Whistler
(Election-Year Edition)
1) In May, Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden announced she would not be seeking re-election this fall. How many combined years has Wilhelm-Morden spent behind the council table?
A) 14
B) 9
C) 17
D) 10
2) Who was Whistler's first mayor in 1975?
A) Garry Watson
B) Mark Angus
C) Terry Rodgers
D) Pat Carleton
3) Whistler as a municipality has a relatively short history. How many different mayors has Whistler had?
A) 8
B) 12
C) 9
D) 10
4) Of those mayors, who served the longest?
A) Nancy Wilhelm-Morden
B) Hugh O'Reilly
C) Pat Carleton
D) Ted Nebbeling
5) At 6,213 days behind the council table, Wilhelm-Morden will be the longest serving elected official in Whistler's history (spread over 17 years and six terms). Who is second?
A) Hugh O'Reilly
B) Pat Carleton
C) Ted Nebbeling
D) Jack Crompton
6) In Whistler's early days, municipal councillors were referred to as aldermen. In what year did they make the switch?
A) 1990
B) 2004
C) 1993
D) 1988
7) Former councillor (or alderman, as it was known as the time) Al Raine served from 1975 to 1982, eventually leveraging his expertise to become the mayor of which B.C. municipality?
A) Revelstoke
B) Pemberton
C) Prince George
D) Sun Peaks
8) The contentious 2011 election saw an impressive 54.8 per cent of eligible voters head to the polls (a total of 3,952 votes cast). What was the voter turnout in 2014?
A) 27.3 per cent
B) 56.4 per cent
C) 12.6 per cent
D) 33.9 per cent
9) Speaking of the 2011 election, it was the only vote in Whistler's history that saw the entire mayor and council turfed. How many candidates put their names forward that year?
A) 26
B) 18
C) 31
D) 34
10) When is the 2018 municipal election?
A) Oct. 20, 2018
B) Oct. 20, 2018
C) Oct. 20, 2018
D) Oct. 20, 2018
Answers:
1) C. Wilhelm-Morden was first elected to council in 1984, and over the years served six terms in total (four as councillor, two as mayor).
2) D. Pat Carleton served as mayor from 1975 to 1982.
3) A. Whistler has had just eight mayors in its short history. Can you name them all?
4) B. Hugh O'Reilly served as mayor from 1996 to 2005.
5) A. Assuming Whistler's next council will be sworn in at the first council meeting in December, Wilhelm-Morden will have O'Reilly beat by just four days (6,213 to 6,209).
6) C. The change was made ahead of the 1993 election.
7) D. Raine was elected as the first mayor of Sun Peaks in 2010.
8) A. With just 2,303 votes cast, voter turnout took a steep dive in 2014. How many Whistlerites will hit the polls this fall?
9) C. Six candidates ran for mayor, while another 25 put their names forward for the six council seats.
10) No excuses—get out and vote October 20!
Canadiana
1) In what Canadian community are you most likely to spot a polar bear?
A) Iqaluit, Nunavut
B) Yellowknife, N.W.T.
C) Churchill, Man.
D) Quebec City, Que.
2) The Ontario town of St. Thomas is home to a curious statue: a life-sized replica of Jumbo the elephant, a star attraction in the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Why was the statue placed there?
A) P.T Barnum grew up in St. Thomas
B) An eccentric mayor, Lionel Shriver, thought it was a good idea
C) Elephants are dope. Why not?
D) Jumbo lost his life in St. Thomas when he stepped onto a railroad track and was struck by a steam train
3) On June 4, 1763, two Ojibwe chiefs invited British Major George Etherington to watch a lacrosse match just outside of Fort Michilmackinac, near present day Ottawa. What happened next?
A) The Ojibwe handily defeated their competition
B) A peace accord was struck between the British and Ojibwe
C) The British were massacred
D) The term "lacrosse" was coined
4) What best describes the plot of the 1995 film Canadian Bacon?
A) An unpopular American president declares war on Canada in order to boost his approval ratings
B) A group of American gangsters rob some Ontario bacon producers blind
C) A documentary that looks at the glaring differences between Canadian and American bacon
D) A lonely American housewife, recently separated from her cheating husband, moves to Canada where she falls in love with a handsome Canadian pig farmer
5) During the First World War, Canadians were subject to British military discipline, including execution by way of firing squad. In total, how many Canadians were killed for offenses such as desertion, cowardice, or murder?
A) 5
B) 8
C) 1
D) 25
6) Ronald Turpin, 29, and Arthur Lucas, 54, were the last men to be executed in a Canadian prison, Toronto's Don Jail. Turpin was convicted of shooting a police officer and Lucas convicted for the murder of two witnesses in a major drug trial. What was the date of their execution?
