Which province is the most populous in Canada?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence. The guide writes: At more than 12 million, the people of Ontario make up more than one-third of Canadians. The province the test wants is therefore Ontario.

Two numbers fix the answer. Discover Canada gives Ontario's population at "more than 12 million" — and reminds the reader that Canada has a population "of about 34 million people." So Ontario alone holds "more than one-third of Canadians," which is exactly the math the guide highlights. No other Canadian province comes close in absolute numbers.

Ontario's economy matches its population scale. Discover Canada describes Toronto as "the largest city in Canada and the country's main financial centre." The province's "large and culturally diverse population, natural resources and strategic location" are credited with a "vital economy," and many people work "in the service or manufacturing industries, which produce a large percentage of Canada's exports." Together with Quebec, Ontario produces "more than three-quarters of all Canadian manufactured goods."

Ontario also has cultural and geographic distinctions. The Niagara region is known for vineyards, wines and fruit crops; Ontario farmers raise dairy and beef cattle, poultry, and vegetable and grain crops. The province has "the largest French-speaking population outside of Quebec," with one million Francophones living in Ontario. Five Great Lakes — Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan (in the U.S.A.) and Lake Superior — lie between Ontario and the United States, with Lake Superior "the largest freshwater lake in the world." So Ontario combines size, money, manufacturing, agriculture, and a unique freshwater geography all at once.

The question is testing whether new citizens know which province has the largest population in Canada. Discover Canada commits to one province: Ontario, with more than 12 million people — over one-third of all Canadians. The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each pick a different big province. Quebec is the second-most-populous, at "nearly eight million," per the guide. British Columbia has a population of about "four million." Alberta is the "most populous Prairie province," but not the most populous province in Canada overall. Only Ontario matches the country-leading 12 million.