Since 1854, how many Canadians have been awarded the Victoria Cross?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence about Canada's highest military honour. The guide writes: The Victoria Cross (V.C.) is the highest honour available to Canadians and is awarded for the most conspicuous bravery, a daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. The V.C. has been awarded to 96 Canadians since 1854. The number the test wants is therefore 96.

Three precise commitments. Discover Canada commits the Victoria Cross to THREE specific facts: (1) the V.C. is the highest honour available to Canadians; (2) it is awarded since 1854; (3) 96 Canadians have received it. So the source is unambiguous on the V.C.'s top status, the start year of Canadian eligibility, and the total Canadian recipient count.

The award criteria are very strict. Discover Canada commits the V.C.'s named criteria to FOUR specific qualities: (1) most conspicuous bravery; (2) a daring or pre-eminent act of valour; (3) self-sacrifice; (4) extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. So the V.C. is reserved for exceptional acts of military courage in the face of the enemy — meaning each of the 96 Canadian recipients earned the award through extraordinary battlefield action.

Named V.C. recipients in the source. Discover Canada commits several named V.C. recipients to specific named achievements. Corporal Filip Konowal — born in Ukraine — "showed exceptional courage in the Battle of Hill 70 in 1917, and became the first member of the Canadian Corps not born in the British Empire to be awarded the V.C." Captain Paul Triquet of Cabano, Quebec, earned the V.C. leading his men and a handful of tanks in the attack on Casa Berardi in Italy in 1943. Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray — a navy pilot born in Trail, B.C. — was killed bombing and sinking a Japanese warship in August 1945, and was the last Canadian to receive the V.C. to date. So the 96 Canadian V.C. recipients include both First and Second World War heroes, with named figures from across Canada and from many ethnic backgrounds. So when the test asks how many Canadians have been awarded the Victoria Cross since 1854, the source-precise answer is 96.

The question is testing whether new citizens know the number of Canadian V.C. recipients. Discover Canada commits to one number: 96. The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each substitute a different number. The first choice — 45 — is below the source's named figure. The second choice — 59 — is also below the source's named figure. The third choice — 71 — is also below the source's named figure. Only 96 — the source's exact named number — matches.