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Quiz about Interesting RunnersUp in Canadian Elections
Quiz about Interesting RunnersUp in Canadian Elections

Interesting Runners-Up in Canadian Elections Quiz


This quiz deals with leaders, parties, and electoral issues behind the interesting 2nd-place finishes in Canadian federal elections from 1867 to 1993. (Note: 2nd-place finish means winning 2nd highest number of seats in the Parliament)

A multiple-choice quiz by byoungpark. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
byoungpark
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
323,431
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
1306
Awards
Editor's Choice
Last 3 plays: pwefc (7/10), Guest 174 (6/10), Guest 174 (0/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Under the leadership of Sir John A. Macdonald, the Conservative Party won every federal election in Canada except one. In which election did his party finish 2nd, and what was the main issue that attributed to the loss? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. In the election of 1917, Sir Wilfred Laurier's Liberal Party opposed the Conservative-led Union Party and finished 2nd. The Liberals were overwhelmingly supported by the French Canadians who resented the Conservative Party's wartime policy. Which specific policy enraged the French Canadians? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. In 1921, a new political party emerged and finished 2nd over one of the two major political parties in Canada (Conservative Party). What was the name of this party? (This party ceased to exist after merging with the Conservative Party in the future.) Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. In the Canadian election of 1925, Mackenzie King's Liberals ended up in 2nd place behind the Conservatives. However, King was still allowed to remain as the Prime Minister for another year, even though the Conservative Party elected more Members of Parliament and was poised to form a minority government. What was the cause of this unusual incident? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. In 1956, this Minister of External Affairs (and future Prime Minister) became the first Canadian to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution in resolving the Suez Crisis. However, this did not help his party in the election of 1957, in which the Liberals finished 2nd. What was the name of this Minister? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. John Diefenbaker's Conservatives won the Canadian election of 1958 by an overwhelming margin but fared much worse in 1963 when they finished 2nd. Over this period, Diefenbaker, an overly idealistic leader, made several misguided foreign policy decisions that contributed to his downfall. However, which of the following was NOT a decision he actually made. Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In the Canadian elections of 1968, 1972, and 1974, this Conservative leader finished 2nd in every election behind the Liberals led by Pierre Trudeau. His supporters dubbed him 'the best Prime Minister we [Canada] never had'. Who was he? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Less than a year after winning the 1979 Election, Joe Clark's Conservatives finished 2nd behind Trudeau's Liberals in the Canadian election of 1980. He was forced to call this election when the Opposition passed a vote of non-confidence against Clark's minority government for breaking an important campaign promise. What measure did the Opposition object in the budget, which NDP's Bob Rae described as "the budget that stole Christmas"? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. In the Canadian election of 1988, Liberal leader John Turner made a very memorable debate performance by passionately advocating against certain Conservative policy. Liberals still finished 2nd in the election but would have fared much worse without this debate performance. What was this policy, which Turner warned would threaten Canada's status as an independent country? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. The Canadian election of 1993 ended the Conservative Party's status as a major political party in Canada (not to be confused with the new Conservative Party founded in 2003). Which party finished 2nd in the election, thus becoming the official Opposition for the first time in the party's history? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 05 2024 : pwefc: 7/10
Mar 03 2024 : Guest 174: 6/10
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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Under the leadership of Sir John A. Macdonald, the Conservative Party won every federal election in Canada except one. In which election did his party finish 2nd, and what was the main issue that attributed to the loss?

Answer: 1874, Accepting bribery from railroad company during the last election campaign

Macdonald's strong support of Canadian intercontinental railroad that connected the Canadian provinces across the country earned him much credit for successfully uniting Canada. However, his active involvement in railroad construction projects once went too far when they involved bribery in the incident that would be known as the Pacific Scandal. Ultimately, Macdonald returned to power in 1878 when the Liberal successor's lack of progress in building the railroad threatened a potential break-up of the country, as British Columbia warned a possibility of secession if the promise to build the railroad were not kept.
2. In the election of 1917, Sir Wilfred Laurier's Liberal Party opposed the Conservative-led Union Party and finished 2nd. The Liberals were overwhelmingly supported by the French Canadians who resented the Conservative Party's wartime policy. Which specific policy enraged the French Canadians?

Answer: Military conscription

Unlike the English Canadians who supported their 'mother country' during the World War I, the French Canadians strongly opposed the Canadian involvement in what they perceived to be nothing more than Britain's European conflict. The French Canadians' resentment had been generally tempered during the first few years of the War, but it reached the boiling point when the Conservative/Union Government proposed conscription to supplement the shortage of recruits in 1917.

The French Canadians were now aghast that they would be forced to die for the War they hated so much.
3. In 1921, a new political party emerged and finished 2nd over one of the two major political parties in Canada (Conservative Party). What was the name of this party? (This party ceased to exist after merging with the Conservative Party in the future.)

Answer: Progressive Party

Initially, the newly emerged Progressive Party enjoyed a great electoral success due to its appeal to the farmers who were disappointed in the Liberal Party's reluctance to support its traditional pro-free trade stance. Ultimately, however, the Progressive Party was a highly disorganized protest party that could not sustain its electoral success after 1921. Gradually, most members of the Progressive Party joined other traditional parties when their initial passion for populist protest had diminished.

The Progressive Party ceased to exist when the final remnants of the party eventually merged with the Conservatives in 1942.
4. In the Canadian election of 1925, Mackenzie King's Liberals ended up in 2nd place behind the Conservatives. However, King was still allowed to remain as the Prime Minister for another year, even though the Conservative Party elected more Members of Parliament and was poised to form a minority government. What was the cause of this unusual incident?

