Federal Elections Practice Questions

How this practice set works

Each round gives you 20 questions drawn at random from the full bank of 34 Federal Elections questions in the course Joy teaches. Pick an answer and you will see at once whether you were right, along with a short note that helps the fact stick. Take as many rounds as you like. Each new round brings a fresh mix, so repeat rounds keep teaching you new facts about how voting works and how elections work in Canada.

On the real test you need at least 75 percent of your answers right to pass. Aim to pass every round on this page before your test day, and the Federal Elections questions on the real test will feel familiar.

Federal Elections in brief

Keep this short outline in mind while you practice. Every question in the set belongs somewhere in this picture of how elections work in Canada.

• A federal election must be held at least once every five years. Elections are usually held every four years and regular elections fall on the third Monday in October every four years.
• Canada is divided into 338 areas called electoral districts or ridings. Each riding elects one Member of Parliament and the candidate with the most votes in the riding wins the seat.
• To vote you must be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years old on election day and your name must be on the voters list.
• Voting is by secret ballot. You mark an X beside your chosen candidate in private and nobody can force you to tell how you voted.
• Canada has several political parties including the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party.
• The party that wins the most seats forms the government and its leader becomes the Prime Minister. The Governor General invites that leader to form the government.
• If the winning party wins more than half of the seats it is a majority government. If it wins less than half it is a minority government.
• The party with the second most seats becomes the Official Opposition. Its job is to question and challenge the government.
• You can register to vote through Elections Canada online or by mail. You can also register at the polling station when you go to vote.
• After an election is called voters get a voter information card. It tells you where and when to vote and how to vote early or by special ballot.
• You can vote early at advance polls or you can vote by mail or by special ballot at an Elections Canada office if you cannot go in person on election day.
• Elections Canada is the independent agency that runs federal elections in Canada and ballots are counted after the polls close.

Keep learning with Joy

This page covers one chapter. The Online Program covers all eleven chapters of the Discover Canada guide with short lessons, flashcards, a quiz for every chapter and full mock tests that work just like the real test. Start with the free chapter, see how the learning feels, and then unlock the whole program when you are ready.

More reading and study notes live on the Canada Blog, written by Joy for her students.