Canada Day quiz: How well do you know this country?

Travel writer and Calgary author Will Ferguson is a recipient of the Governor General's Award for Popular History: Pierre Berton Award, and a three-time winner of the Leacock Medal for Humour. The following Canada Day Quiz draws from his new collection, Meanwhile, Back in Nokomis: Tales from Canada and Elsewhere (Douglas & McIntyre).

1. Nokomis, Sask. (pop. 436) is the hometown of which iconic Canadian figure?A. Leacock-winning humourist Max Braithwaite of Why Shoot the Teacher?B. Montreal Canadiens Hall of Famer Elmer LachC. Rock legend Kenny Shields of Streetheart fameD. All of the above

2. Who was the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel?A. Showman and tightrope walker, the Great FariniB. A Seagram's whisky distiller as a publicity gimmickC. A retired schoolteacher named Annie TaylorD. Boer War veteran Sam Steele (on a dare, no less!)

3. What is the oldest newspaper in Canada — and North America?A. The Quebec Chronicle-TelegraphB. The Montreal GazetteC. The Kingston Whig-StandardD. The Globe & Mail

4. The self-proclaimed "polar bear capital of the world" is located in which province or territory?A. YukonB. NunavutC. N.W.T.D. Manitoba

5. Why on earth is there a statue to Jumbo the Elephant in St. Thomas, Ont.?A. Jumbo was born in St. ThomasB. Jumbo died in St. ThomasC. Jumbo performed in St. ThomasD. St. Thomas is the hometown of famed animal trainer Barney Bailey, whose memoir, Jumbo & Me, was turned into a popular children's TV show

6. Rosebud, Alta. (pop. 112) welcomes as many as 40,000 visitors every year for what event?A. Year-round live theatreB. An annual Passion Play in the BadlandsC. The International Festivals of RosesD. The Running of the Bulls

7. Sable Island, little more than a sandbar off the coast of Nova Scotia, is known for what?A. Moving. It crawls across the mapB. Being a graveyard of the Atlantic, as the site of more than 300 fatal shipwrecksC. As the home of wild horsesD. All of the above

8. As part of their "screeching in" ceremony, the cruel inhabitants of St. John's, N.L., torment visitors by forcing them to do what?A. Kiss a codB. Cuddle a caribouC. Recite a ballad in full Newfoundland dialect whilst standing on one footD. Eat seal flipper pie without gagging

9. In Dawson City, Yukon, an equally cruel initiation involves what?A. Drinking a glass of whisky with a severed human toe in itB. Reciting the Cremation of Sam McGee whilst balancing a bottle of hooch on yourheadC. Catching a jackalope blindfoldedD. Panning for gold in a bathtub

10. In Meanwhile, Back in Nokomis, Will Ferguson describes one of his early jobs as being as easy as "selling water to someone whose hair is on fire." What was the job?A. Manning a flood-watch station in the Carcross DesertB. Selling Anne of Green Gables tours to Japanese touristsC. Working as a tour guide at Toronto's CN TowerD. Selling tie-dye hippie shirts at the Denman Island artist market

1. D (Plus, Second World War flying ace James "Eddie" Edwards. Well done, Nokomis!)

2. C (She went over the falls in 1901 on her 63rd birthday — and survived.)

3. A (Quebec City's English-language newspaper is not only the oldest paper in Canada, but in all of North America. The papers here are listed in order of publication: A: 1764, B: 1778, C: 1834, D: 1844)

4. D (Churchill, Man., has tundra buggy tours to the hungry polar bears that gather every year on the shores of Hudson Bay. Highly recommended!)

5. B (During a dark rainstorm in 1885, en route to a performance in London, Ont., Jumbo was killed by a locomotive while crossing the tracks outside of St. Thomas. For this, the town celebrates.)

6. A (B and D are both close, though. The Badlands Passion Play is in nearby Drumheller, and the Running with the Bulls is in Strathmore.)

8. A (D is physically impossible.)

9. A (Dawson's notorious Sourdough Cocktail includes an actual dried human toe as its garnish.)

10. B (Though Ferguson did also work as a tour guide at the CN Tower back in those carefree days known as "the '80s.")

7 – 10 correct: Congratulations, you're as Canadian as maple syrup and frostbite!5 – 8 correct: As Canadian as poutine and parliamentary paralysis.2 – 5 correct: Hmm, you need to get out more and meet the neighbours.0 – 1 correct: Nice try, pal. You're clearly an American trying to fob yourself off as a Canuck. The authorities have been contacted.

Canada Day Quiz created by Will Ferguson, inspired by his book Meanwhile Back in Nokomis: Tales from Canada and Elsewhere, ©2026. Published by Douglas & McIntyre.