How many Canadians served in the First World War out of a population of eight million?

Discover Canada records this figure with one direct sentence. The guide writes: More than 600,000 Canadians served in the war, most of them volunteers, out of a total population of eight million. The number the test wants is therefore more than 600,000.

The proportion is striking. With a population of about eight million in 1914, more than 600,000 served — roughly one Canadian in thirteen — and most of them volunteered. Discover Canada sets up this scale by describing how the war began: "When Germany attacked Belgium and France in 1914 and Britain declared war, Ottawa formed the Canadian Expeditionary Force (later the Canadian Corps)." The 600,000+ figure is the size of that force across the whole war.

The Canadian Corps' record matters in Discover Canada's account. The guide says the Canadians proved "tough, innovative soldiers," and gives one major battle in detail: "The Canadian Corps captured Vimy Ridge in April 1917, with 10,000 killed or wounded, securing the Canadians' reputation for valour as the 'shock troops of the British Empire.'" By 1918, under General Sir Arthur Currie, "Canada's greatest soldier," the Canadian Corps fought through the last hundred days that ended in the Armistice on November 11, 1918.

The cost was significant. Discover Canada writes: "In total 60,000 Canadians were killed and 170,000 wounded." So out of the more-than-600,000 who served, roughly one in ten was killed and almost three in ten became casualties. The guide concludes that "the war strengthened both national and imperial pride, particularly in English Canada."

The question is testing whether new citizens have remembered Discover Canada's exact figure. The guide commits to more than 600,000 — and pairs the number with the matching context ("out of a total population of eight million") so the scale is impossible to miss.

The wrong answer choices each test a near-miss. 300,000 understates the real figure by half. 800,000 overstates it. "More than one million" overstates it considerably and would actually exceed the contemporary populations of some Canadian provinces. Discover Canada's number is more than 600,000.