The citizenship test
Citizenship test questions and answers
Choose a chapter of the guide: its questions appear with the answer hidden until you open it, and a short explanation that tells you why. Nothing to sign up for.
1.In which year was the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms entrenched in the Constitution?
- · 1867
- · 1931
- · 1960
- ✓ 1982
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was written into the Constitution in 1982. Since it now forms part of the supreme law, every government in Canada and every law it passes has to respect the rights and freedoms it lists.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
2.Canadian freedoms draw on a tradition of ordered liberty that goes back to which document, signed in England in 1215?
- ✓ Magna Carta
- · The Bill of Rights
- · The Quebec Act
- · The Royal Proclamation
Magna Carta, also called the Great Charter of Freedoms, was signed in England in 1215. Canadians inherited the tradition it began, which includes freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of expression, and freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: Magna Carta
3.What does habeas corpus protect?
- · The right to vote in secret
- · The right to a free lawyer in every case
- · The right to own property
- ✓ The right to contest being held unlawfully by the state
Habeas corpus comes from English common law. It lets a person who is held by the authorities ask a court to decide whether the detention is lawful, so that nobody can be imprisoned arbitrarily.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: Habeas corpus
4.Which pair are both sources of Canadian law?
- ✓ English common law and the civil code of France
- · The U.S. Constitution and Spanish colonial law
- · The Hudson's Bay Company charter and church law
- · Roman military law and Dutch merchant law
Canadian law draws on several roots: laws adopted by Parliament and by the provincial legislatures, the common law of England, France's civil code, and the unwritten constitutional customs that Canada received from Great Britain.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: Sources of Canadian law
5.Under the Charter's mobility rights, Canadians can:
- · Settle in any other country without a visa
- · Vote in any province they happen to visit
- ✓ Live and work anywhere in Canada and enter or leave the country freely
- · Stop paying provincial taxes when they move
Mobility rights let citizens move to and take jobs in any province or territory, leave Canada and come back, and apply for a passport. They are among the most important rights set out in the Charter.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: Mobility rights
6.Which of these is a fundamental freedom that Canadians enjoy?
- · Freedom from paying taxes
- · Freedom to ignore a jury summons
- · Freedom to carry any weapon
- ✓ Freedom of peaceful assembly
Canada's fundamental freedoms include freedom of conscience and religion; of thought, belief, opinion and expression; of peaceful assembly; and of association. They protect people who meet, demonstrate or organize without violence.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: Fundamental freedoms
7.If you are called to serve on a jury in Canada, what does the law say?
- · Only lawyers have to serve
- ✓ You are legally required to serve
- · You must pay a fee in order to serve
- · You may refuse without giving a reason
Jury service is both a privilege and a legal duty. Courts rely on impartial juries made up of ordinary citizens, so a person who is summoned must take part unless legally excused.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: Citizenship responsibilities
8.Is military service compulsory in Canada?
- · Yes, for all citizens aged 18 to 25
- · Yes, for men only
- ✓ No, there is no compulsory military service
- · Yes, for one year after becoming a citizen
Canada has no compulsory military service. Joining the regular Canadian Forces or the part-time reserves is voluntary and is presented as an honourable way to serve the country and an excellent career choice.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: Defending Canada
9.What does the rule of law mean in Canada?
- · Police may act without legal limits
- · The Prime Minister can overrule any court
- ✓ Everyone, including leaders and officials, must obey the law
- · Each community writes its own criminal code
The rule of law is one of Canada's founding principles. Individuals and governments alike are governed by laws rather than by arbitrary decisions, and obeying the law is a basic responsibility of every citizen.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: Citizenship responsibilities
10.The Charter of Rights and Freedoms opens by stating that Canada is founded upon principles that recognize what?
- · The equality of all political parties
- ✓ The rule of law and the supremacy of God
- · The primacy of the English language
- · The authority of the provinces over Parliament
The Charter begins by recognizing two founding principles: the rule of law and the supremacy of God. These first words reflect the place of religious traditions in Canada and the respect owed to the dignity and worth of each person.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
11.How are women and men treated under Canadian law?
- · Women need a guardian to sign contracts
- · Equality applies only in some provinces
- ✓ They are equal under the law
- · Men have more legal rights
Women and men have the same legal standing in Canada, in the family, at work and in public life. Canada's openness to other cultures does not extend to any practice that denies this equality.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: The Equality of Women and Men
12.Which of these is listed as a responsibility of Canadian citizens?
