Skip to main content

Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s news quiz. Join us each week to test your knowledge of the stories making the headlines.

This week: The tale of the two Michaels might be winding down. Michael Spavor, who along with fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig was detained by China on espionage charges for nearly three years, alleges that he was arrested because of information he unwittingly shared with Mr. Kovrig – which he says was then passed on to the Canadian government. The Globe reported this week that Ottawa has reached a settlement with Mr. Spavor to compensate him for his time spent in a Chinese prison. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the settlement wasn’t an acknowledgment that any espionage had been in play. Mr. Kovrig has told The Globe that he acted properly in his dealings with Mr. Spavor.

Also this week, a beloved Canadian festival cancelled its 2024 edition, and Donald Trump paved his way to the Republican presidential nomination.

Do you remember these stories and more? Take our news quiz.


1Michael Spavor, one of the two Michaels detained by China for nearly three years, reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with Ottawa after he threatened to sue the federal government. What other high-profile client did his lawyer represent?
a. Former Guantanamo Bay inmate Omar Khadr
b. Freedom Convoy organizers Chris Barber and Tamara Lich
c. Former RCMP intelligence director Cameron Ortis
d. Comedian Mike Ward

a. Omar Khadr. In 2017, lawyer John K. Phillips obtained a $10.5-million settlement for Mr. Khadr, who was released from prison in 2015.

2Which annual Canadian festival announced it was cancelling its 2024 edition, citing financial struggles?
a. Just for Laughs
b. Osheaga
c. Calgary Stampede
d. Toronto International Film Festival

a. Just for Laughs announced it was seeking creditor protection as it restructures amid a “difficult financial situation.” Though this year’s comedy festivals in Montreal and Toronto are cancelled, the company says it hopes to be able to return in 2025.

3Members of which unexpected group are coming out in greater numbers to support Donald Trump in the coming U.S. election?
a. Storm chasers
b. Canadian expats
c. Evangelical Christians
d. 18-year-olds

c. Evangelical Christians. Many evangelical pastors opposed Trump when he first ran for president in 2016, but were swayed by his policies while in office, including his efforts to set the stage for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. Trump’s support in evangelical counties has risen greatly during the primaries.

4And here’s more on Trump (you’ll be hearing that a lot until November). Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, Trump’s opponent in the race for the Republican nomination, abandoned her bid after huge losses in the latest round of primaries. Which is the only state Haley won on Super Tuesday?
a. California
b. North Carolina
c. Vermont
d. Colorado

c. Vermont. Despite her underwhelming results, Haley’s victory in Vermont – she also won Washington, D.C. earlier in the week – made her the first woman to win a Republican state presidential primary. She refused to endorse Trump in her concession speech. The former president is now heading toward the nomination with no real opposition.

5A Globe investigation found that private nursing company Canadian Health Labs charged Newfoundland and Labrador for meal allowances for each of its contracted nurses, but that there was no evidence this money had been used to purchase meals. How much money is unaccounted for in the province?
a. $500,000
b. $875,000
c. $1.2-million
d. $1.6-million

d. $1.6-million. Newfoundland’s provincial government has requested a probe to investigate the charges. This week, The Globe confirmed the same billing discrepancy had happened in New Brunswick, but the total cost is unknown.

6The Globe celebrated its 180th anniversary this week. Which of these pioneers of women’s journalism worked for predecessor publications that would later merge and become The Globe and Mail?
a. Sara Jeannette Duncan, The Globe
b. Kit Coleman, The Mail
c. Faith Fenton, The Empire
d. All of the above

d. All of the above. Duncan, Coleman and Fenton reported for the three newspapers that would evolve into The Globe and Mail as we know it today. Their reporting and popularity helped women break into the male-dominated journalism industry.

7True or False: Liberal and NDP MPs ordered an investigation this week into a massive security breach at a Winnipeg infectious-disease facility.
a. True
b. False

b. False. The MPs for both parties – who are part of the House of Commons committee on access to information, privacy and ethics – blocked a proposed investigation into how two scientists were able to pass confidential lab information to China. The MPs said the ethics committee wasn’t the right venue for the probe, and the matter was “not urgent.”

8Before Ottawa announced a two-year cap on the number of new international student visas, how did the number of study permit applications from India – which make up a big portion of all international student applications – fare in 2023 compared to the year before?
a. It doubled
b. It increased 15 by per cent
c. It decreased by 15 per cent
d. There was no change

c. It decreased by 15 per cent. The federal Immigration Department processed roughly 308,000 study permit applications from India in 2023, a decline of 15 per cent from the previous year. The trend could be a sign that interest in studying in Canada was waning even before the two-year cap was announced.

How well did you do?

Answer all of the questions to see your result
Congratulations, you’re an ace. You could be a Globe editor. Subscribe to our Top Business Headlines newsletter to stay on top of your game.
Good effort. Subscribe to our Top Business Headlines newsletter to build up your knowledge.
This wasn’t your week, but that’s okay! We’ll be back next Saturday with another news quiz, subscribe to our Top Business Headlines newsletter to prepare.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe