The rights & responsibilities of citizenship

The Oath of Citizenship

New citizens swear or affirm faithful allegiance to the Sovereign, promise to observe Canada’s laws including the Constitution — which recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples — and pledge to fulfil their duties as Canadian citizens.

Applying for Citizenship

Canada is a constitutional monarchy, a parliamentary democracy and a federal state. For 400 years, settlers and immigrants have contributed to its diversity and richness. Citizenship is a two-way commitment: Canada offers rights and freedoms, and citizens accept responsibilities in return.

• Immigrants aged 18 to 54 must have adequate knowledge of English or French and must pass the citizenship test. Applicants 55 and over do not have to write the test.
• You must learn about voting procedures, Canada’s history, symbols, democratic institutions, geography, and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
• All test questions are based on this guide and on the subject areas set out in the Citizenship Regulations.

• The citizenship test is usually a written test, but it could be an interview; it covers two basics: knowledge of Canada, and adequate knowledge of English or French.
• If you pass and meet all requirements, you receive a Notice to Appear to Take the Oath of Citizenship, which gives the date, time and place of your ceremony.
• At the ceremony you take the Oath, sign the oath form, and receive your Canadian Citizenship Certificate.

Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship

Canadian rights and freedoms come from our history, are secured by Canadian law, and reflect shared traditions and values. Canadian law has several sources: laws passed by Parliament and the provincial legislatures, English common law, the civil code of France, and the unwritten constitution inherited from Britain. These secure an 800-year-old tradition of ordered liberty dating to Magna Carta (1215), the “Great Charter of Freedoms.” Habeas corpus — the right to challenge unlawful detention — comes from English common law. In 1982 the Constitution was amended to entrench the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

• Freedom of conscience and religion.
• Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of speech and of the press.
• Freedom of peaceful assembly.
• Freedom of association.

• Mobility Rights — live and work anywhere in Canada, enter and leave freely, and apply for a passport.
• Aboriginal Peoples’ Rights — the Charter will not adversely affect any treaty or other rights of Aboriginal peoples.
• Official Language Rights and Minority Language Educational Rights — English and French have equal status in Parliament and government.
• Multiculturalism — a fundamental characteristic of Canadian heritage, respecting pluralism and living in harmony.
• Democratic Rights — the right to vote and to run for office, with a maximum five-year term for legislatures.
• Legal Rights — life, liberty and security; protection from unreasonable search; the right to be told the reason for arrest, to retain counsel, and to a fair trial.
• Equality Rights — equal protection regardless of race, origin, colour, religion, sex, age or disability.

• Obeying the law — no person or group is above it (the rule of law).
• Taking responsibility for yourself and your family — getting a job and working hard.
• Serving on a jury when called — a legal requirement.
• Voting in federal, provincial/territorial and local elections.
• Helping others in the community through volunteering.
• Protecting and enjoying Canada’s heritage and environment.

Who We Are

Canada is known as a strong and free country, and has inherited the oldest continuous constitutional tradition in the world. It is the only constitutional monarchy in North America, committed to “Peace, Order and good Government” — a key phrase from the British North America Act of 1867. To understand what it means to be Canadian, it helps to know the three founding peoples: Aboriginal, French and British.

• Ancestors are believed to have migrated from Asia many thousands of years ago and were well established before European explorers arrived.
• Territorial rights were first guaranteed by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 (King George III), the basis for later treaties.
• From the 1800s to the 1980s, many Aboriginal children were placed in residential schools to assimilate them; the schools caused great harm. In 2008, Ottawa formally apologized.
• Three distinct groups today: First Nations (about half live on roughly 600 reserves), Inuit (“the people” in Inuktitut, across the Arctic), and Métis (mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry, mostly in the Prairies, speaking Michif).
• Roughly 65% First Nations, 30% Métis, 4% Inuit.

