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The annual Canada Day quiz

Illustration by Claire Ryan Whistler 1. Canada's most recent census shows a new population total for Whistler. What is it? a) 10,967 b) 11,854 c) 11,962 d) 12,542 2.
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Illustration by Claire Ryan

 

Whistler

1. Canada's most recent census shows a new population total for Whistler. What is it?

a) 10,967

b) 11,854

c) 11,962

d) 12,542

2. In 2016, the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) updated its Economic Partnership Initiative report, which showed the resort now has an annual Gross Domestic Product of $1.53 billion per year. How much tax revenue does Whistler generate every year for government coffers?

a) $500 million

b) $600 million

c) $450 million

d) $350 million

3. The newly reformed Transportation Advisory Group (TAG) first met in December 2015 to find solutions to Whistler's traffic congestion. What year was the original TAG first formed?

a) 1998

b) 1999

c) 1996

d) 2004

4. The RMOW recently purchased the Parkhurst lands — 81 hectares of historic green space on the north side of Green Lake — which popular local hike is located on the land?

a) Train Wreck

b) Ghost Town

c) Garibaldi Gun Range

d) Plumbus Falls

5. Two new parks in the Rainbow neighbourhood were recently named via public input — Alpenglow and Boulder — which suggestion came third?

a) Sunnyvale Park

b) Wilhelmsen Park

c) Parky McParkface

d) Lenny's Park

6. A new solid waste bylaw was recently introduced, requiring all businesses, stratas and homeowners to separate their waste into three streams: waste to landfill, compost and recycling. Where does Whistler ship its garbage?

a) Squamish

b) Pemberton

c) We burn it

d) Washington State

7. Vail Resorts announced it would buy local mountain operator Whistler Blackcomb in August of 2016 — how much was the "friendly takeover" worth?

a) $1.4 billion

b) $1.8 billion

c) $960 million

d) 2.3 billion

8. Also in 2016, Whistler Blackcomb announced the largest single investment in the company's history, with the $345-million Renaissance project. Which of the following is not a part of Renaissance?

a) An indoor waterpark

b) A mountaintop suspension bridge

c) A mountain coaster

d) Free, resort-wide transit

9. Whistler Blackcomb COO Dave Brownlie announced his resignation from the company in May. What is Brownlie planning to do now?

a) Travel the world by sailboat

b) Become COO of Vail Resorts

c) Become a ski bum

d) Run for mayor of Whistler

10. Whistler's latest Community Satisfaction Survey showed that 59 per cent of permanent residents believe local government officials are making decisions in the best interests of the community all or most of the time, compared to 78 per cent in 2015. When is the next municipal election?

a) Nov. 23, 2018

b) Oct. 20, 2018

c) Nov. 23, 2017

d) Sept. 15, 2017

Answers

1. b) Whistler's population jumped 21 per cent since the 2011 census.

2. a) Whistler generates $500 million every year ($1.37 million a day) in tax revenue for federal, provincial and municipal coffers, and the resort is responsible for about 25 per cent of the entire annual tourism export revenue of B.C., up from 21.5 per cent in 2012.

3. c) Whistler's original TAG was formed in 1996 and disbanded in 2012.

4. b) Whistler's "Ghost Town" hike consists of former homes of settlers on the Parkhurst Lands. The RMOW plans to preserve the area as a historical site.

5. c) Parky McParkface was the committee's third choice (Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden couldn't announce it with a straight face).

6. d) Whistler has shipped its waste to the Roosevelt Regional Landfill in Washington State since closing its own landfill in 2005.

7. a) The $1.4-billion deal was officially completed in October 2016.

8. d) While the Town of Vail offers free transit for residents and visitors, no commitment has been made in Whistler to this point, despite Whistler Blackcomb now being under the umbrella of Vail Resorts.

9. c) Brownlie told Pique that being a ski bum was "No. 1 on (his) list" as it was something he'd never had an opportunity to do.

10. b) British Columbians will vote for new mayors, councillors, regional district area directors, school trustees and more on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018.

