Fewer than One in Five (18%) Canadians Score a Passing Grade in a Quiz
Canadians Need to Hit the Books! - Fewer than One in Five (18%) Canadians Score a Passing Grade in a Quiz About Their Country’s History
Many Lack Familiarity Regarding the Achievements of Famous Canadians
Toronto, Ontario, October 2, 2024 — Many Canadians have a lot of homework to do to bring themselves up to speed on prominent events and people of our country’s past, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Historica Canada. In fact, the vast majority of respondents – 82 per cent – scored a failing grade in a quiz about their country’s history. That lack of knowledge is most pronounced among younger Canadians, as almost nine in 10 (88 per cent) failed the quiz. The highest pass rate – 23 per cent – was among Canadians 55 years of age or older, while 14 per cent of respondents aged 18-54 successfully completed the quiz. The quiz includes a total of 30 true/false questions about Canadian facts and history, with a passing grade defined as a score of 15 correct responses or higher out of 30. Fewer than one in five (18%) managed to pass the quiz, with just one percent (1%) qualifying for an “A” letter grade (24 or more correct responses, out of 30). On average, Canadians offer correct responses to a only 8.37 questions out of 30, IA majority admit to not knowing the correct response, as opposed to offering an incorrect response, at most of the questions.
Respondents fared best on five specific questions that dealt mostly with animals and outdoor issues. Three-fifths (60%) of Canadians correctly identify their country as home to the world’s largest moose population, making this the highest proportion to answer any single question correctly. Majorities also correctly indicate that Canada houses many biomes, including tundra and rainforests (53%), the longest coastline (55%), the second longest national highway (53%), and the largest outdoor rodeo (57%) in the world. These five questions, out of a total of thirty, are the only ones in which a majority offered a correct response. The question that stumped the most Canadians – if Douglas McCurdy flew a hot air balloon across Canada (he did not) – was answered correctly by just six percent (6%) of Canadians, though four in five (79%) admit they aren’t sure if he did this (or not).
Familiarity with the achievements of famous Canadians is low. Only about half (52%) report familiarity with the achievements of at least one of the Canadians asked about in the survey. The accomplishments of celebrated author Lucy Maud Montgomery (29% familiar with achievements) and to a slightly lesser extent, civil rights activist Viola Desmond (26%) are some of the most well-known. But even those figures still mean that fewer than three in 10 respondents responded correctly – underscoring a lack of understanding and connection with Canada’s heritage.
Perhaps not surprisingly, those living in Atlantic Canada are among the most likely to correctly acknowledge that it is true that every year Nova Scotia sends a Christmas tree to the city of Boston as an expression of gratitude for their help mitigating the aftereffects of the 1917 Halifax Explosion (73% vs. 43% across all other regions). Most Canadians are, not surprisingly, most familiar with history in their own province: 82% of Albertans knew Canada held the largest outdoor rodeo in the world compared to 52% in the rest of Canada. Residents of BC were most familiar with Canada’s many biomes, correctly identifying that it contains both tundra and rainforests compared to the rest of Canada (76% vs. 53% rest of Canada).
Historica Canada is a charitable organization that offers programs in both official languages that you can use to explore, learn, reflect on our history, and consider what it means to be Canadian. The Heritage Minutes collection is a bilingual Canadian series comprised of 60-second short films, each depicting a significant person, event or story in Canadian history.
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About the Study
These are the findings of an Ipsos survey conducted on behalf of Historica Canada. Fieldwork was conducted between June 13 and 14, 2024. A total of n=1,001 Canadians aged 18+ participated in the survey which was fielded via the Ipsos’ panel. Quotas and weighting were used to ensure the sample's composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. This survey has a credibility interval of +/- 3.8 per cent 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had all Canadian adults 18+ been surveyed.
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