From whom are the Métis descended?

May 25, 2007 2:12 AM

Canadian Citizenship Practice Test.Who were the United Empire Loyalists? Why is the British North America Act important in Canadian history? List four rights Canadian citizens have. Which province is the only officially bilingual province? On what date did Nunavut become a territory? What do you call the Queen’s representative in the provinces? And more.
posted by three blind mice (44 comments total)

Australian Citizenship Practice Test.
posted by Jimbob at 2:20 AM on May 25, 2007

I was ten years old when I became a Canadian citizen. I was asked to name the provinces and that was it. I guess it's gotten tougher as the years passed — and that's just the practice exam!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:57 AM on May 25, 2007

I've been studying for the British equivalent - and in the first few pages of the study book, they get the history wrong. They are so concerned about making a book of glossy, nation-building photos they couldn't even bother with some minor editting and fact-checking. Not to mention that the whole of the book is written in this inane, "aren't we a wonderful country" style. Did you know that Huguenots came to Britain to escape persecution? Which is true, only they forgot to mention that at the same time Catholics were leaving Britain to escape their own persecution. They also so kindly mention how William the Conqueror encouraged Jewish people to settle in England - but ever so conveniently "forgot" to mention how there were period pogroms against them, the blood libel was first recorded in England, and then they were expelled in 1290 and officially not allowed to return (though Cromwell turned a blind eye in the 1650s to the small community in London, because he needed their financial support). So hundreds of years of anti-semitism in England have been entirely ignored by this official government publication who wants to establish Britain's multicultural credentials, but has no interest in teaching people (native born or immigrant) really what the history of the country is, and how it's changed.

I love Britain, I've spent the last several years studying it (literally - I'm working on a degree in British history) - but this book is some of the worst nation building claptrap I've encountered, except for the Canadian equivalent.

And for this, I had to pay £10 for the book, and another £34 eventually for the test, based on the inaccurate book.

I think these tests are stupid - knowing the current premier of BC isn't a a measure of how well you know what Canada is. If they really cared that people show an understanding of the nation before joining as a citizen, they should interview them, ask them real questions. Not this namby-pamby parrotting of nationalist myths and the locations of provincial capitols.

Blazecock: are you sure you did the official test? When my husband became a Canadian citizen in the 1990s, only his parents and his brother who was over 16 did the test. Children under 16 become citizens if one of their parents pass.
posted by jb at 3:05 AM on May 25, 2007

Blazecock: are you sure you did the official test?

Probably not, which explains why there's such a disparity.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:08 AM on May 25, 2007

jb, is that how much the whole process costs - just £44? I plan to get my citizenship, as well. [The idea of being taxed in two countries doesn't appeal to me]
posted by chuckdarwin at 3:09 AM on May 25, 2007

It's £44 plus having to swear allegiance to the Queen. How'd you like the sound of that?
posted by biffa at 3:27 AM on May 25, 2007

1. They built the Death Star.
2. It told the Yanks to sod off.
3. The right to: say "eh"; tap maple trees; eat poutine; and club baby seals.
4. Je me ne souviens pas.
5. On a Monday
6. "Fabulous!"

What do I win?
posted by rob511 at 3:28 AM on May 25, 2007 [2 favorites]

The right to stay south of the border.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:38 AM on May 25, 2007

No, that's £44 to just get the book and the test which allow you to apply for indefinite leave to stay (like landed immigrant in Canada, only with fewer rights). I have no idea yet how much it costs to get the indefinite leave to stay visa, but my last spousal visa for 2 years cost $500 USD, so I imagine something like that. And then it's another couple or more years to even be allowed to apply for citizenship, even when you marry a British citizen. The Home Office will get its money.
posted by jb at 3:50 AM on May 25, 2007

I took the test last year. I studied like a bastard, but the thing turned out to be insanely easy. The one question that you have to get right goes something like this:

Who can vote in Canadian elections?

1. shopkeepers
2. university professors
3. Canadian citizens aged 18 and over

Difficult, eh?

Shame about the whole pledging/affirming allegiance to queeny, though. This is being challenged, though. Personally, I took the "heirs and successors" bit to mean the people of Canada, but others disagree with the oath more violently. Of course, there's always the converse view.

Oh, chuckdarwin, if you're a US citizen, you'll have to report all earnings and possibly pay US taxes whatever other citizenship you take. It's the way they do things south of the border.
posted by scruss at 3:53 AM on May 25, 2007

A few more questions for prospective Canadians

Who are Les Habitants?
What's a Touk?
Pass that Molson willYa?
posted by Gungho at 4:03 AM on May 25, 2007

Who are the Aboriginal peoples of Canada?
b. The descendents of the first immigrants to Canada
c. The first people to live in Canada