Answer: Members of minor political parties supported the Liberals instead of Conservatives

Although a simplified textbook explanation of parliamentary politics would state that the party winning most number of seats always becomes the Government Party, the reality is much more complex when no party wins the majority of seats in the Parliament. Because maintaining confidence ALWAYS requires majority of Parliament votes, a minority government that wishes to stay in power must form a (formal or informal) coalition with other party/parties to secure the required majority votes.

Therefore, in practice, a smaller party that is very good at building coalition can upstage a party that won plurality of seats but is unable to find a coalition partner.

The Election of 1925 was a classic example of the 2nd-place Liberals maintaining power by relying on the support of another political party (CCF).
5. In 1956, this Minister of External Affairs (and future Prime Minister) became the first Canadian to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution in resolving the Suez Crisis. However, this did not help his party in the election of 1957, in which the Liberals finished 2nd. What was the name of this Minister?

Answer: Lester B. Pearson

The Suez Crisis began in 1956 when Gamal Abdel Nasser, the new leader of Egypt, nationalized the British-controlled Suez Canal, and Britain and France promptly made the controversial decision to re-occupy the Canal with the aid of Israel. Lester Pearson played the crucial role in introducing the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces into the Suez Canal Zone and averting a diplomatic crisis between the British-French Coalition and other powers including the United States and the Soviet Union.

In Canada, however, Pearson's mediation probably did not help his own party's electoral fortune very much, since many English Canadians would have preferred Canada to assist the 'mother country' (Britain) in need.
6. John Diefenbaker's Conservatives won the Canadian election of 1958 by an overwhelming margin but fared much worse in 1963 when they finished 2nd. Over this period, Diefenbaker, an overly idealistic leader, made several misguided foreign policy decisions that contributed to his downfall. However, which of the following was NOT a decision he actually made.

Answer: Supported Apartheid policy to maintain good relationship with South Africa

John Diefenbaker had been responsible for making many unfortunate policy mistakes while he was the Prime Minister (1957-1963), but he actually deserves a full credit for being a sincere advocate of social equality. In fact, Diefenbaker actually advocated the expulsion of South Africa from the British Commonwealth for its Apartheid policy, even if it meant straining relationships with Britain and South Africa.

In addition, Diefenbaker ended racial discriminations in voting rights and immigration, appointed a first woman and Aboriginal into the cabinet and the Senate respectively, and introduced the Canadian Bill of Rights (which unfortunately was merely a legal statute instead of a constitutional amendment).
7. In the Canadian elections of 1968, 1972, and 1974, this Conservative leader finished 2nd in every election behind the Liberals led by Pierre Trudeau. His supporters dubbed him 'the best Prime Minister we [Canada] never had'. Who was he?

Answer: Robert Stanfield

Robert Stanfield actually came very close to defeating Trudeau in 1972 (by the margin of 2 seats) when the Liberal Government was struggling to deal with the troubling economic recessions during the 1970s. While Stanfield was very well respected as a person, he was also regarded as a very dull individual.

This certainly did not help Stanfield in a close election, especially considering his opponent was a highly charismatic leader.
8. Less than a year after winning the 1979 Election, Joe Clark's Conservatives finished 2nd behind Trudeau's Liberals in the Canadian election of 1980. He was forced to call this election when the Opposition passed a vote of non-confidence against Clark's minority government for breaking an important campaign promise. What measure did the Opposition object in the budget, which NDP's Bob Rae described as "the budget that stole Christmas"?

Answer: Tax increase

Charles Joseph Clark was a moderate conservative who proposed a pragmatic budget including a tax hike to reduce deficit and slow down inflation in 1979-80. However, Clark proved to be not as pragmatic in political maneuvering, as he seriously underestimated the Liberal Party's willingness to oppose the Government motion after the Liberal leader Pierre Trudeau announced his intent to resign. Later in the Election of 2000, Clark would come out of retirement to lead the Progressive Conservative Party again. Even though the Party was only the shell of its former self by then, Clark strongly asserted the Party's raison d'etre as a moderate conservative party and an alternative to the hardline right-wing Reform Party/Canadian Alliance.
9. In the Canadian election of 1988, Liberal leader John Turner made a very memorable debate performance by passionately advocating against certain Conservative policy. Liberals still finished 2nd in the election but would have fared much worse without this debate performance. What was this policy, which Turner warned would threaten Canada's status as an independent country?

Answer: US-Canada Free Trade Agreement

The replays of heated televised debate over free trade between John Turner and Brian Mulroney received extensive media coverage throughout the Election, just as Turner hoped. Considering some opinion polls even projected the 3rd-place finish for the Liberal Party before the debate (Liberals never finished worse than 2nd in the past), the solid 2nd-place finish in the Election was a moderate success for John Turner. Ironically, in the previous Election of 1984, John Turner actually had one of the worst moments in Canadian election debates (and elections), as he responded "I had no option" when Brian Mulroney asked why Turner did not reject appointments of Trudeau's nominees who only got the nomination based on cronyism.
10. The Canadian election of 1993 ended the Conservative Party's status as a major political party in Canada (not to be confused with the new Conservative Party founded in 2003). Which party finished 2nd in the election, thus becoming the official Opposition for the first time in the party's history?

Answer: Bloc Quebecois

Failure of the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords (which would have recognized Quebec as 'Distinct Society'), perception of betrayal within the Western Canadian party base, and other unpopular measures such as the Goods and Service tax (7% sales tax) all contributed to the demise of Progressive Conservative Party, which won just 2 seats in 1993. Bloc Quebecois, the party advocating political independence for Quebec in the form of 'sovereignty-association', narrowly edged the Western-Canadian-dominated Reform Party for the 2nd-place finish.
Source: Author byoungpark

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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