Going On A Date With A Canadian Historian Quiz

Answer: Beringia

Beringia was a giant land mass that spanned from modern day Lena River, Russia to the Mackenzie River, Canada. At one point, there was a land bridge that crossed over what is now known as the Pacific Ocean. It is believed that roughly 20,000 years ago, Paleo-Indians migrated across this land bridge both to and from Russia and North America.

In 2007, an analysis of mtDNA also suggests that humans had lived both on the land bridge as well as in isolated regions of Beringia for a period of approximately 5,000 years. Groups that are believed to have delineated from this period include the Inuit, Dene and Alaskan Indigenous peoples.

Answer: Stadacona

During a 1535 voyage by Jacques Cartier and his crew, the village of Stadacona was discovered on the site of what is presently known as "Quebec City". It was estimated that approximately 500 citizens lived in this village and were indigenous. Upon the arrival of Cartier's crew, at least 50 citizens died as a result of what was likely disease brought over from the Europeans. Cartier offended the local people by establishing a base near their community without their permission and as a result he and his crew kidnapped the village leader Donnacona, his two sons and seven others. Only a young girl returned in 1541 when Cartier and his crew returned.

By the time French explorer Samuel de Champlain settled in the region around 1603, the Stadaconans and Iroquoians had vanished. On July 3, 1608, new settlement known as "Kebec" or "Quebec" was established at the same location and continues to exist today.

Answer: Rupert's Land

Rupert's Land or "Prince Rupert's Land" was a territory that existed for a two hundred year period between 1670 and 1870 mainly in what is now known as Canada. The territory included most of what is now Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. It also included parts of Nunavut, Ontario, and Quebec.

Modern day portions of the United States that were also part of Rupert's Land included parts of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. It was controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company during the early fur trade in which they drew upon the Indigenous and Metis population for the acquisition and trade of pelts and furs.

The Hudson's Bay Company had established their own laws to govern the region that included the relationships of the employees within the company, relations of indigenous peoples in the region and had even set up their own court system.

Answer: Laura Secord

In May 1813, American troops were successful in launching an attack and capturing Fort George as a strategic means to invade Upper Canada during the War of 1812. In June 1813, Laura Secord is believed to have overheard conversations by American troops as they ate dinner about their intended plot to invade Beaver Dams (present day Thorold, Ontario).

She is claimed to have walked 20 miles to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon of the intended plot. As a result of this warning, Mohawk warriors and a small British force of soldiers were able to defeat the Americans on June 24, 1813 at the Battle of Beaver Dams.

Answer: Toronto

Designated a National Historic Site in 1925, Montgomery's Tavern was the site of an unlikely battle during the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837. Following the kidnapping of Toronto Alderman John Powell under the authority of politician William Lyon Mackenzie, a group of rebels (Mackenzie supporters) under the command of Anthony Von Egmond, took up positions both in the woods and surrounding area of Montgomery's Tavern.

A group of around 1,000 militiamen led by Lieutenant James Fitzgibbon attacked Mackenzie's forces at Montgomery's Tavern. Within twenty minutes the rebels had fled.

The tavern would sadly be looted and then burned to the ground by Loyalist forces.

Answer: They were used to discuss Canada's independence

As a result of the Charlottetown, Quebec and London Conferences, a new Constitution Act was given Royal assent on March 29, 1867 and then on July 1, 1867 Canadian Confederation was officially proclaimed. Initially, only four provinces made up Canada - Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. British Columbia, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island would all join as provinces by 1873. Newfoundland and Labrador would become the final province to join confederation in 1949. Confederation for Canada would not go without its hardships. Between 1871 and 1896, nearly a quarter of Canada's population had emigrated south to the United States. Canadian parliament would implement harsh policies such as the Residential Schools System, head taxes and other discriminatory laws that often undermined minorities in the country. With the election of Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1896, Canada implemented what was referred to as "Last Best West" to encourage immigrants from mainly from Eastern Europe and Asia to settle in the Western parts of Canada to make up for lost population and economic issues.

This policy was so successful that thousands of immigrants settled and ultimately it allowed for the formation of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Answer: North-West Mounted Police

The North-West Mounted Police were the predecessor to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They were initially established to be a police force, military establishment and judicial organization. Their first major task was to be deployed to the Cypress Hills region of Alberta in 1873 as a result of the Cypress Hills Massacre.

They were also established there for strategic military purposes due to a fear of an American military intervention. As policing policies were eventually passed to provincial authorities in 1896, the North-West Mounted Police force was nearly shut down, but with the discovery of gold in the Yukon Territory, a need for remote policing became necessary.

In 1920, they would be amalgamated with the federal Dominion Police force to become the Royal Canadian Mounted Police due to the violent aftermath of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike.

Answer: Louis Riel

Louis Riel was born to a white mother from a prominent family and a Franco-Ojibwa father. His family was well known in the Red River Settlement, a community in Rupert's Land as his father played a key role in the release of an imprisoned fur trader named Guillaume Sayer. Louis Riel himself, however, is a man of contrasts.

Some historians classify him as a dangerous and insane religious rebel while others consider him to be a national hero. In March 1870, the execution of Thomas Scott, a surveyor and Irish Protestant who was hired by the Canadian government during the Red River Rebellion took place. Riel believed that Scott was an extreme racist and that the Metis were not being taken seriously in Canadian politics. Louis Riel would now be considered a murderer in Ontario, Canada.

In 1875, Riel would go into exile where he would focus on religious concerns. By 1884, Riel would be involved in an armed uprising which would be quashed by the Canadian government. He was forced to surrender and was given a sentence for treason. On November 16, 1885 Riel was hanged for his crime in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Answer: Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)

Following Canada's Confederation in 1867, the John A. MacDonald government focused on a means to link Eastern Canada to the west. The logical method seemed to be the building of a railway. The proposal to build a railway across Canada took place as early as 1871 as part of an agreement with the province of British Columbia for joining Canada.

Much of the difficulties in building a railway were political and economic. The logical way to build the railway would have been to go through parts of the United States, however, to keep the railway truly Canadian, the geography of Canada such as the Rocky Mountains would need to be addressed.

The "Pacific Scandal", a political incident in which the Canadian government took bribes from various bidders for the national rail contract. John A. MacDonald would resign as a result of the scandal and Alexander Mackenzie and the Liberal Party would take over. Canada would go through a depression during Mackenzie's reign and MacDonald and the Conservative Party would be elected again in 1878. Between 1881 and 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway was built at full speed. On November 7, 1885, the final spike was driven into the ground marking the official completion of the railway line.

Answer: Yukon

Not to be confused with the Alaskan Gold Rush which took place during the same time period, the Klondike Gold Rush began on August 16, 1896 when gold miners discovered gold in the Klondike region. Once word spread reached many West Coast American cities, thousands of prospectors made their way to seek fortune and fame.

The vast majority of these prospectors left in vain and not profiting from their findings. The epicenter of the region was Dawson City and became famous for its saloons, gambling and raucous lifestyles.

The Indigenous Han Peoples suffered from the gold rush being forced to leave their land and find new homes. By 1899, just as fast as the interest came, it finally died. A new gold rush began to take place in Nome, Alaska and the Klondike region eventually died.

The boom town of Dawson City saw its population drop from 40,000 in 1898 to less than 5,000 by 1902. During the gold rush, On June 13, 1898 the Yukon Territory became the second official territory to be admitted as part of Canada and it would not be until a third territory (Nunavut) would join Confederation.