The House: The 2018 political quiz
This year looked an awful lot like 2017.
Trade, Trump, and Trans Mountain ruled the political narrative in Canada. The alliteration didn't end there. In addition to pipelines, there were pot, pollution, and privacy.
Those huge topics and so much more were the fuel for political conversations all across the country, from dinner tables to the halls of Parliament. But how well do you remember the little details?
The House's annual political quiz is back to test your knowledge.
Chris Hall was joined this year by La Presse's Joel-Denis Bellavance, Tonda MacCharles from the Toronto Star (the three-time defending champion), and the CBC's Catherine Cullen.
You can listen to the audio and play along with the quiz, or go at your own pace. The questions are below, and the answers are listed at the bottom of the page.
Good luck!
Questions
1. 2018 didn't start well for Justin Trudeau and the Liberals. On January 9, a special meeting of the Ethics Committee was convened in Ottawa. Why?
2. On January 16, a number of Foreign Ministers met in Vancouver. What was the purpose of the meeting?
Bonus question: 20 countries took part in the meeting but which two countries were notable for not being invited?
3. On January 29, Prime Minister Trudeau went to Quebec City after delivering a statement in the House of Commons. What was he attending?
4. January 31 marked the end of a long fight to make our national anthem gender neutral. Name what line was replaced, and by what?
Bonus question: Which now-deceased MP was responsible for the bill?
5. On February 3, the British Columbia Liberal Party elected who to replace Christy Clark as leader?
6. The Canadian government has been drawing a lot of fire lately for the sale of LAVs to the Saudi government. On February 6 another military deal to a different country that has human rights abuses made headlines. What country was it and what was being sold?
7. In February, the prime minister was back in the news for another foreign trip. Where was he headed, and what was the major controversy that dogged the trip — besides the entire Trudeau family dressed in traditional garb?
8. February 27, the government released Budget 2018. Changes were made to a number of benefits programs. The first one involved a name change.
- What was the switch?
- The second change was to the EI parental sharing benefit. What new policy was that?
- Third, a change to the Canada child benefit, what was it?
Bonus question: How big of a deficit was forecast for this fiscal year?
9. On March 8, President Donald Trump introduced tariffs against steel and aluminum. What was the legal basis Trump used for imposing the sanctions?
Bonus question: Initially Canada and Mexico were exempt from the tariffs on national security grounds, which has since changed. When was the exemption lifted, and what are the tariffs for steel and aluminum that have been imposed?
10. The steel and aluminum tariffs announced by Donald Trump created a bit of a political backlash the same week for the prime minister, when he was accused of snubbing what visiting royal couple?
Bonus question: Another political faux pas almost occurred on day one of the royal visit. What was it?
11. April found Prime Minister Trudeau once again packing his bags for a whirlwind, 10-day trip to which three countries?
Bonus question: The PM rushed back to Ottawa in the middle of the trip. Why?
12. In April, the G7 Foreign Ministers and Security Ministers meeting in Toronto was overshadowed by what incident?
13. On April 29, Progressive Conservatives in Newfoundland and Labrador chose a new leader. Who is it?
14. On May 2, the federal government launched its long awaited National Housing Strategy. How much money was dedicated?
15. May 16 found the prime minister in the Big Apple. Why?
16. On May 23, the Western Premiers meeting was held in Yellowknife. Which Premier did not attend and why?
17. On May 26, the annual press gallery dinner was held in Ottawa. Yours truly was invited up on the stage. Why?
18. On May 29, the federal government announced it was buying the Trans Mountain pipeline to ensure the expansion would get built. How much did they spend?
19. June 5 - Prime Minister Trudeau announces a new ambassador for climate change. Who is it?
20. On June 7, one of the prime minister's provincial allies, Kathleen Wynne, was defeated in Ontario's provincial election. How many seats did the Liberals end up winning?
Bonus question: In November, the Premier Doug Ford announced he wanted to change official party status from eight to what?
21. The next day, on June 8, G7 leaders met in Charlevoix. At the end of the meetings, President Trump left to head to Singapore, but also instructed his officials not to sign the communique and tweeted an insult at the PM calling him "very dishonest" and what?
Bonus question: Why did Trump leave early and head to Singapore?
