Rights & Responsibilities: Citizenship Test Practice Questions

1. Joining the military, going to church, and owning property
2. Obeying the law, taking responsibility for oneself and family, and serving on a jury ✓ Correct answer
3. Voting for a specific party, paying cash taxes, and volunteer firefighting
4. Learning both official languages, holding federal bonds, and joining a trade union

Why: Canadian citizens have responsibilities including obeying the law, taking responsibility for oneself and family, serving on a jury, voting in elections, helping others in the community, and protecting our heritage and environment.

1. The initial treaty between the French and the Iroquois confederacy
2. The Great Charter of Freedoms signed in 1215 that established the foundation of constitutional freedom ✓ Correct answer
3. The map drawn by Samuel de Champlain defining New France
4. The charter granting Arctic territorial sovereignty to the Hudson's Bay Company

Why: Signed in 1215 in England, the Magna Carta (Great Charter of Freedoms) established fundamental rights including freedom of conscience, habeas corpus, and the rule of law.

1. The Bill of Union 1840
2. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ✓ Correct answer
3. The Statute of Westminster
4. The Treaty of Paris

Why: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was entrenched in the Constitution of Canada in 1982 when the Constitution was patriated.

1. 1215 ✓ Correct answer
2. 1066
3. 1689
4. 1867

Why: Magna Carta was signed in England in 1215 and is the foundation of many Canadian freedoms.

1. France
2. Scotland
3. England ✓ Correct answer
4. Canada

Why: Magna Carta was signed in England in 1215; Canadians inherited its tradition of freedom under law.

1. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
2. The Great Charter of Freedoms ✓ Correct answer
3. The Royal Proclamation
4. The Bill of Rights

Why: Magna Carta (1215) is known as the Great Charter of Freedoms.

1. Freedom from paying taxes
2. Freedom to ignore jury duty
3. Freedom to vote more than once
4. Freedom of peaceful assembly ✓ Correct answer

Why: Fundamental freedoms include freedom of conscience and religion; thought, belief, opinion and expression; peaceful assembly; and association.

1. Freedom of association
2. Freedom of peaceful assembly
3. Mobility rights
4. Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression ✓ Correct answer

Why: Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression includes freedom of speech and of the press.

1. Freedom of conscience and religion
2. Freedom to carry weapons ✓ Correct answer
3. Freedom of association
4. Freedom of peaceful assembly

Why: The four fundamental freedoms are conscience and religion; thought, belief, opinion and expression; peaceful assembly; and association.

1. The right to vote in elections
2. The right to a free lawyer
3. The right to challenge unlawful detention by the state ✓ Correct answer
4. The right to enter and leave Canada

Why: Habeas corpus is the right to challenge unlawful detention by the state.

1. English common law ✓ Correct answer
2. The civil code of France
3. The Royal Proclamation of 1763
4. The Quebec Act

Why: Habeas corpus comes from English common law, one of the sources of Canadian law.

1. The United States Constitution ✓ Correct answer
2. English common law
3. The civil code of France
4. Laws passed by Parliament

Why: Canadian law comes from laws passed by Parliament and provincial legislatures, English common law, the civil code of France and the unwritten constitution inherited from Great Britain.

1. France
2. The United States
3. Great Britain ✓ Correct answer
4. Spain

Why: Canada inherited an unwritten constitution from Great Britain, alongside other sources of law.

1. 1867
2. 1982 ✓ Correct answer
3. 1960
4. 1931

Why: The Constitution was amended in 1982 to entrench the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

1. “Peace, order and good government”
2. “We the people of Canada, in order to form a more perfect union”
3. “From sea to sea, strong and free”
4. “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law” ✓ Correct answer

Why: The Charter begins by stating that Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.

1. The power of the monarchy over Parliament
2. Free trade with other nations
3. The authority of the provinces
4. Religious traditions and the dignity and worth of the human person ✓ Correct answer

Why: The phrase about the supremacy of God and the rule of law underlines the importance of religious traditions and the dignity and worth of the human person.

1. Vote in any province they visit
2. Live and work anywhere in Canada, enter and leave freely, and apply for a passport ✓ Correct answer
3. Own land in any country
4. Avoid paying provincial taxes when they move

Why: Mobility rights let Canadians live and work anywhere in Canada, enter and leave the country freely, and apply for a passport.

