On March 14th, 2025, Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada's 24th prime minister. If you think you know your Canadian history, why not take this quiz on Canada's prime ministers. Good luck.
THE GREAT CANADIAN PRIME MINISTERS QUIZ
1. To date, who was sworn in as Canada's youngest prime minister?
A. Stephen Harper
B. Joe Clark
C. Kim Campbell
D. Alexander Mackenzie
E. Justin Trudeau
2. Who was Canada's prime minister during the darkest years of the Great Depression - from 1930 to 1935?
A. Louis St. Laurent
B. Arthur Meighen
C William Lyon Mackenzie King
D. R.B. Bennett
E. Sir Robert Borden
3. Who was the only Canadian prime mister born in British Columbia?
A. Kim Campbell
B. John Turner
C. Paul Martin
D. John Diefenbaker
E, Brian Mulroney
4. Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, was born in Glasgow, Scotland. Did he speak with a Scottish accent?
A. Yes, he spoke with a Scottish accent.
B. No, his family moved to London, England when he was five years old, so he spoke with an English accent when he left England at the age of 19.
C. His family immigrated to what is now Kingston, Ontario in 1820 when he was five years old. So, he did not speak with a Scottish accent.
D. His family moved to Wales when he was five years old, so he spoke with a Welsh accent when he left Wales at the age of 18.
E. None of the above.
5. Who was the only Canadian prime minister to win a Nobel Peace Prize?
A. Pierre Trudeau
B. William Lyon Mackenzie King
C. Louis St. Laurent
D. Sir Robert Borden
E. Lester B. Pearson
6. Louis St. Laurent was Prime Minister of Canada from 1948 until 1957. What was St. Laurent's nickname?
A. Lucky Louis
B. Uncle Louis
C. Liberal Louis
D. St. Lawrence
E. None of the above
7. W.L. Mackenzie King's Liberals defeated R.B. Bennett's Conservatives in the 1935 election. What was the slogan King used in that election campaign?
A. King and Country
B. Canada's King
C. Conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription
D. King or Chaos
E. A better Canada
8. R.B. Bennett was the 11th Canadian prime minister. What do the initials R.B. in R.B. Bennett stand for?
A. Richard Bedford
B. Robert Bradshaw
C. Randolph Byron
D. Raymond Barkley
E. Russell Blake
9. Two Canadian prime ministers have died while in office. Sir John A. Macdonald died of a stroke on June 6, 1891, while still in office. Can you name the other Canadian PM who died while in office?
A. Sir Charles Tupper
B. Arthur Meighen
C. Sir John Sparrow David Thompson
D. Louis St. Laurent
E. William Lyon Mackenzie King
10. Which Canadian prime minister proclaimed that the 20th century would be Canada's century?
A. Sir Robert Borden
B. Sir Wilfrid Laurier
C. Arthur Meighen
D. William Lyon Mackenzie King
E. Sir John A. Macdonald
11. Which Canadian prime minister owned Irish Terriers? He named his dogs "Pat."
A. Pierre Trudeau
B. John Diefenbaker
C. Joe Clark
D. Brian Mulroney
E. W.L. Mackenzie King
ANSWERS
1, B
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| Joe Clark in 1979 |
Joe Clark was born High River, Alberta, on June 5, 1939. He was sworn in as prime minister on June 4th, 1979 at the age of 39.
2. D.
R.B. Bennett was prime minister during the most difficult years of the Great Depression - from 1930 to 1935. Bennett was born in Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick. He retired two years after his party was hit by a crushing defeat in the 1935 election. He then moved to England where he served as a member of the British House of Lords as Viscount Bennett, from 1941 to 1947. On June 27, 1947, R.B. Bennett died of a heart attack in Surrey, England. He is the only Canadian PM not buried in Canada. In 1935, during his time as Canada's prime minister, the Bank of Canada and the Canadian Wheat Board were created.
3. A
Kim Campbell was the first female Prime minister of Canada and the first to be born in British Columbia. She was born on March 10, 1947 in Port Alberni, B.C.
4. C
Sir John A.'s family immigrated to what is now Kingston, Ontario in 1820 when he was five years old. So, he did not speak with a Scottish accent.
5. E
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for devising a peacekeeping formula that settled the Suez Crisis of 1956. Pearson was a successful diplomat. In 1945, As Canada's Ambassador to Washington, he played a significant role in establishing the United Nations. In 1948, he became Canada's External Affairs Minister in the government of Louis St. Laurent. Pearson became leader of the Liberal Party in 1958 and Prime Minister of Canada in 1963 He led the party through two minority Parliaments. He resigned as party leader in December 1967 and Pierre Trudeau was chosen to succeed him as Liberal Leader Although Pearson never led a majority government, it was during his time as PM that the Canada Pension Plan was introduced, the distinctive Canadian Maple Leaf flag officially replaced the red ensign (February 15, 1965) and the Canada-U.S. Automotive Agreement (Auto Pact) was signed (January 1965). Lester Pearson died in Ottawa in 1972 at the age of 65.
6. B
Lous St, Laurent's nickname was Uncle Louis. St. Laurent was instrumental in building the St. Lawrence Seaway in co-operation with the United States.
7. D
In the 1935 election, W.L. Mackenzie King's Liberals used the slogan "King or Chaos." The Liberals won a majority government, defeating R.B. Bennett's Conservatives. The central issue was the economy , which was still in the depths of the Great Depression.
8. A
The initials R.B. stand for Richard Bedford.
9. C
Sir John Sparrow David Thompson, Canada's fourth prime minister, died while in office, on December 12, 1894. Thompson, a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, suffered a heart attack at a luncheon at Windsor Castle in England. He had just been sworn in as a member of the Imperial Privy Council by Queen Victoria. As a measure of respect, the British government sent his body home to Halifax in a battleship. He was 47 years old at the time of his passing.
10, B
On October 14, 1904, Sir Wilfrid Laurier boldly predicted that the 20th century would be Canada's century. In a speech at Toronto's Massy Hall, Laurier said the following: "Let me tell you, my fellow countrymen, that all the signs point this way, that the 20th century shall be the century of Canada and Canadian development . . .. For the next 100 years, Canada shall be the star towards which all men who love freedom and progress shall come."
11. E
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| Mackenzie King and dog "Pat" |
W.L Mackenzie King was Canada's tenth prime minister. He served as PM for three terms - 1921-1926. 1926-1930 and 1935-1948, and he led Canada through World War II. A lifelong bachelor, King was a solitary man, and quite eccentric. After King's death, the public learned that he had visited mediums to try to communicate with Laurier, FDR, his diseased mother (Isabel Mackenzie), and others.
In 1924, a six-month old Irish Terrier was given to King as a gift. The dog became his constant companion. He named the dog "Pat," the same name that he would call the two other Irish Terriers that he owned following the original Pat's death. King doted on "Pat" and according to accounts, he believed that the dog was inhabited by the spirit of his late mother. The first "Pat" lived for 17 years and died in 1941 The second Pat was acquired in 1941, but only lived for six years. The third "Pat" survived Mackenzie King's death in July of 1950.
- Joanne Madden