- · Attending a place of worship
- ✓ Protecting Canada's heritage and environment
- · Owning property
- · Joining a political party
Citizens have a duty to limit waste and pollution and to protect Canada's natural, cultural and architectural heritage so that it can be passed on. Obeying the law, serving on a jury when called and voting are other responsibilities.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: Citizenship responsibilities
13.Which program lets young Canadians learn discipline, responsibility and skills in a military-style setting?
- · The Order of Canada
- · The Senate page program
- · The Canada Summer Games
- ✓ The cadets
The guide encourages young people to join the cadets, which teach discipline, responsibility and practical skills. Adults can serve in the regular forces or in the part-time navy, militia and air reserves.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: Defending Canada
14.According to the Charter, what is the status of English and French in Parliament and the federal government?
- · French is used only in Quebec
- · Neither has official status
- ✓ They have equal status
- · English has priority
Two kinds of language rights are protected by the Charter: the rights attached to the official languages and the right to be educated in the minority official language. In Parliament and across the federal government, English and French stand on an equal footing.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
15.How does the Charter treat the treaty rights of Aboriginal peoples?
- · It applies only to First Nations living on reserve
- · It cancels treaties signed before 1867
- · It replaces all earlier treaties
- ✓ Charter rights do not take away from Aboriginal treaty and other rights
According to the Charter, the rights it guarantees cannot be used to weaken the treaty rights or any other rights and freedoms held by Aboriginal peoples. The Constitution also recognizes Aboriginal and treaty rights in a separate provision.
Where to check: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship
15
15 questions in this chapter, 150 in the bank
Our question bank holds 150 questions for the Canadian citizenship test, 15 for each of the 10 chapters of Discover Canada, each with the correct answer and a short explanation. Pick a chapter from the list and read through its questions, opening the answer only after you have chosen yours. The questions follow the format IRCC describes for the real test, multiple choice or true or false, and cover the facts of the official guide: rights and responsibilities, the peoples of Canada, history, modern Canada, government, elections, justice, symbols, the economy and the regions. They are not IRCC's own questions, which are not published; Radif Partners writes them from the facts of the guide, in its own words, because Discover Canada is under Crown copyright. Reading questions is a fast way to learn what the test considers important. On the day, you will face 20 questions in 45 minutes and need 15 right, so once a chapter reads easily here, check yourself with the practice sets and a timed mock test.
Questions, counts and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How questions and dates are built
What a question looks like
Every question in the bank follows the same pattern: a short stem, four options or a true-or-false choice, one correct answer, and an explanation that restates the fact and adds context. Here is one from the government chapter, with the correct option in bold:
What are the three parts of Canada's Parliament?
The Governor General, the Supreme Court and the Senate · The Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the courts · The Sovereign, the Senate and the House of Commons · The House of Commons, the provinces and the territories
The explanation under this question in the bank adds that a bill needs approval from all three parts, votes in both chambers plus royal assent, to become law. That extra sentence often answers a second question you will meet later, which is why reading the explanations pays off even when your own answer was right.
The bank, chapter by chapter
| Chapter of Discover Canada | Questions | Revision page |
|---|---|---|
| Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship | 15 | key facts |
| Who We Are | 15 | key facts |
| Canada's History | 15 | key facts |
| Modern Canada | 15 | key facts |
| How Canadians Govern Themselves | 15 | key facts |
| Federal Elections | 15 | key facts |
| The Justice System | 15 | key facts |
| Canadian Symbols | 15 | key facts |
| Canada's Economy | 15 | key facts |
| Canada's Regions | 15 | key facts |
Each revision page sums up what the test tends to ask on its chapter, the notions that are easy to confuse, and a table of dates or names, with a ten-question quiz drawn from that chapter only.
How to use the bank well
Read a chapter of questions before you read the chapter itself in the guide: you will know which details matter and read with purpose. Then read the guide, and come back to the questions a day later without looking at the answers. Mark the ones you miss and return to them at the end of the week. When a chapter no longer gives you trouble, move to practice sets, which hide the answers and score you, and finally to the timed mock test, which mixes all chapters under the real 45-minute limit.
About the source
IRCC names Discover Canada as the only official guide for the test and describes the format on its test page. The guide is under Crown copyright, so we do not copy its text: every question and explanation is written by Radif Partners from its facts. Some of its pages predate recent changes, such as the accession of King Charles III; our questions stick to institutions ("the Sovereign") rather than to the person when that matters. To plan your study around the ten chapters, try the study plan; to understand the score you need, see the pass mark page.