That's a tough one... The first people to live in Canada are long gone, but their descendents might still be called aboriginal people, so 'c' makes sense. However, even if by "people" we take c. to actually mean "peoples", it's still pretty unlikely that whoever the very first ones were are at all remembered today. We sometimes call their descendents "First Nations," which sort of makes sense since the to the extent that this group of nations has a collective identity, it probably is something like whatever came first. "Descendents of the first immigrants" is still more technically accurate, but it wasn't really called Canada then. But if we're only counting from when it was, the first people to live here would include many recent immigrants, so that can't be relevant and 'b' is more correct. On the other hand, "aboriginal" does etymologically suggest 'c'. Is that too obvious an answer? Normally when they include a general approximately correct answer, and then a technically more correct one, you're supposed to choose the latter. But is it sensible to give the test writers that much credit for devious trickery? Or is it official government policy to believe that there were people living in Canada right from the time the world was created? Or maybe "immigrants" given its common usage in talking about Canadian history has modified "Canada" in b. to mean the country we know today, while "Canada" in c. means the same place before it was called Canada. Yes, that's probably it. I'm going with 'c'.
posted by sfenders at 4:30 AM on May 25, 2007

Who are the Aboriginal peoples of Canada?

a. The first European settlers to arrive in Canada
b. The descendents of the first immigrants to Canada
c. The first people to live in Canada
d. The first settlers of Newfoundland

Well done sfenders.
posted by three blind mice at 4:59 AM on May 25, 2007

Who were the United Empire Loyalists?

My wife's family were, but then they got over it and we got over it and they moved back a hundred or so years later. They still have a nice farm up in New Brunswick we go to in the summer though, so that's nice.
posted by Pollomacho at 5:07 AM on May 25, 2007

What's a Touk and how do you spell it?

Fixed that one for you. SPOILERS!!!!!

It's a knitted hat. Toque

END OF SPOILERS!!!!!11
posted by dobbs at 5:09 AM on May 25, 2007

Hey, I got a perfect score! Must be from all those years living in what almost amounts to a Canadian enclave in Florida.
posted by lordrunningclam at 5:36 AM on May 25, 2007

Didn't do so well the second time. I always thought "Canada" came from "Acadia," same as "Cajun." Oh well.
posted by lordrunningclam at 5:40 AM on May 25, 2007

biffa wrote: It's £44 plus having to swear allegiance to the Queen. How'd you like the sound of that?

There's an alternate version now.

I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfil my duties and obligations as a British citizen.

UK test

scruss wrote Oh, chuckdarwin, if you're a US citizen, you'll have to report all earnings and possibly pay US taxes whatever other citizenship you take. It's the way they do things south of the border.

Not if I renounce my US citizenship.
posted by chuckdarwin at 6:05 AM on May 25, 2007

I took the online version & passed with flying colors a while ago -- after reading this yesterday, I think my Canadian-test-passing-proficiency might come in handy.

Any of you north of the borderites need a knitting author with a bad case of the US-dismayal? I can knit toques, even!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 6:08 AM on May 25, 2007

Christ, I was wondering what a Touk was. I actually figured it referred to the Montreal Shish Taouk controversy.
posted by ~ at 6:10 AM on May 25, 2007

3.2/km² is quite enough for my tastes. Sorry yanks, country's full. /Slams door
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 6:19 AM on May 25, 2007

If you live abroad and hold US Citizenship you are only on the hook for taxes you earned on income you made in the US (or working for the US government). You have to file a return, but that doesn't mean you have to pay.

*The more you know...*
posted by Pollomacho at 6:19 AM on May 25, 2007

I'm studying for the US citizenship test. I'm no student of history, but it too is rather easy (What are the colors of the US flag?). I thought I better study, anyhow. For this I had to pay $400. I will eventually have to swear allegiance to the US. Is a pattern emerging here?
posted by normy at 6:22 AM on May 25, 2007

If you live abroad and hold US Citizenship you are only on the hook for taxes you earned on income you made in the US (or working for the US government).

Not quite true Pollomacho. You are liable for US tax on income earned abroad, but you receive a one-for-one credit for taxes paid on the income in a foreign country. Since foreign taxes are often higher than those in the US, most people end up not owing any US tax. (At least that's my situation.)

And a funny side note on this... when Bush passed his "tax cut" he also wiped out the USD80,000 exemption that used to exist on foreign earned income. US citizens working abroad for the UN (as an example) are exempt from local tax and as long as they earned less than 80k there was no tax owed to Uncle Sam. The impact on my wife who was working for the IAEA in Vienna at the time was a huge, massive tax increase. Bastards. Bush's "tax cut" was a massive tax increase totally targeted on UN employees.
posted by three blind mice at 6:38 AM on May 25, 2007

Poliomacho: did you read that thing you linked to?

You generally must report your foreign income in terms of U.S. dollars and, with one exception (see Fulbright Grant, later), you must pay taxes due on it in U.S. dollars.
posted by mkb at 6:41 AM on May 25, 2007

dobbs' toque is too tight.

normy, don't worry about pledging allegiance. Bush did that, and look what he's been up to.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:46 AM on May 25, 2007

I guess it's gotten tougher as the years passed — and that's just the practice exam!