 

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This 3,185-kilometre river is the third longest in North America. shutterstock.com

Canadiana

1. Which former prime minister is featured on the Canadian $100 bill?

a) Wilfred Laurier

b) John A. MacDonald

c) William Lyon Mackenzie King

d) Robert Borden

2. In what year did Canada adopt its current flag?

a) 1942

b) 1867

c) 1890

d) 1965

3. How many times has Canada hosted the Olympics on its own soil?

a) Four

b) Two

c) Three

d) Six

4. Journalists Scott Abott and Chris Haney were responsible for which of the following Canadian inventions?

a) Blackberry

b) Trivial Pursuit

c) Light beer

d) Timbits

5. The U.S. has invaded Canada (and its pre-Confederation colonies) several times, but the two most famous instances were in which years?

a) 1820 and 1770

b) 1775 and 1812

c) 1860 and 1812

d) 1900 and 1775

6. Which Canadian lake disappears every year?

a) Jane Lake

b) Medicine Lake

c) Spotted Lake

d) Lake Huron

7. This 3,185-kilometre river, which originates in Canada, is the third longest in North America and one of the world's most important waterways for salmon breeding.

a) Mackenzie River

b) Fraser River

c) Yukon River

d) Milk River

8. This Canadian political leader led the campaign to introduce the continent's first single-payer, universal healthcare program.

a) Tommy Douglas

b) Woodrow Lloyd

c) Christy Clark

d) Robert Stanfield

9. The Hudson's Bay Company is the English-speaking world's oldest chartered trading company. What product gave the company its start?  

a) Beavers

b) Fur

c) Racoon hats

d) Thermal underwear

10. Before the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick became "one Dominion under the name of Canada" on July 1, 1867, there were close to a dozen names proposed for the northern half of North America in the lead-up to Confederation. Which of the following names was NOT formally proposed?

a) Britannia

b) Efisga

c) Hochelaga

d) Victoria

Answers

1. d)

2. d) Out of three choices, George Stanley's maple leaf design, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was selected. The flag made its first official appearance on February 15, 1965; the date is now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day.

3. c) Canada has won at least one medal at every Olympics it has competed at. It hosted the Summer Games in 1976 in Montreal, the Winter Games in 1988 in Calgary, and, of course, the 2010 Winter Games in Whistler and Vancouver.

4. b) Trivial Pursuit was conceived on Dec. 15, 1979 while Haney was a picture editor at the Montreal Gazette, and Abbott was a sports journalist for The Canadian Press. The friends were drinking beer and playing a game of Scrabble when they decided to invent their own game.

5. b) The Invasion of Quebec in 1775 was the first major military campaign by the newly formed Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The goal of the mission was to gain control of the British Province of Québec and convince French-speaking Canadians to join their side of the war.

Ill-prepared American forces once again invaded British Canada in 1812 after a series of economic sanctions were imposed on the U.S. by France and Britain. Aided by thousands of First Nations and Métis fighters, Canada was able to mostly stave off American troops, winning a number of decisive battles.

6. b) Medicine Lake in Alberta's Jasper National Park, is not in fact a lake, but an area where the Maligne River backs up and suddenly disappears underground in the cold winter months. It refills during the spring thaw from the melting glaciers and mountain snow.

7. c)

8. a) Canada's universal healthcare system was inspired by a kind orthopedic surgeon who decided to operate on Tommy Douglas' badly infected knee for free as long as medical students could watch the procedure. After several operations, the leg was saved.

9. b) Founded by King Charles II in 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company's chief focus for the next 200 years was the fur trade, operating trade posts from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, and from the Saint Lawrence to the Arctic.

10. d) Although the name "Victorialand" was officially proposed in honour of England's ruling monarch, Victoria, the name given to B.C's eventual capital when it was incorporated in 1862, was not.

Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of the Fathers of Confederation, summed up the feverish debate over the naming of the new nation in an 1865 statement: "I read in one newspaper not less than a dozen attempts to derive a new name. One individual chooses Tuponia and another Hochelaga as a suitable name for the new nationality. Now I ask any honourable member of this House how he would feel if he woke up some fine morning and found himself instead of a Canadian, a Tuponian or a Hochelagander."