• There are about 18 million Anglophones and 7 million Francophones; most Francophones live in Quebec, but a million live in Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba.
• New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province.
• The Acadians are descendants of French colonists who settled from 1604; during the “Great Upheaval” (1755–1763) more than two-thirds were deported, yet their culture survived.
• Quebecers are mostly French-speaking descendants of about 8,500 settlers from the 1600s–1700s; in 2006 the House of Commons recognized that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada.

• Most Canadians were born here, but Canada is a “land of immigrants”: the largest origins are English, French, Scottish, Irish, German, Italian, Chinese, Aboriginal, Ukrainian, Dutch, South Asian and Scandinavian. Since the 1970s most newcomers come from Asia.
• The great majority of Canadians identify as Christian (Catholic the largest), with growing numbers of Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and people of no religion.
• Canada’s diversity includes gay and lesbian Canadians, who have full and equal protection under the law, including civil marriage.

Canada’s History

From the first peoples through European exploration, the rivalry of France and Britain, Confederation and westward expansion, this is one of the most heavily tested sections. The key names and dates below are worth knowing well.

• Native peoples lived off the land — the Huron-Wendat and Iroquois farmed and hunted; the Cree and Dene were hunter-gatherers; the Sioux followed the bison; the Inuit lived off Arctic wildlife.
• Vikings reached Labrador and Newfoundland about 1,000 years ago (L’Anse aux Meadows, a World Heritage site).
• 1497 — John Cabot, an Italian sailing for England, was the first to map the Atlantic shore.
• 1534–1542 — Jacques Cartier made three voyages, claimed the land for King Francis I, and recorded the Iroquoian word kanata (“village”), giving Canada its name.

• 1604 — first European settlement north of Florida (Port-Royal, Acadia). 1608 — Samuel de Champlain built a fortress at Québec City.
• Champlain allied with the Algonquin, Montagnais and Huron against the Iroquois confederation; the French and Iroquois made peace in 1701.
• The fur trade drove the economy; leaders like Jean Talon, Bishop Laval and Count Frontenac built a French empire reaching to the Gulf of Mexico.
• 1670 — the Hudson’s Bay Company received trading rights over the Hudson Bay watershed; the skilled canoe-men were the voyageurs and coureurs des bois.
• 1759 — Britain defeated France at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham at Québec City; both commanders, Wolfe and Montcalm, were killed. This marked the end of France’s empire in America.
• After the war, Britain renamed the colony the Province of Quebec; the French-speaking Catholics, known as habitants or Canadiens, worked to preserve their way of life.
• 1774 — the Quebec Act allowed religious freedom for Catholics, let them hold public office, and restored French civil law while keeping British criminal law. It is one of the constitutional foundations of Canada.

• 1776–83 — over 40,000 Loyalists fled the American Revolution to Nova Scotia and Quebec; Joseph Brant led Loyalist Mohawks; about 3,000 black Loyalists came north.
• First representative assembly elected in Halifax (1758); the Constitutional Act of 1791 split Quebec into Upper Canada (later Ontario) and Lower Canada (later Quebec), each with an elected assembly.
• Abolition of slavery: 1793 Upper Canada (Lt. Gov. John Graves Simcoe) moved toward abolition; Britain banned the slave trade in 1807 and abolished slavery in 1833; the Underground Railroad brought thousands of freedom-seekers to Canada.

• The U.S. invaded in June 1812, expecting an easy conquest. Major-General Sir Isaac Brock and Shawnee chief Tecumseh captured Detroit; Brock died at Queenston Heights.
• 1813 — Laura Secord walked 30 km to warn of an attack (Battle of Beaver Dams); Lt.-Col. de Salaberry and ~460 Canadiens turned back 4,000 Americans at Châteauguay. The Americans burned York (Toronto); in 1814 the British burned the White House in Washington.
• By 1814 the invasion had failed; the war ensured Canada would remain independent of the United States.

