Who invented basketball?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence. The guide writes: Sports have flourished as all provinces and territories have produced amateur and professional star athletes and Olympic medal winners. Basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith in 1891. Many major league sports boast Canadian talent and in the national sport of ice hockey, Canadian teams have dominated the world. The inventor the test wants is therefore James Naismith.

The 1891 date matters. Discover Canada commits to 1891 as the year basketball was invented — by a Canadian. So basketball, now one of the world's most popular team sports played on every continent, is a Canadian invention. The guide is explicit: "basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith."

Canadian sport has a long roster of famous figures. Discover Canada names several: "in 1996 at the Olympic Summer Games, Donovan Bailey became a world record sprinter and double Olympic gold medallist." "Chantal Petitclerc became a world champion wheelchair racer and Paralympic gold medalist." "One of the greatest hockey players of all time, Wayne Gretzky, played for the Edmonton Oilers from 1979 to 1988." So Canadian sport is not just hockey-and-curling — it is also basketball (Naismith), sprinting (Bailey), wheelchair racing (Petitclerc), and many more.

Sport flourishes across the country. Discover Canada writes that "all provinces and territories have produced amateur and professional star athletes and Olympic medal winners." The country's most popular spectator sport is hockey (Canada's national winter sport, developed in Canada in the 1800s); the official summer sport is lacrosse (an ancient sport first played by Aboriginals); and Canadian football is the second most popular sport. Basketball joins this list as another Canadian-invented sport that has gone global since James Naismith first introduced it in 1891.

The question is testing whether new citizens know who invented basketball. Discover Canada commits to one Canadian: James Naismith. The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each pick a different Canadian sports figure. the first option is not named in Discover Canada. Wayne Gretzky played hockey for the Edmonton Oilers from 1979 to 1988 — but did not invent basketball. Terry Fox started the Marathon of Hope in 1980 — for cancer research, not basketball. Only James Naismith — the Canadian who invented basketball in 1891 — matches.