 

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This organic farm was named Vancouver Magazine's Producer of the year for 2017. Photo submitted

Food for thought

1. This popular Maritime food was so abundant in Canada's easternmost colonies that it briefly fell out of favour in the mid-19th century and was even commonly used as fertilizer.

a) Crab

b) Lobster

c) Potatoes

d) Cod

2. Celebrated TV chef, author and provocateur Anthony Bourdain once said that without this city and culinary hotspot, "Canada would be hopeless. It's where the cool kids hang."

a) Toronto

b) Québec City

c) Vancouver

d) Montreal

3. Greek-Canadian restaurateur Sam Panopoulos, who passed away this month at 83, claimed to have invented this popular late-night comfort food in 1962.

a) Poutine

b) Reuben sandwich

c) Hawaiian pizza

d) Ketchup chips

4. This province produces 91 per cent of Canada's maple syrup.

a) Ontario

b) Nova Scotia

c) New Brunswick

d) Québec

5. Food Network star and proud Canadian culinary ambassador Anna Olson said she has been asked to cook this "ubiquitously Canadian" sweet treat when travelling as far away as Argentina, Russia and Southeast Asia.

a) Butter tart

b) Saskatoon berry pie

c) Nanaimo bar

d) Sugar pie

6. This organic Pemberton farm was named as Vancouver Magazine's Producer of the Year for 2017.

a) Rootdown Organic Farm

b) North Arm Farm

c) Bandit Farms

d) Helmer's Organic Farm

7. Name the only Whistler restaurant to crack this year's Canada's 100 Best list, an annual ranking of the country's best places to eat determined by an extensive panel of chefs, food critics and industry leaders.

a) Araxi Restaurant + Oyster Bar

b) Alta Bistro

c) Red Door Bistro

d) Bearfoot Bistro

8. Despite its name, these days cornmeal is typically used in the creation of this Canadian breakfast food.

a) Montreal smoked meat

b) Peameal bacon

c) Honey ham

d) Johnnycakes

9. Which of the following Canadian chocolate bars are not widely available for purchase in the U.S.?

a) Aero

b) Coffee Crisp

c) Caramilk

d) Wunderbar

e) All of the above

10. In 2015, Halifax named this local variation on a Turkish street food as the city's official dish.

a) Shish kebob

b) Simit

c) Donair

d) Lahmacan (also known as "Turkish pizza")

Answers

1. b) Lobster didn't always have the luxurious cache it enjoys today. In fact, at the time it was considered a food for the poor and frequently served to prisoners and indentured servants.

2. d)

3. c) Puzzled by the lack of variety at Canadian pizza parlours in the early '60s, Panopoulous began experimenting with the sweet and savory combination of ham, bacon and pineapple at his Chatham, Ont. restaurant, a moment in culinary history that irks pizza purists to this day.

4. d) Québec accounts for the majority of the world's maple syrup, pumping out upwards of 66 million kilograms of the sweet stuff last year alone.

5. a)

6. b) Co-owned by Sea to Sky MLA Jordan Sturdy, North Arm Farm grows over 30 different vegetables on its sprawling property and works with a laundry list of restaurants in Whistler and Vancouver.

7. d) Bearfoot just snuck onto the list at no. 97 this year.

8. b) Believed to have originated in Toronto's meat-packing district, peameal bacon was originally made by rolling wet cured porkloin in crushed yellow peas.

9. e)

10. c) The donair was introduced to Haligonians in the 1970s by a Greek immigrant who adapted the Turkish doner kebob to local tastes by substituting beef for lamb and smothering it in a sweet sauce made from condensed milk, white vinegar and garlic.

 

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Beverly McLachlin. shutterstock.com

Politics

1. British Columbian provincial politics is currently in danger of a stalemate, with the Liberals holding 43 seats, the NDP holding 41 seats, and the Green Party holding three seats. There were a lot of close calls in the election, but which riding was decided by the narrowest margin (following the post-election recount)?

 a) Maple Ridge-Mission: NDP won by 325 votes

 b) Richmond-Queensborough: Liberals won by 134 votes

 c) Coquitlam-Burke Mountain: Liberals won by 87 votes

 d) Courtenay-Comox: NDP won by nine votes

2. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently changed the name of a national celebration day. Which day was it and what did he change it to?

a) Labour Day changed to Bountiful Harvest Day

b) Victoria Day changed to National Flora and Fauna Day

c) National Aboriginal Day changed to National Indigenous Peoples Day

d) Canada Day changed to Confederation Day 

3. Who is Beverley McLachlin and what did she announce in the past year?

a) McLachlin is the chair of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Inquiry, and she announced that they will need at least three extra years to complete it

b) McLachlin is the longest serving Chief Justice in Canadian history and announced she will be retiring from the job after 17 years in December

c) McLachlin was the speaker of the House of Commons, and in January announced she was crossing the floor from the Liberal Party to the Green Party

d) McLachlin is a recent Senate appointee, and she announced her intention to encourage the Canadian Space Agency to make the search for extraterrestrials a priority