• After the 1837–38 rebellions, Lord Durham recommended uniting the Canadas and granting responsible government. Nova Scotia was first to attain it (1847–48); Baldwin & LaFontaine were key reformers, with Joseph Howe in Nova Scotia.
• 1840 — the Act of Union joined Upper and Lower Canada as the Province of Canada. Responsible government means the ministers of the Crown must have the support of a majority of elected representatives, and must resign if they lose a confidence vote — the system Canada still uses.
• Sir Leonard Tilley suggested “Dominion of Canada” (inspired by Psalm 72, “dominion from sea to sea”).
• July 1, 1867 — the British North America Act created the Dominion, uniting Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Sir John A. Macdonald (b. Jan 11, 1815, Scotland) was first Prime Minister; Sir George-Étienne Cartier was the key architect from Quebec.
• Confederation created two levels of government — federal and provincial — with each province electing its own legislature and controlling areas such as education and health. The men who made it happen are the Fathers of Confederation. Until 1982, July 1 was called Dominion Day; today it is Canada Day.

• Confederation means the union of the founding provinces into the new country, the Dominion of Canada, on July 1, 1867.
• Responsible government means that the ministers of the Crown must have the support of a majority of elected representatives in the assembly, and must resign if they lose a confidence vote — the system Canada still uses today.
• Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine, a champion of French-language rights, became the first head of a responsible government in Canada (1849).

• Expansion: 1867 (ON, QC, NS, NB) · 1870 Manitoba & NWT · 1871 BC · 1873 PEI · 1898 Yukon · 1905 Alberta & Saskatchewan · 1949 Newfoundland & Labrador · 1999 Nunavut.
• Louis Riel led the Métis; after the 1869 Red River resistance, Manitoba was created (1870); a second uprising in 1885 led to Riel’s execution — he is seen by many as the founder of Manitoba.
• PM Macdonald created the North West Mounted Police (1873) — today the RCMP; headquarters at Regina.
• Nov 7, 1885 — the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed (last spike by Donald Smith); built partly by Chinese labour subject to the Head Tax (apology in 2006). Sir Wilfrid Laurier became the first French-Canadian PM and encouraged western immigration.
• Women’s suffrage: founder Dr. Emily Stowe; Manitoba first to grant the vote (1916); most women gained the federal vote in 1918; Agnes Macphail became the first woman MP (1921); Quebec granted women the vote in 1940.

Modern Canada

Through two world wars, post-war prosperity, social change and scientific achievement, Canada became a fully independent nation with a strong international role.

• Over 600,000 Canadians served (population then ~8 million). The capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917 (10,000 killed or wounded) secured Canada’s reputation; April 9 is Vimy Day.
• General Sir Arthur Currie led the Corps in the victorious last hundred days. The war ended with the Armistice, November 11, 1918; in total 60,000 Canadians were killed.
• John McCrae wrote In Flanders Fields (1915).

• The Great Depression began with the 1929 stock-market crash; unemployment reached 27% in 1933. The Bank of Canada was created in 1934.
• Second World War (1939–1945) — over a million Canadians served (population 11.5 million); 44,000 were killed. Hard fighting at Hong Kong (1941) and the Dieppe raid (1942).
• D-Day, June 6, 1944 — 15,000 Canadians captured Juno Beach; the Canadian Army liberated the Netherlands (1944–45). Canada ended the war with the world’s third-largest navy.
• Japanese-Canadian internment occurred during the war; Ottawa apologized and compensated victims in 1988.

• Oil discovered in Alberta in 1947 began the modern energy industry; social programs grew (Unemployment Insurance 1940, Old Age Security, Canada/Quebec Pension Plans 1965, Canada Health Act).
• Canada helped found the UN and joined NATO and NORAD; it fought in the Korean War (1950–53) — 500 dead and 1,000 wounded — and many UN peacekeeping missions.
• Quebec’s Quiet Revolution (1960s) brought rapid change; the Official Languages Act (1969) followed, and in 1970 Canada helped found La Francophonie, an association of French-speaking nations; sovereignty was defeated in referenda in 1980 and 1995.
• The vote was extended to Japanese-Canadians (1948) and Aboriginal people (1960); today every citizen 18+ may vote.