22. June 18 - A federal by election was held in Quebec in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord. Who won?
Bonus: How many byelections were held this year?
23. On July 9 and 10, Justin Trudeau was in Latvia ahead of what meetings?
24. Trudeau's spat with President Trump wasn't limited to NAFTA renegotiations and a tariff war. What complaint did Trump continue to make as NATO leaders met on July 11 and 12?
25. On July 19, Ontario Premier Doug Ford attended his first Council of the Federation Meeting. On the first evening, what news did he announce?
26. Jagmeet Singh was elected NDP leader in 2017, but when did his predecessor Tom Mulcair finally resign his seat in the House of Commons?
27. August 6 - Saudi Arabia withdraws its ambassador from Canada and orders the expulsion of the Canadian ambassador in response to a critical tweet from Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. What was the subject of her tweet?
28. On August 23, just ahead of the Conservative Party convention in Halifax, leadership runner-up Maxime Bernier dropped the bombshell that he was quitting the party to form his own. What is the name of that party?
29. On September 10, an Ontario court struck down a bill that would cut the size of Toronto city council in half. What did Premier Doug Ford threaten to do in response?
30. September 24, New Brunswick held its provincial election and in the end both Liberal leader Brian Gallant and Conservative leader Blaine Higgs both declared victory. How many seats did each party win?
31. September ended with a new trade deal between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. The USMCA was agreed to on September 30, just hours before a U.S.-imposed midnight deadline. Canada was able to keep one of its main asks- Chapter 19 - the dispute mechanism section of NAFTA. What was the big gain for the U.S.?
32. On October 1, the Coalition Avenir Quebec became the first government to be elected in over 50 years that wasn't formed by the Liberals or the Parti Quebecois. What was the name of the party elected in 1966 before the Liberals and PQ would dominate Quebec politics for half a century?
Bonus question: How many seats did the CAQ win in October?
33. On October 17, it became legal in Canada I'm possess pot for personal use, but only after a number of battles over the legislation with the Senate. Earlier in the year, in June the Senate returned the bill to the Commons with how many amendments?
34. October was a busy month as a number of municipal elections were held across the country. In Brampton, possibly the most interesting Ontario political figure was elected mayor. Who was it?
35. November 6 found the country talking about a scandalous series of events that led to a resignation that shocked the Conservative party in Ottawa. Who resigned and why?
36. In November, we talked with UK Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham about Britain's investigation into Cambridge Analytica, Aggregate IQ and Facebook and issues around political parties using personal information. Shortly afterwards a Canadian delegation joined British MPs and parliamentarians from Argentina, France, Singapore Ireland, Belgium, Brazil and Latvia. Multiple choice question here. This is the first time since what year that members from other parliaments have sat in on a British hearing?
- 1898
- 1933
- 1982
37. December began with world leaders gathering in Argentina for the G20 summit, but the focus was less about working together to address economic challenges than it was about international controversies. Which two world leaders were the focus, for all the wrong reasons, at the summit?
38. First Ministers met in Montreal on December 7, but in the week leading up to it, two premiers demanded a change to the agenda. Who were they and what did they want?
39. Two days earlier on December 2, Notley made an announcement to Alberta oil production is being cut by what amount?
- 5.6 per cent
- 8.7 per cent
- 10.5 per cent
Answers
1. Conservative ethics critic Peter Kent introduced a motion calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to appear before the committee to answer questions about his sojourn on the Aga Khan's private island, which breached conflict-of-interest rules.
2. Canada co-hosted, with the United States, the Vancouver Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Bonus: Russia and China.
3. Trudeau headed to Quebec City to join a vigil to mark the anniversary of the mosque shooting. On Jan. 29, 2017, a man walked into the Quebec City mosque and shot at worshippers who had just finished their evening prayers, killing six men and critically injuring five others.
4. The national anthem was changed by replacing "in all thy sons command" with "in all of us command."
Bonus: Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger.
5. The leadership election resulted in Andrew Wilkinson being chosen as the new leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party.
6. News broke that the Canadian government had brokered a deal to sell 16 combat utility helicopters to the Philippines air force. This came just months after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voiced concerns at an international summit in Manila in November 2017 over human rights abuses by the Philippines' security forces.
