By the 1960s, what proportion of Canadians had origins that were neither British nor French?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence. The guide writes: By the 1960s, one-third of Canadians had origins that were neither British nor French, and took pride in preserving their distinct culture in the Canadian fabric. Today, diversity enriches Canadians' lives, particularly in our cities. The proportion the test wants is therefore one-third.

One-third is a major demographic shift. Discover Canada commits to one-third as the proportion of 1960s Canadians whose origins were neither British nor French. So while British and French heritage remained two-thirds of the country, a full third of Canadians by then came from many other origins — making Canada a country no longer dominated by just two founding-people groups.

The shift came from immigration. Discover Canada writes that "the idea of multiculturalism, as a result of 19th- and 20th-century immigration, gained a new impetus." So the one-third figure is the cumulative result of generations of immigrants from beyond the British and French traditions — Ukrainians, Poles, Germans, Norwegians, Swedes from Sir Wilfrid Laurier's pre-1914 era; Hungarians fleeing communism in 1956; Vietnamese fleeing the Communist victory in 1975; and many others.

This diversity led to formal multicultural recognition. Discover Canada writes that the 1960s diversity made multiculturalism a distinct Canadian principle. By 1982 the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms recognised "Multiculturalism" as "a fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity." So the 1960s one-third demographic figure is the empirical basis for what became a constitutional principle. Today, Discover Canada notes "diversity enriches Canadians' lives, particularly in our cities," with Canadian cities like Toronto and Vancouver among the most ethnically diverse in the world.

The figure is symbolically important. Discover Canada notes that "newcomers are expected to embrace democratic principles such as the rule of law" as part of becoming Canadian — but the country also "celebrate[s] the gift of one another's presence and work[s] hard to respect pluralism and live in harmony." So the 1960s one-third figure marked the moment Canadian identity stopped being a two-tradition country and became a clearly multicultural one — a transition that has continued to deepen in the decades since.

The question is testing whether new citizens know the proportion of 1960s Canadians whose origins were neither British nor French. Discover Canada commits to one fraction: one-third. The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each pick a different fraction. "One-quarter" understates. "One-half" overstates. "Two-thirds" overstates significantly. Only one-third matches the source.