• Group of Seven (founded 1920) painted the wilderness; Emily Carr painted the West Coast; Kenojuak Ashevak pioneered modern Inuit art.
• Basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith (1891); Terry Fox ran the Marathon of Hope (1980); Wayne Gretzky starred for the Edmonton Oilers; Paul Henderson scored the winning goal in the 1972 Summit Series.
• Inventions: the telephone (Bell), the snowmobile (Bombardier), standard time zones (Sandford Fleming), radio voice transmission (Fessenden), the cardiac pacemaker (John Hopps), the Canadarm, and the BlackBerry. Banting & Best discovered insulin, saving millions of lives.
• Lester B. Pearson won the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize for UN peacekeeping; in 2008 Canada apologized for residential schools.

How Canadians Govern Themselves

There are three key facts about Canada’s system: it is a federal state, a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. Responsibilities of the federal and provincial governments were defined in 1867 in the British North America Act (now the Constitution Act, 1867).

• Federal: defence, foreign policy, interprovincial trade, currency, navigation, criminal law and citizenship.
• Provincial: municipal government, education, health, natural resources, property and civil rights, and highways.
• Shared: agriculture and immigration. The three territories have governments and assemblies but not the status of provinces.

• Parliament has three parts: the Sovereign (King Charles III), the Senate and the House of Commons.
• The Sovereign is head of state — a non-partisan symbol of sovereignty and a guardian of constitutional freedoms; as Head of the Commonwealth, the Sovereign links Canada to many other nations.
• The Sovereign is represented federally by the Governor General (appointed on the PM’s advice, usually five years) and in each province by a Lieutenant Governor; in the territories a Commissioner plays a ceremonial role.
• The Prime Minister is head of government and directs the country; senators are appointed and serve to age 75; MPs are elected, traditionally every four years.
• In each province the Premier has a role like the PM’s. Members are called MLAs, MNAs (Quebec), MPPs (Ontario) or MHAs depending on the province.

• As a constitutional monarchy, Canada’s head of state is a hereditary Sovereign (Queen or King) who reigns in accordance with the Constitution — under the rule of law, not by personal power.
• The Sovereign is part of Parliament and plays an important, non-partisan role: the focus of citizenship and allegiance, a symbol of Canadian sovereignty, a guardian of constitutional freedoms, and a reflection of our history.
• There is a clear distinction between the head of state (the Sovereign, who is above politics) and the head of government (the Prime Minister, who actually directs the governing of the country).
• As Head of the Commonwealth, the Sovereign links Canada with more than 50 other nations that cooperate to advance shared goals.
• The Royal Family’s example of lifelong service encourages citizens to give their best to their country.
• Other constitutional monarchies include the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Spain and Japan.

Federal Elections

Canadians elect representatives to the House of Commons. Federal elections are held on the third Monday in October every four years, though the PM may ask the Governor General to call an earlier election.

• Canada is divided into electoral districts (ridings); each elects one MP — the candidate with the most votes wins.
• To vote you must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 on voting day, and on the voters’ list (from the National Register of Electors, run by Elections Canada).
• Voting is by secret ballot; no one — not family, employer or union — may insist you reveal how you voted. You can vote on election day, at advance polls, or by special ballot.

• The leader of the party with the most seats is invited by the Governor General to form the government and becomes Prime Minister.
• A majority government holds at least half the seats; a minority government holds less than half. A lost confidence vote (e.g. the budget) usually triggers an election.
• The PM chooses Cabinet ministers, who run government departments and propose most new laws.
• The opposition party with the most seats is the Official Opposition. Three major parties in the House: the Conservative Party, the New Democratic Party, and the Liberal Party.