7. Jaspal Atwal, a Sikh separatist convicted of attempting to murder an Indian politician in Canada had been invited to dine with Trudeau at the Canadian High Commissioner's residence in New Delhi. The official invitation was later rescinded.
8.
- The Working Income Tax Benefit was changed to the Canada Workers Benefit.
- 5 weeks extra leave for two-parent families under the EI Parental Sharing Benefit.
- They indexed it to inflation a year ahead of schedule.
9. The tariffs were enacted under section 232 of the little-used Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
Bonus: On May 31, 2018, the United States announced that tariffs of 25% on imports of Canadian steel and 10% on imports of Canadian aluminum would take effect on June 1, 2018.
10. The King and Queen of Belgium were in Ottawa to hand over a cannon used during the First World War was handed over to the Canadian War Museum. Trudeau was unavailable to meet the royal couple as he was on a cross-country tour of steel and aluminum factories.
Bonus: Ahead of the royal couple's visit to Rideau Hall where they were going for a tree planting ceremony, a journalist from Belgium pointed out that staff had put out the German flag rather than the Belgian one.
11. The trip was Lima (April 12-14), Paris (April 15-17) and London (April 17-20) for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.
12. On April 23, a man drove a rented van and sped through the a Toronto business district, deliberately targeting pedestrians, killing 10 and injuring 16, some critically.
13. Ches Crosbie.
14. The federal government committed $40 billion for its 10-year national housing strategy.
15. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered the 2018 commencement address for New York University graduates after accepting an honorary doctor of laws degree from the university.
16. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley didn't go, sending Deputy Premier Sarah Hoffman instead. Alberta left the meeting without support for Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project and refused to sign the end of meeting agreement with the other six premiers and territorial leaders.
17. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh poked fun at the prime minister for his attempt at an Indian bhangra dance, then proceeded to lead an instruction of the proper way to perform the dance using a few journalists in particular, including Chris Hall.
18. $4.5 billion.
19. Patricia Fuller, a career public servant and former ambassador to Uruguay and Chile.
20. The Liberals only won seven seats, including Wynne's, removing them from having official party status which in Ontario is eight seats.
Bonus: Premier Ford announced on November 13, 2018 his intention of raising it to 12.
21. Trump tweeted the Trudeau was "Very dishonest & weak."
Bonus: President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the summit in Singapore to discuss denuclearization.
22. Conservative Richard Martel.
Bonus: 2 byelections. Chicoutimi-Le Fjord and Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands-Rideau Lakes.
23. Trudeau headed to Latvia ahead of the NATO Summit in Belgium.
24. Trump continued to complain about Canada continuing to fall short of NATO's target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence.
25. Ford announced that his province will intervene in the Saskatchewan's court case against Ottawa's carbon pricing policy.
26. August 3, 2018.
27. Freeland called for the release from prison of human rights activists Raif Badawi and his sister Samar Badawi.
28. The People's Party of Canada.
29. Ford announced the he would invoke the notwithstanding clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms after a judge struck down his contentious Bill 5 that would cut the size of Toronto city council nearly in half.
30. The PCs won the most seats, with 22, but incumbent Liberal Premier Brian Gallant, whose party secured only 21 seats indicated that he would seek the confidence of the legislature and attempt to form a government.
31. In exchange for some U.S. concessions on the dispute mechanism, Canada is expected to give U.S. farmers greater access to Canada's dairy market by increasing the quota on foreign imports.
32. The Union Nationale (UN), led by Daniel Johnson, Sr, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Jean Lesage.
Bonus: The election saw a landslide victory for the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) led by François Legault won 74 of 125 seats.
33. They returned the bill to the Commons in June with 46 amendments.
34. Patrick Brown, the man who could have been Premier, was elected as Mayor of Brampton.
35. Longtime Conservative MP Tony Clement resigning his post as his party's justice critic after admitting to sharing sexually explicit images and a video with an individual online.
36. 1933.
37. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Bonus: The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the Russian attack of Ukranian vessels in the Sea of Azov.
38. On December 4, Alberta's Rachel Notley and Saskatchewan's Scott Moe sent a letter to the prime minister demanding oil be put on the agenda.
39. 8.7 percent equalling 325,000 barrels a day being cut.