Not really - my husband just took the exam this year, and it's not that hard. The practice page implies that it's quite long... but what they seem to have here is about four possible tests combined as the real one only has 20 questions. And if you give the booklet they send out prior to your test a good read over, you've got it covered, as it's nearly word for word out of the book.
posted by Zinger at 6:49 AM on May 25, 2007

Yes, see section 4 - Foreign Earned Income and Housing: Exclusion - Deduction

You generally must report your foreign income in terms of U.S. dollars and, with one exception (see Fulbright Grant, later), you must pay taxes due on it in U.S. dollars

In other words, you have to report your earnings in US dollar amounts on your tax return (as opposed to pounds or yen) and if you owe taxes you have to pay them in US dollars, that is, if you don't qualify for the exclusion or you earn more than $82,400 (above which you would be taxed, minus the amount of taxes that the country you live in took out if it is a treaty holder with the US).
posted by Pollomacho at 6:51 AM on May 25, 2007

2 easy steps to becoming a U.S. Citizen:

1) Be Mexican
2) Be able to cross a river
posted by tadellin at 7:03 AM on May 25, 2007

I was 18 when I did my test and had lived in Canada since I was a baby. I was really freaked out by the practice test--which was far and away harder than that one, with little weird details about the political process and obscure history--and studied my ass off. When we got there, I had an oral test. It consisted of 3 questions: How many provinces are there, who is your MP, and I forget the third, but it was equally simplistic. Then we went to a room with a bunch of people, swore allegiance to the Queen, got a bible (not from the gov't) and a picture with a Mountie. As glad as I was that it was so easy, I was a little pissed for all the crazy-making stress the practice test put me through.
posted by carmen at 7:18 AM on May 25, 2007

C'mon now, is the test really this hard now? And I'm not saying that because I got 3 questions wrong. My family became Canadian citizens when I was in the third grade. Because I was so young I didn't have to do much except wave a Canadian flag, eat some maple leaf cake, and sing the national anthem at a ceremony (which was like the coolest thing, ever!) My parents and older sister studied a little bit but I don't think the questions were anywhere near as difficult as this practise test. My mum barely speaks English so my sister translated the answers for her to the test-person, and the questions were pretty much aligned with carmen's description.
posted by Menomena at 7:32 AM on May 25, 2007 [1 favorite]

Me mum took the test, and oh so incorrectly chose to 'affirm' rather than swear. She was denied citizenship. The story goes the judge / test giver had a crucifex around her neck...
posted by acro at 7:53 AM on May 25, 2007

I wasn't given the option to affirm, a violation of my beliefs, but I affirmed anyway.
posted by scruss at 8:17 AM on May 25, 2007

Hey, I got a perfect score! Must be from all those years living in what almost amounts to a Canadian enclave in Florida.

How did you do that? I was really horrified at how awful a citizen I was until I realised that there were a couple glitchy questions where they only allowed you one answer per two questions and then marked them both wrong anyways.
posted by carolr at 8:27 AM on May 25, 2007

Here's a hint rob511, it's not Quebec.

Please play again.
posted by tiamat at 8:35 AM on May 25, 2007

Christ, I was wondering what a Touk was. I actually figured it referred to the Montreal Shish Taouk controversy.

Damn, ~, now that's important information every prospective Canadian needs! All those 3am line-ups on St Laurent, all for an imposter. Free the Schawarma! Vive le Quebec Libaniase!

Now if someone out there's got the inside scoop on the origins of the "Nova Scotia-style" donair, I'll be all set for sandwich ordering from coast to coast.
posted by gompa at 10:32 AM on May 25, 2007

That's Libanaise . . .

*hangs head in shame, moves to Sherbrooke*
posted by gompa at 10:40 AM on May 25, 2007

Vive le Quebec Libanais! -- by gods, you've got my vote, although that practice quiz is going to require some updating.
posted by ~ at 12:05 PM on May 25, 2007

Now if someone out there's got the inside scoop on the origins of the "Nova Scotia-style" donair, I'll be all set for sandwich ordering from coast to coast.

I'm not sure there's much of an inside scoop here. King of Donair claims to have invented them and they're every university student's favourite meal here. I must admit, I didn't even realise that donairs were something that had to have been invented before I moved to Halifax.
posted by carolr at 2:11 PM on May 25, 2007

I miss donairs.
posted by joannemerriam at 4:56 PM on May 25, 2007

I took the 20-question test and got 18 right.

I've seen this test before, and I didn't do as well that time (Ontario and Quebec seem more eastern than central to me).
posted by oaf at 8:35 PM on May 25, 2007

I have no idea yet how much it costs to get the indefinite leave to stay visa

Are you sitting down?

It's £950.
posted by randomination at 7:24 AM on May 26, 2007

Ontario and Quebec seem more eastern than central to me
posted by oaf at 11:35 PM on May 25

Geographically, you're right. The centre of Canada is right around Winnipeg. My Atlantic Canadian friends and I used to refer to Ontario as the Middle East.
posted by joannemerriam at 10:04 AM on May 26, 2007

I use this practise test in the "introduction to the internet" classes I teach. It is great when the New Canadians sail through with perfect scores and the (few) racist born-in-Canada Canadians fail. Then they say they don't need to know about Canada because they were born here darnit!
posted by saucysault at 7:24 PM on May 26, 2007