In 1948, Quebec adopted its own flag based on what design?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence. The guide writes: In 1948 Quebec adopted its own flag, based on the Cross and the fleur-de-lys. The design the test wants is therefore the Cross and the fleur-de-lys.

The fleur-de-lys has deep French roots. Discover Canada writes that "the lily flower ('fleur-de-lys') was adopted by the French king in the year 496. It became the symbol of French royalty for more than 1,000 years, including the colony of New France." So when Quebec adopted the fleur-de-lys for its 1948 flag, it was claiming a thousand-year-old French royal symbol — connecting the modern province to the kingdom of France from which its first European settlers came.

The fleur-de-lys also appeared on earlier Canadian symbols. Discover Canada writes that the symbol was "revived at Confederation" and "was included in the Canadian Red Ensign" — Canada's previous flag (which served the country for about 100 years before the 1965 maple-leaf flag). So the fleur-de-lys was a Canadian as well as a Québécois symbol — and Quebec's 1948 flag turned it into the centrepiece of the province's own emblem.

1948 fits a wider pattern of provincial-flag adoption. Discover Canada notes that "the provinces and territories also have flags that embody their distinct traditions" — and Quebec's 1948 flag was a distinctly French-Canadian assertion of identity, anchored in the Cross (a Christian and Catholic symbol) and the fleur-de-lys (the historic emblem of French royalty and New France). Together, these two elements have made Quebec's flag one of the most recognisable provincial flags in Canada — a symbol of the province's particular blend of Catholic, French, and royal heritage.

The question is testing whether new citizens know the design Quebec's 1948 flag is based on. Discover Canada commits to one combination: the Cross and the fleur-de-lys. The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each substitute a different element. The first option drops the fleur-de-lys for the Maple Leaf — but the maple leaf is on the federal Canadian flag (1965), not the Quebec provincial flag. The third option drops the fleur-de-lys for the Union Jack — but the Union Jack is Canada's official Royal Flag, not part of the Quebec provincial flag. The fourth option drops the Cross entirely — but the Cross is a key element. Only "the Cross and the fleur-de-lys" matches.