4. What has former prime minister Stephen Harper been up to since he left office?

a) Harper became a talk-radio host for the drivetime show at CWNK in Calgary

b) Starting in Oct. 2017, Harper is being given his own hockey-analysis show with FOX in the U.S.

c) Harper started his own Calgary-based firm, Harper & Associates Consulting, which advises on international issues

d) All of the above

5. Why did Governor General David Johnston visit Whistler this year?

a) Johnston was in town for a holiday; he's a former member of the Canadian alpine ski team

b) Johnston came to take his granddaughter home to Ontario after she broke her collarbone mountain biking in Whistler

c) He was visiting as part of Canada 150 celebrations

d) Johnston awarded Sovereign's Medals for Volunteers to 12 noted Whistler locals

6. As of July 1, how many days has it been since the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered the federal Liberal government to implement "Jordan's Principle" and fix the funding discrepancies between indigenous children and non-indigenous Canadian children (to the tune of $155 million, according to the 2016 Canadian Budget)?

a) 521 Days since Jan. 26, 2016

b) 146 Days since Feb. 4, 2017

c) 0 Days. This hasn't happened

d) 877 Days since July 1, 2015

7. Which public monument or building is being relocated in 2017 by the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW)? 

a) The Gateway Loop bus stop, from the Whistler Conference Centre to Nesters

b) The sculpture Timeless Circle by Susan Point, from in front of the Maury Young Arts Centre to the Upper Village

c) The cenotaph, from the Whistler Fire Hall to Olympic Plaza

d) The RMOW offices, from Blackcomb Way to a large empty retail space on the Village Stroll

8. Which country and political leader has infamously encouraged extrajudicial executions of suspected drug users and dealers?

a) Joseph Kabila of The Democratic Republic of The Congo 

b) Donald Trump of the U.S.

c) Mauricio Macri of Argentina

d) Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines

9. Great Britain has just started negotiations to leave the European Union (EU) following a 2016 referendum. What is the "hard Brexit" strategy, which anti-EU politicians favour?

 a) A hard Brexit arrangement would likely see the U.K. give up full access to the single market and full access of the customs union along with the EU, giving Britain greater control over its borders and reducing immigration

b) There would be a full ban on immigration from the EU to Britain.

c) Britain would remove itself from the European court system but still allow EU nationals to live there.

d) Britain would pull out of the Eurovision Song Contest.

10. What has Justin Trudeau photo bombed in the past year?

a) An outing of senior citizens to Lower Fort Garry in Manitoba

b) A grad prom in Vancouver

c) A poutine eating competition in Hull

c) A group of tourists at Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia

Answers

1. c) Although there were closer margins of victory after the polls closed on May 9, following a recount and tally of absentee ballots, Coquitlam-Burke Mountain turned o ut to be B.C.'s closest riding.

2. c)

3. b)

4. c)

5. d)

6. a)

7. c) A grassroots initiative led to the relocation of Whistler's cenotaph following years of complaints that a snow-covered parking lot next to the local fire hall wasn't a visible enough location for the memorial.

8. c) Thousands of suspected criminals and drug dealers have been killed since Duterte took office in June 2016. He has has justified the extrajudicial killings, which have earned fairly strong support domestically, by claiming the Phillipines was at risk of becoming a "narco-state."

9. a)

10. b)

 

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Pemberton Music Festival. Photo by Cathryn Atkinson

Arts and Music

1. What was the total value of the tickets already sold to the public when the Pemberton Music Festival declared bankruptcy in May?

a) $17,300,000

b) $8,225,000

c) $21,333,000

d) 5,568,000

2. Which of the following celebrities was not spotted in Whistler over the past year?

a) David Beckham

b) Ivanka Trump

c) Tom Felton (the English actor who played Draco Malfoy in the film adaptations of the best-selling Harry Potter book series)

d) Jennifer Lawrence

e) Bill Clinton

3. Which film won the Borsos Awards for Best Canadian Feature and Best Director at the 2016 Whistler Film Festival in December?

