After an election, which party forms the government?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence. The guide writes: Ordinarily, after an election, the leader of the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons is invited by the Governor General to form the government. The party the test wants is therefore the party with the most seats.

The criterion is seats, not votes. Discover Canada emphasises "seats in the House of Commons," not the share of the popular vote. So a party with fewer total votes can still form the government if it wins more individual seats — and a party can win the most votes nationwide and still not form the government if it wins fewer seats.

The next steps are also in the guide. After the most-seats party is invited to form the government, "the leader of this party becomes the Prime Minister." After that, Discover Canada distinguishes two outcomes: "If the party in power holds at least half of the seats in the House of Commons, this is called a majority government. If the party in power holds less than half of the seats... this is called a minority government." So forming the government is one step; whether it is a majority or minority is a second.

The Governor General's role completes the picture. Discover Canada describes the Governor General inviting the leader of the most-seat party — and notes that "after being appointed by the Governor General, the leader of this party becomes the Prime Minister." So the formal appointment runs through the Sovereign's representative even though the popular outcome of the election determines who is invited.

The question is testing whether new citizens know the basic rule for forming the federal government. Discover Canada commits to one criterion: most seats in the House of Commons. The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each pick a different criterion Discover Canada rules out. The party with the most votes nationally is not necessarily the party with the most seats. The party with the least seats clearly does not form the government. "The party that formed first" is not how Canadian government is determined at all. Only most seats matches.