• Federal (Members of Parliament — MPs): national defence, foreign policy, citizenship, criminal justice and policing (RCMP), international trade, Aboriginal affairs, and currency; shared: immigration, agriculture and environment.
• Provincial & Territorial (MLAs / MNAs / MPPs / MHAs): education, health care, natural resources, property and civil rights, and highways; shared: immigration, agriculture and environment.
• Municipal / local (mayor or reeve + councillors or aldermen): urban and regional planning, streets and roads, sanitation (garbage), snow removal, firefighting, ambulance and emergency services, recreation, public transit, and some local health and social services. Most large cities have their own municipal police.
• First Nations have band chiefs and councillors with major responsibilities on reserves — housing, schools and other services — and there are regional and national Aboriginal organizations that represent First Nations, Métis and Inuit to government.

The Justice System

The justice system guarantees everyone due process — the government must respect all the legal rights a person is entitled to. It rests on the rule of law, freedom under the law, democratic principles and the presumption of innocence. The law applies to everyone, including judges, politicians and police.

• The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court; the Federal Court handles federal matters.
• Most provinces have an appeal court and a trial court (sometimes the Court of Queen’s Bench or Supreme Court), plus provincial courts for lesser offences, family, traffic and small claims.

• The police keep people safe and enforce the law — ask them for help in an accident, theft, assault, a crime in progress, or a missing person.
• There are provincial police in Ontario and Quebec and municipal forces in all provinces; the RCMP enforces federal laws and serves as the provincial police everywhere except Ontario and Quebec.
• You may question police about their service or conduct; most forces have a complaints process. If you cannot pay for a lawyer, legal aid is often available free or at low cost.

Canadian Symbols

Canada has many important symbols — objects, events and people that carry special meaning and together express the national identity.

• The Crown has been a symbol of the state in Canada for 400 years; Canada has been a constitutional monarchy in its own right since Confederation in 1867. The Crown is a shared symbol of Parliament, the legislatures, the courts, the police and the Canadian Forces.
• The maple leaf flag was first raised in 1965; its red-white-red pattern comes from the flag of the Royal Military College, Kingston. Red and white have been Canada’s official colours since 1921 (assigned by King George V).
• The Canadian Red Ensign served as the flag for about 100 years; the Union Jack is the official Royal Flag. Provinces and territories have their own flags too.
• The maple leaf is Canada’s best-known symbol, adopted by French Canadians in the 1700s and worn on uniforms since the 1850s. The fleur-de-lys, a symbol of French royalty for over 1,000 years, was adopted on Quebec’s flag in 1948.

• After WWI, Canada adopted an official coat of arms and the motto A Mari Usque ad Mare (Latin for “from sea to sea”); the arms contain symbols of England, France, Scotland and Ireland plus red maple leaves.
• “O Canada” was proclaimed the national anthem in 1980; it was first sung in Québec City in 1880. The royal anthem, “God Save the Queen (or King),” may be played to honour the Sovereign.
• The Parliament Buildings in Ottawa are Gothic Revival; the Centre Block burned in a 1916 fire and was rebuilt by 1922 (only the Library survived). The Peace Tower (1927) honours the First World War and holds the Books of Remembrance.
• Other symbols include the ceremonial Mace of the House of Commons and the Snowbirds air demonstration squadron.

• Ice hockey — developed in Canada in the 1800s — is the most popular spectator sport and the national winter sport; the NHL plays for the Stanley Cup (donated by Governor General Lord Stanley in 1892); the Clarkson Cup (2005) is for women’s hockey.
• Lacrosse, first played by Aboriginal peoples, is the official summer sport. Curling (brought by Scottish pioneers) is popular, and soccer has the most registered players of any game.
• Canadian football (distinct from the American game) competes for the Grey Cup, donated in 1909.
• The beaver was adopted centuries ago as a Hudson’s Bay Company symbol and appears on the five-cent coin.

