Where did the Americans burn the Government House and Parliament Buildings in 1813?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence about the War of 1812. The guide writes: In 1813 the Americans burned Government House and the Parliament Buildings in York (now Toronto). The place the test wants is therefore York (now Toronto).

Three precise commitments. Discover Canada commits the 1813 American action to THREE specific facts: (1) the year is 1813; (2) the buildings burned were Government House AND the Parliament Buildings; (3) the place is York (now Toronto). So the source identifies the year, the targets, and the city — all unambiguous. York was the colonial capital of Upper Canada at the time, and it later became Toronto.

The York burning prompted Canadian retaliation. Discover Canada commits Canada's response to a specific 1814 reprisal: "In retaliation in 1814, Major-General Robert Ross led an expedition from Nova Scotia that burned down the White House and other public buildings in Washington, D.C. Ross died in battle soon afterwards and was buried in Halifax with full military honours." So the burning of York in 1813 led directly to the burning of Washington (including the White House) the following year. The Canadian-led expedition was Britain's direct answer to the American attack on the Upper-Canadian capital.

The York burning fits the wider War of 1812 chronology. Discover Canada commits the war's named events to a specific sequence: "Believing it would be easy to conquer Canada, the United States launched an invasion in June 1812. The Americans were mistaken. Canadian volunteers and First Nations, including Shawnee led by Chief Tecumseh, supported British soldiers in Canada's defence. In July, Major-General Sir Isaac Brock captured Detroit but was killed while defending against an American attack at Queenston Heights, near Niagara Falls, a battle the Americans lost. In 1813, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry and 460 soldiers, mostly French Canadiens, turned back 4,000 American invaders at Châteauguay, south of Montreal. In 1813 the Americans burned Government House and the Parliament Buildings in York (now Toronto)." So the 1813 burning of York came in the same year as the Canadian victory at Châteauguay — a year of intense fighting on multiple fronts. The 1814 retaliation by Major-General Robert Ross then completed the cycle. So when the test asks where the Americans burned Government House and the Parliament Buildings in 1813, the source-precise answer is York (now Toronto).

The question is testing whether new citizens know where the 1813 American burning took place. Discover Canada commits to one place: York (now Toronto). The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each substitute a different Canadian city. The first choice is Quebec's largest city — but the source places the burning in York (now Toronto), not in this city. The second choice is the historic capital of New France — but again not the source's named site. The fourth choice is a different Ontario city — but the named site is York. Only York (now Toronto) — the source's exact named site — matches.