Question 1: the correct answer is Ottawa. Did you get it right? Mark 1 point.
Question 2 of 10
What is the capital of Australia?
Why, in question 1: What is the capital of Canada?
The answer is Ottawa. Toronto is Canada's largest city and Montreal the second, but Parliament and the federal government are in Ottawa, in the province of Ontario, on the banks of the river of the same name.
A choice made by Queen Victoria
In 1857, Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the capital of the then Province of Canada. Until then, the seat of government had moved between Kingston, Montreal, Toronto and Quebec, and each of these cities wanted the position.
Ottawa lay between the English-speaking and French-speaking regions, and the choice avoided favouring either of the rival cities. Another reason cited was its greater distance from the border with the United States. When the country became a federation in 1867, Ottawa remained the capital.
The Rideau Canal, which runs through the city, opened in 1832 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In winter, a stretch of it freezes and becomes an skating rink of almost 8 kilometres (about 5 miles), and some people skate to work.
On the other side of the river lies Gatineau, already in the province of Quebec. Many people cross the bridges every day, and together the two cities form what is called the National Capital Region.