• Canada began its own honours system with the Order of Canada in 1967, the centennial of Confederation.
• The Victoria Cross (V.C.) is the highest honour available to Canadians, for the most conspicuous bravery; it has been awarded to 96 Canadians since 1854.
• Public holidays & key dates: New Year’s Day (Jan 1), Sir John A. Macdonald Day (Jan 11), Good Friday / Easter Monday, Vimy Day (Apr 9), Victoria Day (Sovereign’s birthday), Fête nationale du Québec (Jun 24), Canada Day (Jul 1), Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day (Nov 11), Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day (Nov 20), Christmas (Dec 25) and Boxing Day (Dec 26).

Canada’s Economy

Canada has always been a trading nation, with one of the ten largest economies in the world.

• Service industries — transportation, education, health care, construction, banking, communications, retail, tourism and government. More than 75% of working Canadians work in services.
• Manufacturing industries — paper, high-tech and aerospace equipment, automobiles, machinery, food and clothing.
• Natural-resource industries — forestry, fishing, agriculture, mining and energy; a large share of exports are resource commodities.

• Free trade with the United States began in 1988; Mexico joined in 1994 under NAFTA (now succeeded by CUSMA).
• The United States is Canada’s largest trading partner — over three-quarters of exports go there, the biggest bilateral trade relationship in the world.
• The Peace Arch at Blaine, Washington, inscribed “children of a common mother,” marks the world’s longest undefended border.
• Canada is a member of the leading industrialized economies (the G7).

Canada’s Regions

Canada is the second-largest country on earth (about 10 million km²), bordered by three oceans — the Pacific (west), the Atlantic (east) and the Arctic (north) — and to the south by the Canada–U.S. boundary. There are ten provinces and three territories, each with its own capital, grouped into five regions. You should know the capital of your own province or territory as well as the national capital.

• Atlantic Provinces — cool winters and cool, humid summers; an economy rooted in fishing, farming, forestry and mining.
• Central Canada (Ontario & Quebec) — cold winters, warm humid summers; the industrial heartland producing over three-quarters of Canada’s manufactured goods.
• Prairie Provinces — mostly dry, with cold winters and hot summers; rich farmland and energy.
• West Coast (British Columbia) — a temperate climate from warm Pacific airstreams.
• Northern Territories — long cold winters, short cool summers; the “Land of the Midnight Sun.”

Focus on Alberta

Not all of this is in the booklet, but the test includes questions about your own province — its capital, your representatives, and who holds key offices. Since you’re in Alberta, these are the facts most likely to come up. The names of office-holders change over time, so confirm the current ones before your test.

• Capital: Edmonton. Largest city: Calgary.
• Alberta joined Confederation on September 1, 1905 (together with Saskatchewan).
• Named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, a daughter of Queen Victoria; Lake Louise shares the name.
• One of the three Prairie provinces; the most populous of the three.
• The provincial legislature has 87 seats; members are called MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly).

• Premier (head of government): Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party.
• Lieutenant Governor (the King’s representative in Alberta): Salma Lakhani.
• Head of state: King Charles III (represented federally by the Governor General, and in Alberta by the Lieutenant Governor).
• You should also know your own MLA and your federal MP, and the name of your municipality and its mayor.

• Alberta is Canada’s largest producer of oil and gas; the oil sands in the north are a major energy source. Oil was discovered in Alberta in 1947.
• Famous for cattle ranching, making Canada a major beef producer.
• Five national parks, including Banff (established 1885), Canada’s first; the Badlands hold world-famous dinosaur fossils.

Study Questions & Final Review

The guide ends with practice Study Questions (p.52) drawn entirely from its content, a For More Information section (p.54), the legal Authorities (the Citizenship Act and Regulations, p.64), and Memorable Quotes (p.66) from leaders such as Laurier and Diefenbaker (these quotes are not tested).

• Sample themes the guide flags: three responsibilities of citizenship; the meaning of the Remembrance Day poppy; how MPs are chosen; the four freedoms; who the founding peoples and the Métis are; the meaning of “responsible government” and Confederation; the three branches and three levels of government; and your own province/territory’s capital and representatives.
• Most-tested sections: Rights & Responsibilities, History, and How Canadians Govern Themselves — but every section is testable, and geography (provinces & capitals) is reliably asked.