a) Before the Streets (Avant Les Rues)

b) Hunting Pignut

c) La La Land

d) The Sun at Midnight

4. Who won the Whistler Music Search in October 2016?

a) Emily Molloy

b) Will Ross

c) Magik Spells

d) Jon Shrier

5. Which two award-winning Canadian authors headlined the Whistler Writers Festival last October?

a) Emma Donoghue and Madeleine Thien

b) Ann-Marie MacDonald and Joseph Boyden

c) Michael Ondaatje and Douglas Coupland

d) Lawrence Hill and Patrick deWitt

6. What cool object was the subject of a fundraiser in January at The Point Artists-Run Centre?

a) Cedar, the 25-year-old dock

b) Doris, the 80-year-old canoe

c) Gladys, the 60-year-old pizza oven

d) Howard, the 100-year-old piano

7. Which music performers are repeating their annual Canada Day concert in Whistler for the Canada 150 celebrations?

a) D.O.A.

b) Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

c) Arcade Fire

d) WILLA

8. Which classic Canadian film — and one of the country's highest grossing movies ever — got a long-awaited sequel this year?

a) Porky's

b) Mon Oncle Antione

c) Anne of Green Gables

d) Bon Cop, Bad Cop

9. The Audain Art Museum hosted several visiting exhibitions in the past year. Which artists were on display during?

a) Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring

b) Tracey Emin, Steve McQueen, Sam Taylor-Johnson

c) J.M.W. Turner, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dali

d) Alex Colville, Julie Wasson, Roy Lichtenstein

10. Who was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 2017 Juno Awards?

a) Sarah McLachlan

b) Leonard Cohen

c) The Tragically Hip

d) The Crash Test Dummies

Answers

1. a)

2. d)

3. a) Chloé Leriche's feature debut tells a tale of violence and redemption set in Québec's Manawan Reserve. Featuring a First Nations cast of non-actors, it is the first dramatic feature ever filmed in the Atikamekw dialect of the Algonquin Cree language.

4. c) The Vancouver-Squamish band took home the win with their own unique brand of electro-tinged indie rock.

5. a)

6. d) Named after the Howard Piano Company that manufactured it a century ago, Howard is the Point's upright piano that will be refurbished to its former glory thanks to the winter fundraiser.

7. b)

8. d) Bon Cop, Bad Cop is a bilingual 2006 dark-comedy-thriller about an Ontarian and Québecois cop who reluctantly team up to solve a murder. It's follow-up, Bon Cop, Bad Cop 2, was released in May.

9. c)

10. a)

 

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DeMar DeRozan became the Toronto Raptors' all-time scoring leader in the 2016-17 NBA season. Photo by Benson Kua

Sports

1. DeMar DeRozan became the Toronto Raptors' all-time scoring leader during the 2016-17 NBA season. Who did he pass?

a) Vince Carter

b) Chris Bosh

c) Damon Stoudamire

d) Andrea Bargnani

2. Which of the following Canadian baseball players have never won an MVP award?

a) Joey Votto

b) Justin Morneau

c) Ferguson Jenkins

d) Larry Walker

3. The Canadian women's soccer team won bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil. How many of their six games did they win?

a) 5

b) 4

c) 3

d) 2

4. Which high-school-aged swimmer became Canada's breakout star at the 2016 Olympics with four medals, including gold?

a) Taylor Ruck

b) Kennedy Goss

c) Penny Oleksiak

d) Emily Overholt

5. Which Canadian runner, who won three medals in Rio, became nearly as famous for his friendship with Jamaican legend Usain Bolt as for his performance?

a) Donovan Bailey

b) Andre De Grasse

c) Aaron Brown

d) Akeem Haynes

6. In which sport has Canada won the most medals overall at the Winter Olympics?

a) Alpine skiing

b) Ice Hockey

c) Figure skating

d) Speed Skating

7. Nancy Greene is the only Canadian to win an overall Crystal Globe for alpine skiing. In which years did she win?

a) 1967 and 1968

b) 1967 and 1970

c) 1968 and 1969

d) 1968 and 1971

8. The Montreal Canadiens are famously the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup, doing so in 1993. Who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP?

a) Kirk Muller

b) Patrick Roy

c) Eric Desjardins

d) Vincent Damphousse

9. The late Steve Smith made Crankworx history by winning all three downhill events in 2012. Which is not one of the three downhill races?

a) Fox Air DH

b) Garbanzo DH

c) Down Home DH

d) Canadian Open DH

10. Which Canadian-based National Lacrosse League team won the Champion's Cup in 2016?

a) Toronto Rock

b) Saskatchewan Rush

c) Vancouver Stealth

d) Calgary Roughnecks

Answers

1. b) 2. c) 3. a) 4. c) 5. b) 6. d) 7. a) 8. b) 9. c) 10. b)




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