in question No. 55?
War and Remembrance
57. Why was Nov. 11 was chosen as Remembrance Day.
58. Every Nov. 11, Canadians commemorate the service and sacrifice of the nation's veterans. What is the common symbol of Canadian remembrance?
59. In the First World War, a massive ammunition explosion in a Canadian city killed 1,600, injured 9,000 and left thousands more homeless. Where did this occur?
60. Which of the following was Canada's most famous victory in the First World War that consisted of the capture of a key ridge on the Western Front?
a) Battle of Vichy
b) Battle of Vimy Ridge
c) Battle of Ortona
61. Capt. John McCrae served as a medical officer in the First World War and wrote what is considered to be Canada's most famous war poem. What is it called?
62. The country's worst epidemic, spread by troops returning from service overseas during the Great War, killed 50,000 Canadians. What disease was responsible for the greatest health crisis in Canadian history?
63. Name the Canadian commander at Vimy who later became Canada's 12th Governor General.
64. In 1942, almost 1,000 Canadians lost their lives in a tragic assault on a French seaside town. Name that town.
65. From 1950 to 1953, more than 25,000 Canadian service men and women took part in the Cold War's first major armed conflict. What was the name of this war?
66. To resolve the 1956 Suez Crisis, Lester B. Pearson proposed the creation of a new type of United Nations mandated military force. Used in conflict zones ever since, what are these forces usually called?
Controversy and Scandal
67. What is the name given to the forcible resettlement by the British government of many of the original French colonists of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island?
68. Name the U.S. state where many of the deportees mentioned in question No. 67 ended up.
69. Name the extinct people who once inhabited Newfoundland.
70. After more than a decade of construction and a string of political scandals, what great Canadian engineering feat was completed in 1885 with the hammering of the Last Spike?
71. Which ethnic group had to pay a head tax to gain entrance into Canada?
72. In which year was the head tax mentioned in question No. 71 repealed?
73. National referendums are nothing new in Canada. In 1942, a national plebiscite sparked a fierce debate over military service and national unity. What was this plebiscite about?
74. What was William Lyon Mackenzie King's famous saying about the issue under debate during the 1942 national plebiscite?
75. During the Second World War, thousands of Canadians were forcibly evacuated from the West Coast of Canada because of their ethnic origin. Who were these Canadians?Click here for the answers to the quiz.
Want more? Visit www.dominion.ca and try the online version of the quiz. Answer all 20 of the randomly selected questions correctly to win a free ring tone from Puretracks.com
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006
| posted by Warm Fuzzies at 10:06 PM
