What is the capital of Nova Scotia?
Citizenship Test overview
Citizenship Test: Regions: geography, the capital and Atlantic Canada
Canada's size, oceans and five regions, provinces, territories and capital cities, Ottawa as the national capital, and the four Atlantic provinces.
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Study reference: Discover Canada (IRCC online edition, 2026), Ch. 10 Canada's Regions — The regions of Canada, The national capital, Provinces and territories, The Atlantic provinces
All 24 questions in this test
Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.
What is the capital of Nova Scotia?
- Halifax
- Sydney
- Fredericton
- Charlottetown
What is the capital of Canada?
- Toronto
- Ottawa
- Québec City
- Montreal
Who wrote Anne of Green Gables, set in Prince Edward Island?
- Emily Carr
- Margaret Laurence
- Pauline Johnson
- Lucy Maud Montgomery
Which three oceans line Canada's frontiers?
- Atlantic, Arctic and Southern
- Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic
- Pacific, Atlantic and Indian
- Pacific, Indian and Arctic
How many provinces and territories does Canada have?
- Ten provinces and three territories
- Ten provinces and two territories
- Nine provinces and four territories
- Twelve provinces and two territories
Which is the most populous Atlantic province?
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Prince Edward Island
- Nova Scotia
- New Brunswick
Which province does Discover Canada describe as the oldest colony of the British Empire?
- Quebec
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Nova Scotia
- Prince Edward Island
Which city does Discover Canada identify as a principal Francophone Acadian centre in New Brunswick?
- Saint John
- Fredericton
- Moncton
- Bathurst
Which Atlantic provincial capital is a major deep-water, ice-free port and naval base?
- Saint John
- Halifax
- Québec City
- St. John's
What is the capital of Prince Edward Island?
- Charlottetown
- St. John's
- Fredericton
- Summerside
Which provinces make up the Atlantic region?
- Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
- Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, PEI
- New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Maine, PEI
- Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, PEI
What is the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador?
- Corner Brook
- Happy Valley-Goose Bay
- Saint John
- St. John's
Who chose Ottawa as the capital in 1857?
- Lord Durham
- Sir John A. Macdonald
- The Duke of Wellington
- Queen Victoria
What is the capital of New Brunswick?
- Saint John
- Fredericton
- Moncton
- Halifax
How does Canada rank in size among the countries of the world?
- Third largest
- Largest
- Fifth largest
- Second largest
The creation of New Brunswick as a separate colony in 1784 followed a large arrival of which group?
- The Acadians
- Scottish fishermen
- The Hudson's Bay Company
- The United Empire Loyalists
Which province is known as the birthplace of Confederation?
- Quebec
- Ontario
- Nova Scotia
- Prince Edward Island
Which is Canada's smallest province?
- Prince Edward Island
- New Brunswick
- Nova Scotia
- Newfoundland and Labrador
Where are the world's highest tides found?
- The Gulf of St. Lawrence
- James Bay
- The Bay of Fundy
- Hudson Bay
What approximate French-speaking share of New Brunswick’s population is quoted in Discover Canada?
- About one-third
- About one-tenth
- About three-quarters
- About half
What links Prince Edward Island to mainland Canada?
- The Lions Gate Bridge
- The Confederation Bridge
- The Rideau Canal
- The Peace Bridge
Which province is Canada’s most easterly province?
- Prince Edward Island
- Nova Scotia
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
How large is the National Capital Region surrounding Ottawa?
- 4,700 square kilometres
- 10 million square kilometres
- 47,000 square kilometres
- 470 square kilometres
Which of these is one of Canada's five regions?
- The Great Basin
- The Maritime Territories
- The Southern Plains
- The Prairie Provinces
Regions: geography, the capital and Atlantic Canada: key rules to remember
Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗
introduction
- Canada is the second largest country on earth: 10 million square kilometres.
- Three oceans: Pacific (west), Atlantic (east), Arctic (north). Southern edge: the Canada–United States boundary.
- Five regions: the Atlantic Provinces, Central Canada, the Prairie Provinces, the West Coast, the Northern Territories.
- Ten provinces and three territories, each with its own capital; you should know your own capital and Canada's.
The national capital
- Ottawa, on the Ottawa River, chosen as capital in 1857 by Queen Victoria.
- The National Capital Region: 4,700 square kilometres around Ottawa, preserving built heritage and natural environment.
- Rideau Canal: once a military waterway, now a tourist attraction and winter skateway.