1. Aboriginal peoples must give up treaty rights
2. Aboriginal rights apply only in the territories
3. Charter rights will not adversely affect any treaty or other rights of Aboriginal peoples ✓ Correct answer
4. Aboriginal rights were replaced by the Charter

Why: The rights guaranteed in the Charter will not adversely affect any treaty or other rights or freedoms of Aboriginal peoples.

1. Equal status in Parliament and throughout the government ✓ Correct answer
2. English has priority in Parliament
3. French is used only in Quebec
4. Each province chooses one official language

Why: French and English have equal status in Parliament and throughout the federal government.

1. A fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity ✓ Correct answer
2. A policy only for new immigrants
3. A temporary government program
4. A rule that applies only in large cities

Why: Multiculturalism is a fundamental characteristic of Canadian heritage and identity; Canadians work hard to respect pluralism and live in harmony.

1. Mobility rights
2. Official language and minority language educational rights
3. The right to bear arms ✓ Correct answer
4. Multiculturalism

Why: The Charter summary includes mobility rights, Aboriginal peoples’ rights, official language and minority language educational rights, and multiculturalism.

1. Men have more legal rights
2. They are equal under the law ✓ Correct answer
3. Women have more legal rights
4. It depends on the province

Why: In Canada, men and women are equal under the law.

1. Peaceful protests and public gatherings
2. Practising a religion at home
3. Speaking a language other than English or French
4. Spousal abuse, “honour killings,” female genital mutilation and forced marriage ✓ Correct answer

Why: Canada does not tolerate barbaric cultural practices such as spousal abuse, honour killings, female genital mutilation or forced marriage; those guilty are severely punished.

1. Only citizens must obey the law
2. Government officials are exempt from the law
3. Laws apply only to adults
4. No person or group is above the law, and governments are also bound by law ✓ Correct answer

Why: Individuals and governments are regulated by laws and not by arbitrary actions; no person or group is above the law.

1. Joining a political party
2. Getting a job and taking care of one’s family ✓ Correct answer
3. Owning a home
4. Learning both official languages

Why: Getting a job, taking care of one’s family and working hard in keeping with one’s abilities are important Canadian values.

1. Decline if you prefer
2. Pay a fee instead
3. Serve, because it is a legal requirement ✓ Correct answer
4. Ask a family member to go

Why: Serving on a jury is a responsibility and a legal requirement; the justice system depends on impartial juries.

1. Both a right and a responsibility ✓ Correct answer
2. A right only for people over 25
3. Optional for new citizens
4. A duty only in federal elections

Why: Citizens have the right and responsibility to vote in federal, provincial or territorial and local elections.

1. Helping others in the community ✓ Correct answer
2. Owning property
3. Joining the military
4. Belonging to a religion

Why: Helping others in the community, for example by volunteering, is one of the responsibilities of citizenship.

1. Hunt in national parks
2. Build on historic sites
3. Avoid littering and waste, and preserve natural, cultural and architectural heritage ✓ Correct answer
4. Use as much energy as possible

Why: Every citizen has a role in avoiding waste and pollution while protecting Canada’s natural, cultural and architectural heritage.

1. Serving on a jury
2. Compulsory military service ✓ Correct answer
3. Voting in elections
4. Obeying the law

Why: Military service is not compulsory in Canada; responsibilities include obeying the law, jury duty, voting, helping others and protecting heritage and the environment.

1. Yes, for all men aged 18
2. Yes, for two years after citizenship
3. Only during elections
4. No, but serving is a noble way to contribute ✓ Correct answer

Why: There is no compulsory military service in Canada, but serving in the Canadian Forces is a noble way to contribute.

1. Running for city council
2. Joining a sports team
3. Working for a private company
4. Joining the local part-time navy reserves, militia or air reserves ✓ Correct answer

Why: Citizens can serve in the regular Canadian Forces or the part-time reserves, or in the Coast Guard and emergency services such as police and fire.

1. The Senate
2. The Coast Guard or emergency services such as police and firefighting ✓ Correct answer
3. Foreign armies
4. Private security firms abroad

Why: Canadians can gain valuable experience serving in the Coast Guard or emergency services like police forces and fire departments.

1. The United Nations
2. Provincial governments only
3. Our history, secured by Canadian law, reflecting shared traditions, identity and values ✓ Correct answer
4. The Constitution of the United States

Why: Canadian rights and responsibilities come from our history, are secured by Canadian law and reflect our shared traditions, identity and values.