Vancouver Trivia
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49 free Vancouver trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
Vancouver is one of British Columbia's youngest cities: a saloon opened by Gassy Jack Deighton in 1867, a railway terminus chosen in 1884, incorporation in April 1886 and a fire that flattened the whole place two months later. This quiz follows the story from the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh villages and George Vancouver's 1792 survey through the CPR deal that renamed Granville, the Great Fire, the 1929 amalgamation, Greenpeace's founding, Expo 86 and the 2010 Winter Olympics. It also covers the city visitors know: Stanley Park's 405 hectares and seawall, the Lions Gate Bridge that Guinness money built, the Capilano Suspension Bridge, the Grouse Grind's 2,830 steps, the steam clock in Gastown, Granville Island market, Chinatown, the Museum of Anthropology, SkyTrain's driverless record, BC Place's roof, the Canucks and their two Stanley Cup riots, the Whitecaps and BC Lions, Hollywood North, Lululemon and why the North Shore gets nearly twice the rain of the airport. Vancouverism, unaffordability and the world's fourth-densest big city round it out. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on Vancouver and its landmarks, teams and events, and each question shows the sentence that supports it. Our Canada quiz covers the rest of the country.
30 of 49 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What was the first name of Captain Vancouver, the Royal Navy officer who explored Burrard Inlet in 1792?
George
George Vancouver first sailed with James Cook as a teenage midshipman, and his later survey showed no Northwest Passage existed along the coast he charted.
Q 02The settlement that became Vancouver grew around a saloon opened in 1867 by which former riverboat pilot?
Gassy Jack Deighton
Gassy Jack Deighton: legend says thirsty mill workers built his saloon in exchange for whisky, and that the district took its name, Gastown, from his nickname.
Q 03Before it was renamed Vancouver, the townsite on Burrard Inlet was officially called what?
Granville
Granville honoured Lord Granville, Britain's colonial secretary, until William Van Horne insisted the growing town take a new name.
Q 04Which company chose Vancouver as its western terminus in 1884, giving the city its name and its boom?
The Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway extended its line about 20 km past Port Moody, the official terminus, to reach a better harbour.
Q 05Weeks after Vancouver was incorporated as a city, what destroyed most of it?
A fire
A fire: a land-clearing blaze blew out of control that June, and residents began rebuilding at once.
Q 06Which three Coast Salish peoples had villages on the site of present-day Vancouver?
Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh
Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh villages stood across the area, and city workers later razed the village of Whoi Whoi to build Stanley Park's first road.
Q 07Which rock legend's grandmother Nora lived in Hogan's Alley, Vancouver's historic Black neighbourhood?
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix: Nora Hendrix was a prominent figure in the neighbourhood, but much of it was razed in the late 1960s.
Q 08What is 'Vancouverism'?
The city's urban planning philosophy
The city's urban planning philosophy: planners and new zoning rules encouraged developers to build high-rise apartment towers in the West End.
Q 09Most passengers of the Komagata Maru, turned away at Vancouver in 1914, came from which part of the British Empire?
India
India: most were Punjabi Sikhs, and when the ship returned home, police near Calcutta opened fire, killing 20 of its passengers.
Q 10Which Indigenous artworks at Brockton Point rank among Stanley Park's most popular attractions?
Totem poles
Totem poles: the first ones were mostly Kwakwaka'wakw poles from up the coast, and local First Nations carvers have since added their own.
Q 11Stanley Park is named after Lord Stanley, who held which office?
Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada Lord Stanley also donated a challenge cup for Canada's best amateur hockey club, and it became the Stanley Cup.
Q 12Vancouver's Lions Gate Bridge, opened in 1938, was financed largely by which famous brewing dynasty?
The Guinness family
The Guinness family paid for the bridge to open up their North Shore housing development, then sold it to the province in 1955 for exactly what it had cost.
Q 13Which attraction near Vancouver was first built in 1889?
Capilano Suspension Bridge
Q 21Which environmental organisation was founded in Vancouver in 1969-71?
Greenpeace
Greenpeace began with a crew who sailed from Vancouver toward a US nuclear test at Amchitka, Alaska, and though they never got there, the US held no more tests on the island.
Q 22The Vancouver Canucks joined the NHL in 1970 alongside which other expansion team?
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres won the spin of a wheel for the first draft pick, so star junior Gilbert Perreault went to Buffalo instead of Vancouver.
Q 23Which team beat the Canucks in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final?
Boston Bruins
Capilano Suspension Bridge: its first span was made of hemp rope and cedar planks, and a later owner rebuilt the whole bridge in 1956.
Q 14Which Stanley Park landmark took more than half a century to build?
The Seawall
The Seawall: crews built it to stop tides eroding the park's shore, and it became popular with walkers and cyclists.
Q 15Vancouver's famous clock on Water Street was built in 1977 partly for what purpose?
To hide a steam vent
To hide a steam vent: the clock went on to become a major tourist attraction in its own right.
Q 16Which world's fair was held to mark Vancouver's centennial?
Expo 86
Expo 86: its theme was transportation and communication, and the city's new SkyTrain opened just in time to carry fairgoers.
Q 17Vancouver's SkyTrain ranked among the world's longest examples of what kind of transit in 2016?
Fully automated driverless system
Fully automated driverless system: SkyTrain was built after worsening traffic in the 1970s turned studies toward rapid transit instead of more room for cars.
Q 18Vancouver's foot-passenger ferry across Burrard Inlet is called what?
SeaBus
SeaBus: a fourth ferry, the Netherlands-built Burrard Chinook, joined the fleet in 2021 so boats could sail every 10 minutes at peak times.
Q 19Who scored the overtime goal that won 2010 Vancouver Olympic men's hockey gold?
Sidney Crosby
Sidney Crosby: he scored 7:40 into sudden-death overtime against the US, and the puck went to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Q 20Hours before the 2010 Vancouver Olympics opening ceremony, a luger from which country was killed in a training run?
Georgia
Georgia's Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, flew off the Whistler track, and officials blamed human error rather than the course.
Boston Bruins: they won 4-0 in Vancouver, and afterwards some fans rioted, burning police cars and smashing windows.
Q 24What covered BC Place when it opened in 1983?
An air-supported inflatable roof
An air-supported inflatable roof: it stayed the world's largest air-supported dome until 2010, when it was deflated for good to make way for a retractable roof.
Q 25The BC Lions' first home stadium in Vancouver was built for which 1954 sporting event?
The Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games: the league had demanded a 15,000-seat stadium before granting Vancouver a team, and the Games gave the city Empire Stadium.
Q 26The Whitecaps name began with a 1974 club in which league?
NASL
NASL: that original club won the league title in 1979, then disappeared when the league itself folded in 1984.
Q 27Vancouver shares the nickname 'Hollywood North' with which city?
Toronto
Toronto shares the nickname, and filmmakers were drawn to Vancouver partly by the varied natural scenery around it.
Q 28Which Vancouver-born broadcaster was interned as a child during WWII?
David Suzuki
David Suzuki: his family had to give up most of their possessions, and he later hosted The Nature of Things for over four decades.
Q 29Which athletic-wear brand is among the lifestyle companies founded and headquartered in Vancouver?
Lululemon
Lululemon: founder Chip Wilson built it on yoga wear, and in 2005 sold a big stake to an American private equity firm as it geared up to expand abroad.
Q 30A 1923 federal law that hit Vancouver's Chinatown did what?
Banned most Chinese immigration
Banned most Chinese immigration: it took effect on Dominion Day, so Chinese Canadians called the day 'Humiliation Day' and refused to celebrate it for years.