1. What percentage of adult Canadians have literacy skills below high-school level?
a. 65%
b. 82%
c. 48%
Answer: C. 48% of adults in Canada have literacy skills that fall below a high school level.
2. Digital literacy refers to the ability to use computers and technology. What percentage of jobs in Canada require digital skills?
a. 70%
b. 84%
c. 50%
Answer: B. 84% of jobs in Canada require computer or basic technical skills—and this number is growing. At the same time, 9% of Canadians do not have access to internet in their homes.
3. Which Canadian city has the largest academic library in Canada?
a. Montreal
b. Vancouver
c. Toronto
Answer: C. Toronto: University of Toronto in Ontario has the largest academic library in Canada.
4. From 1980 until 2014, a Canadian store had the title of World's Biggest Bookstore. where was this store located?
a. Regina
b. Toronto
c. Halifax
Answer: B. Toronto. It was founded by Jack Cole and Carl Cole, former owners of Coles Bookstore.
5. An audiobook is a recording of a book being read aloud. This concept began in the early 1930's to provide reading materials for visually impaired adults. What was an audiobook initially called?
a. Speakeasy
b. Book on tape
c. Talking book
Answer: C. Talking book
6. According to UNESCO, over 700 million people are unable to read and write. For whom is the literacy gap wider?
a. Women are twice as likely as men to struggle with literacy
b. The there is no noticeable gender gap in literacy rates
c. Men are twice as likely as women to struggle with literacy
Answer: A. Around the world, nearly two-thirds of adults who cannot read or write are women.
7. What day is International Literacy Day?
a. September 8
b. October 16
c. June 1
Answer: A. September 8, 1967 was the first time it was observed.
8. Which organization designated International Literacy Day?
a. World Health Organization
b. UNESCO
c. United Nations
Answer: B. UNESCO
9. What is the name of the author who won the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2022.
a. Rawi Hage
b. Kim Fu
c. Suzette Mayr
Answer: C. Suzette Mayr is the author of The Sleeping Car Porter
10. What was Canadian author Margaret Atwood's first book called?
a. Power Politics
b. The Edible Woman
c. The Journals of Susanna Moodie
Answer: B. The Edible Woman, which was published in 1969
11. Alice Munro's first collection of short stories won the Governor General's Award. What was the title of this collection?
a. The Moons of Jupiter
b. Dance of the Happy Shades
c. Lives of Girls and Women
Answer: B. Dance the Happy Shades
12. United for Literacy, formerly Frontier College, is Canada's first literacy organization to work towards equal education. What year did they start hosting reading camps to teach people in remote locations how to read and write?
a. 1899
b. 1950
c. 1999
Answer: A. 1899
13. Which beloved Canadian children's author and poet was a United for Literacy (formerly Frontier College) Labourer-Teacher?
a. Robert Munsch
b. Dennis Lee
c. Joy Kogawa
Answer: B. Dennis Lee, author of Alligator Pie