A) June 25, 1920
B) Jan. 5, 1984
C) Dec. 11, 1962
D) Feb. 28, 1974
7) The Quebecois love their fast food. Yet for some reason, this fast food staple—sold alongside poutine—is hard to find outside of la belle province.
A) Deep fried pickles
B) Chili dog
C) Steak sandwich
D) Steamed hot dogs
8) This well-known Canadian author has penned dispatches on Jewish identity and Quebec nationalism in addition to his wildly popular fiction.
A) Leonard Cohen
B) Malcolm Gladwell
C) Yann Martel
D) Mordecai Richler
9) After two years of beautiful union, this iconic Canadian couple called it quits in 2015.
A) Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively
B) Dion Phaneuf and Elisha Cuthbert
C) Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger
D) Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams
10) How did Canada get its name?
A) It was taken from a Huron-Iroquois term for "village" or "settlement"
B) It was taken from the Algonquin term for "vast land"
C) John A. Macdonald chose it as a way of celebrating Indigenous peoples and identity
D) It was the winner of a national contest in the 1860s to name the new country
Answers:
1) C. Located roughly 110 kilometres from the Manitoba border, Churchill is known as the polar bear capital of the world. Autumn, when the bears travel to the shores of the Hudson Bay, is the best time of year to see them.
2) D.
3) C. Dozens of British soldiers were killed after Indigenous women, concealing knives and tomahawks under large blankets, distributed the weapons amongst the men. The massacre was part of a larger war between First Nations and the British, who had recently defeated the French in the Seven Year War and were hostile to Indigenous ways of life.
4) A. Documentarian Michael Moore's only feature film, this 1995 comedy starring John Candy and Alan Alda was considered absurdist at the time. As for today? Not so much.
5) D. In 2001, the soldiers were added to Canada's Books of Remembrance in Parliament Hill—with the exception of the two soldiers executed for murder.
6) C. More than 50 years since their executions, there are questions as to whether the pair got a fair shake in their respective trials. Canada didn't officially abolish the death penalty until 1976.
7) D. Steamed hot dogs—or, as the Quebecois call it, hot dog steamé—are a staple in the province's fast-food joints. Sold for under $4, they typically come with mustard, a healthy dose of sauerkraut, and, depending on how many you eat, a sore stomach.
8) D. Richler grew up in Montreal's Mile End neighbourhood and went on to write popular novels such as The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Barney's Version.
9) C.
10) A. In 1535, two Indigenous youths told French explorer Jacques Cartier about the route to "kanata," referring to the village where present-day Quebec City sits today. For lack of another name, Cartier began using the word "Canada" to describe not only the village, but the entire area. Its use soon spread to other explorers and settlers.
Food for Thought
1) Which Manitoba town hosts the world's only Crown Royal distillery?
A) Portage la Prairie
B) Dauphin
C) Gimli
D) The Pas
2) Which enigmatic Cadbury chocolate bar that originated in Canada is celebrating its 50th birthday this year?
A) Caramilk
B) Crunchie
C) Dairy Milk
D) Crispy Crunch
3) Winnipeg's Paul Faraci, who invented the Pillsbury Pizza Pop, died at age 89 this past February. Which of the following has NOT been used as a filling?
A) Bacon mac and cheese
B) Poutine
C) Montreal smoked meat
D) Butter chicken
4) Canada leads the world in production of maple syrup and mustard seed, and sits second in the production of which two other crops?
A) Wheat and pork
B) Oats and cranberries
C) Soybeans and salt
D) Milk and cabbage
5) British Columbia's wine industry was brought into the middle of a spat with Alberta after the province boycotted our wines earlier this year. How many wineries does B.C. boast?
A) 96
B) 191
C) 245
D) 359
6) Which popular sushi roll was purportedly invented in Vancouver?
A) Dragon roll
B) Dynamite roll
C) Philadelphia roll
D) California roll
7) A Trappist monk came to Oka, Que. with a recipe in 1893. What did he master that helped put the province on the map in the culinary industry?
A) Cheese
B) Poutine
C) Wine
D) Sausage
8) Appropriately for our country, the Fameuse apple, the first variety of apple tree planted in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley in 1633, is also known by what nickname?
A) Moose apple
B) Road apple
C) Ice apple
D) Snow apple
9) Which Whistler restaurant topped the local field at this year's Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, marking just the second time Araxi hasn't emerged victorious?
A) Bearfoot Bistro
B) The Grill Room
C) Sidecut
D) El Furniture Warehouse
10) Which of the following flavourings are NOT commonly used in all-dressed chips?
