Which was the first British North American colony to attain full responsible government?

Discover Canada states the answer in a single, direct sentence: The first British North American colony to attain full responsible government was Nova Scotia in 1847–48. The province the test wants is Nova Scotia, and the dates are 1847–1848.

Nova Scotia's lead is consistent with the rest of Discover Canada's democratic timeline. The same chapter notes that "the first representative assembly was elected in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1758" — almost ninety years earlier than the responsible-government breakthrough. So this is not a province that came late to elected government; it was the first into elected assemblies and again the first into responsible government, with Joseph Howe as the leading reformer named in the guide.

Discover Canada then follows the Nova Scotia milestone with the parallel one in the Canadas: "In 1848–49 the governor of United Canada, Lord Elgin, with encouragement from London, introduced responsible government." So the order is Nova Scotia first (1847–48), United Canada second (1848–49). The first elected head of a responsible government in the Canadas, the guide says, was Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine, a "champion of democracy and French language rights."

The principle Discover Canada says was achieved is the same one used today across the country: "if the government loses a confidence vote in the assembly it must resign." That principle entered British North America through Nova Scotia first — which is why the guide foregrounds it as a leader in Canadian self-government.

The question is testing whether new citizens know that the breakthrough to responsible government in this country happened first in Nova Scotia, not in central Canada. Discover Canada is explicit on the date — 1847–48 — and on the order: Nova Scotia first, the Canadas second.

The wrong answer choices each look plausible. Upper Canada and Lower Canada were merged into the Province of Canada in 1840, and that province got responsible government in 1848–49 — close in time, but a year behind Nova Scotia. Prince Edward Island appears in the guide as having an early elected assembly in 1773, but is not the colony credited with first attaining full responsible government.