Provinces, territories and capitals (table)
- Atlantic: Newfoundland and Labrador — St. John's; Prince Edward Island — Charlottetown; Nova Scotia — Halifax; New Brunswick — Fredericton.
- Central: Quebec — Québec City; Ontario — Toronto.
- Prairies: Manitoba — Winnipeg; Saskatchewan — Regina; Alberta — Edmonton.
- West Coast: British Columbia — Victoria.
- North: Nunavut — Iqaluit; Northwest Territories — Yellowknife; Yukon — Whitehorse.
The Atlantic provinces
- Coasts and resources (fishing, farming, forestry, mining) important to history; cool winters, cool humid summers.
- Newfoundland and Labrador is Canada’s most easterly province. Newfoundland is an island, while Labrador is on the mainland.
- Prince Edward Island: smallest province; beaches, red soil, agriculture (especially potatoes); birthplace of Confederation; Confederation Bridge (one of the world's longest continuous multispan bridges); Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
- Halifax is Nova Scotia’s capital and a major Atlantic port and naval base. “Largest port” depends on the measure, so this question does not make an unqualified current ranking.
- The arrival of United Empire Loyalists after the American Revolution was important to New Brunswick’s creation as a separate colony in 1784. Indigenous peoples and Acadians lived in the region long before that colonial boundary was created.
Study the Regions: geography, the capital and Atlantic Canada rules as flashcards →
Other topics
- Rights and freedomsWhere Canadian rights come from: Magna Carta, English common law and the French civil code, the four fundamental freedoms, habeas corpus, the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms, mobility, Aboriginal and language rights, multiculturalism and the equality of women and men.
- Citizenship responsibilities and the OathThe responsibilities that come with citizenship (obeying the law, jury duty, voting, helping others, protecting heritage and environment), defending Canada, the Oath of Citizenship, and what happens at the citizenship ceremony.
- Who we are: founding peoples and diversityThe three founding peoples, First Nations, Inuit and Métis, residential schools, English and French Canada, Acadians and Quebecers, and the diversity of languages, religions and origins in Canada today.
- History: first peoples to 1791Aboriginal ways of life, the Vikings, John Cabot and Jacques Cartier, Champlain and New France, the fur trade and the Hudson's Bay Company, the Plains of Abraham, the Quebec Act, the Loyalists and the first elected assemblies.
- History: 1791 to ConfederationThe abolition of slavery, the early economy, the War of 1812, the Rebellions of 1837–38, responsible government, the Fathers of Confederation and the birth of the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867.
- History: the Dominion and the World WarsExpansion of the Dominion, Sir John A. Macdonald, Louis Riel and the Métis, the North West Mounted Police, the Canadian Pacific Railway, western settlement, the First World War, women's right to vote, the Depression and the Second World War.
- Modern Canada since 1945Postwar prosperity and social programs, NATO, NORAD and the United Nations, the Quiet Revolution, official languages and the Quebec referendums, the extension of the vote, refugees and multiculturalism.
- Arts, sports, science and inventionsCanadian writers, painters and filmmakers, sports heroes such as Terry Fox and Wayne Gretzky, Nobel Prize-winning scientists, and great Canadian discoveries and inventions from insulin to the Canadarm.
- How Canadians govern themselvesCanada as a federal state, a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy: federal and provincial powers, the three parts of Parliament, how a bill becomes law, the Sovereign, the Governor General, Lieutenant Governors, Premiers and Commissioners.
- Federal elections and votingWhen federal elections are held, electoral districts and candidates, who may vote, the voters' list and voter information card, the secret ballot, majority and minority government, the Cabinet and opposition, voting procedures and municipal government.
- The justice systemDue process and the presumption of innocence, the rule of law, the Supreme Court and other courts, the RCMP and provincial and municipal police, questioning police conduct, lawyers and legal aid.
- Canadian symbolsThe Crown, the national flag and the Red Ensign, the maple leaf, the fleur-de-lys, the coat of arms and motto, the Parliament Buildings, national sports, the beaver, the official languages and the national and royal anthems.
- Honours and national holidaysThe Order of Canada, the Victoria Cross and its Canadian recipients, and the dates of national public holidays and other important days such as Vimy Day, Canada Day and Remembrance Day.
- Canada's economyCanada as a trading nation, free trade with the United States and Mexico, the three main types of industries (service, manufacturing, natural resources) and the Canada–U.S. trading relationship.
- Regions: Central Canada, the Prairies, the West Coast and the NorthQuebec and Ontario, the Great Lakes, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, British Columbia, and Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, with their resources, cities and landmarks.