A) Ketchup
B) Barbecue
C) Dill pickle
D) Sour cream and onion
E) Salt and vinegar
Answers:
1) C.
2) A.
3) C.
4) B.
5) D.
6) D. Although the origins of the California roll are hotly disputed, one theory has it that it was created by Chef Hidekazu Tojo, of the renowned Tojo's Restaurant on West Broadway.
7) A. The famously pungent, semi-soft Oka cheese was created from a recipe for Port-du-Salut cheese that was tweaked by Trappist monk Brother Alphonse Juin.
8) D.
9) B.
10) C.
politics
1) Canada officially became a wholly independent country in what year?
A) 1867
B) 1939
C) 1960
D) 1982
2) How many electoral districts are there in Canada?
A) 275
B) 308
C) 338
D) 362
3) Who was Canada's first Francophone Prime Minister?
A) Louis St. Laurent
B) Pierre Trudeau
C) Wilfrid Laurier
D) Jean Chrétien
4) Who is the federal government's representative in Canada's three northern territories?
A) The Prime Minister
B) The Sovereign
C) The Premier
D) The Commissioner
5) This man was undoubtedly one of Canada's more eccentric prime ministers. It was discovered after his death that he held regular séances during his term, and purported to communicate with the spirits of Leonardo Da Vinci, the late U.S President Franklin Roosevelt, and several of his pet dogs, among others.
A) John A. Macdonald
B) William Lyon Mackenzie King
C) John Diefenbaker
D) Lester B. Pearson
6) This satirical political party was founded on the "promise to keep none of our promises." Some of its more outlandish campaign promises included repealing the law of gravity, annexing the United States as a Canadian territory, and providing higher education by building taller schools.
7) Canada has had only one female Prime Minister, whose term in office lasted just over four months. Who was it?
A) Agnes Macphail
B) Rita Johnston
C) Kim Campbell
D) Elizabeth May
8) In what year did First Nations get the vote, making them the last people allowed to vote in Canadian elections?
A) 1919
B) 1950
C) 1960
D) 1978
9) In March, American President Donald Trump ignited tensions after a series of tweets criticizing the trade arrangement between the U.S. and Canada. He later boasted at a fundraising dinner about making up facts at a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. What did he make up?
A) That the U.S. has a trade deficit with Canada
B) That Canadians regularly smuggle American goods over the border
C) That he loves Trudeau's hair
D) That he is a competent leader
10) Last month, Trudeau announced that his cabinet had decided to bail out a controversial infrastructural project using $4.5 billion of taxpayer money after this company called its own expansion plans a "risky" investment.
Answers:
1) D. The Canadian Constitution was proclaimed in 1982. Prior to that, only the British Parliament had the power to amend the constitution, the former British North America Act of 1867.
2) B.
3) C.
4) D.
5) B. King kept his affinity for the occult secret during his years in office. It wasn't until his diaries were opened after his death that historians learned of his deep interest in spiritualism.
6) The Rhinoceros Party. A registered political party from 1963 to 1993, the Rhinoceros Party earned its highest vote count—more than 110,000—in the 1980 federal election. It never won a seat in the House of Commons.
7) C. Campbell served just 132 days in office after Prime Minister Brian Mulroney retired from politics. Her Progressive Conservatives were swept from power in a Liberal landslide in the 1993 federal election.
8) C. Prior to 1960, First Nations had to waive their Indigenous rights in order to vote.
9) A. According to the U.S. Trade Representative's website, the U.S. had a trade surplus with Canada of $12.5 billion in 2016 and $8.4 billion last year.
10) Kinder Morgan, referring to its controversial Trans Mountain pipeline.
Arts and Culture
1) The Polaris Music Prize chooses one Canadian album to honour each year with a $50,000 prize. Who won the prize in 2017?
A) A Tribe Called Red for We Are The Halluci Nation
B) Japandroids for Near To The Wild Heart of Life
C) Lido Pimienta for La Papessa
D) Taylor Swift for Reputation
2) Which Canadian artist collaborated with Ocean Wise to bring attention to plastic pollution via a sculpture exhibit at the Vancouver Aquarium in May?
A) Emily Carr
B) Douglas Coupland
C) Vanessa Stark
D) Drake
3) Which film earned the highest number of Canadians Oscar awards in 2018?
A) The Shape of Water
B) Call Me By Your Name
C) Get Out
D) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
4) Which music act won a Governor General's Performing Arts Award this year?
A) Corb Lund
B) Arcade Fire
C) Destroyer
D) Tegan and Sara
5) Which neighbourhood did the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada rank as the No. 1 location in Canada for its growth in the number of musicians in 2017?
A) Montreal's Mile End
B) Toronto's Trinity-Bellwoods
C) Edmonton's Old Strathcona
D) Vancouver's Strathcona
6) What was the best-selling Canadian book of 2017?
A) milk and honey by Rupi Kaur
B) Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
C) No Is Not Enough by Naomi Klein
D) Fifty Shades of Grey: When the Going Gets Greyer by E.L. James
7) What was the most-watched new Canadian television show last year (for adults ages 18 to 54)?
A) This is Us
B) Big Brother Canada
C) The Flash
D) Cardinal
8) The Canadian musical Come From Away has earned plenty of accolades since it hit Broadway in 2017. Where is the musical set?
A) Kingston, Ont.
B) Chicoutimi, Que.
C) Kamloops, B.C.
D) Gander, Nfld.
9) Which Canadian novel was turned into an award-winning TV series last year?
A) Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden
B) Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
C) Life of Pi by Yann Martel
D) The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
10) The National Gallery of Canada wrapped up its first major redesign since 1988 last summer. What was the major change?
A) Its Canadian art gallery is now a Canadian and Indigenous gallery
B) It's now the Emily Carr National Gallery of Canada
C) It added a Justin Bieber wing of contemporary art
D) It now features work by the Group of Seven exclusively
Answers:
1) C. La Papessa is the second album by the Colombian-Canadian electronic musician.
2) B.
3) A. Toronto producer J. Miles Dale took home the Best Picture award for The Shape of Water, along with three other Canadian winners who worked on the film: Shane Vieau, Paul Austerberry and Jeffrey A. Melvin, who collectively earned the Oscar for Best Production Design.
4) D.
5) B.
6) A.
7) D.
8) D. The hit musical tells the true story of what happened when 38 planes were forced to land unexpectedly in the small, Newfoundland town following the September 11 attacks.
9) D
10) A
Sports
1) How many medals did Canada win at the Whistler Sliding Centre during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games?
A) 4
B) 2
C) 3
D) 5
2) Which major Canadian sports trophy survived a fire in 1947?
A) The Stanley Cup
B) The Grey Cup
C) The Queen's Plate
D) The Champions Cup
3) Who scored the winning goal for team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union?
A) Phil Esposito
B) Paul Henderson
C) Bobby Clarke
D) Peter Mahovlich
4) Who was the first Canadian to be drafted first overall to the NBA?
A) Andrew Wiggins
B) Tristan Thompson
C) Anthony Bennett
D) Steve Nash
5) A non-sanctioned race in 1997 pitted which Canadian sprinter against American Michael Johnson to determine the 'world's fastest man?'
A) Ben Johnson
B) Carl Lewis
C) Robert Kerr
D) Donavan Bailey
6) What is 1950s Vancouver sportswriter Hugh Watson known for doing?
A) Creating a fake basketball league that he filed post-game reports on
B) Stealing the Stanley Cup in April 1955
C) Sabotaging a rowing team's boat
D) Competing in a running race he was covering—and winning
7) Who played in the first organized rugby game in Canada in 1865?
A) Canada vs. the U.S.
B) Canada vs. New Zealand
C) British military men vs. McGill University students
D) British military men vs. Concordia University students
8) Where is the oldest surviving golf club in North America?
A) Augusta, Georgia
B) Victoria, B.C.
C) Quebec City, Que.
D) Montreal, Que.
9) Who was the first hockey player to score 50 goals in one season?
A) Maurice Richard
B) Guy Lafleur
C) Henri Richard
D) Jean Beliveau
10) Which Canadian was the first person to win multiple medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games?
A) Glenroy Gilbert
B) Sue Holloway
C) Simon Whitfield
D) Clara Hughes
Answers:
1) A. Canada took home a gold in men's skeleton, a gold and a silver in the women's bobsleigh and a bronze in the men's 4-man bobsleigh.
2) B. The trophy was located in the offices of the Toronto Argos, which won the cup in 1946. The Cup cheated its own destruction in the blaze—which burned and melted all of the team's other records and awards—by being snagged on a nail as it fell off a shelf.
3) B.
4) C.
5) D.
6) A. While working for the Vancouver Province, Watson created the fake Howe Sound Basketball League. He filed scores and standings to rival paper the Vancouver Sun, which published them regularly. His hoax unravelled when the Canadian Amateur Basketball Association came looking for the league's leading scorer to play in the 1952 Olympics—only to find he didn't exist.
7) C.
8) D. The Royal Montreal Golf Club was formed in 1873.
9) A.
10) D. Hughes earned two bronze medals in cycling at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, a bronze in 5000-metre speed skating at the 2002 Games, a silver in the team pursuit and a gold in the 5000m event at the 2006 Games, and another bronze in the 5000m event in 2010.
