Weekly Quiz: Foreign Interference, Arctic Deterrence, and Weariness Around War

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const title = "Weekly Quiz: Foreign Interference, Arctic Deterrence, and Weariness Around War"; const date = "April 18, 2026"; const data = [ { image: "https://walrus-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/img/Lennox-Alberta-1800-1-1536x1024.jpg", title: "Can Alberta Keep Foreign Meddling Out of Its Secession Vote?", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/can-alberta-keep-foreign-meddling-out-of-its-secession-vote/", question: "New federal legislation has introduced serious penalties for covert foreign interference in Canada’s democratic processes. What is the maximum penalty for such offences under the Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act?", options: [ "Ten years imprisonment", "Twenty years imprisonment", "Fifty years imprisonment", "Life imprisonment", ], answer: "Life imprisonment", correct: "Now punishable with life imprisonment is the following offence, per the newly enacted Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act: “20.4 (1) Every person commits an indictable offence who, at the direction of, or in association with, a foreign entity, engages in surreptitious or deceptive conduct with the intent to influence a political or governmental process, educational governance, the performance of a duty in relation to such a process or such governance or the exercise of a democratic right in Canada.” What constitutes surreptitious or deceptive conduct is key to making out the elements of this new offence; connecting that conduct to the mens rea of intentionally influencing a political process is also critical.", incorrect: "Now punishable with life imprisonment is the following offence, per the newly enacted Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act: “20.4 (1) Every person commits an indictable offence who, at the direction of, or in association with, a foreign entity, engages in surreptitious or deceptive conduct with the intent to influence a political or governmental process, educational governance, the performance of a duty in relation to such a process or such governance or the exercise of a democratic right in Canada.” What constitutes surreptitious or deceptive conduct is key to making out the elements of this new offence; connecting that conduct to the mens rea of intentionally influencing a political process is also critical.", }, { title: "Can Trump Actually Quit NATO? We May Soon Find Out", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/can-trump-actually-quit-nato-we-may-soon-find-out/ ", question: "Recent polls show widespread dissatisfaction among the American public with the US–Iran war, a sentiment which could affect the country’s upcoming midterm elections. According to data from Reuters and Ipsos, what percentage of Americans want the war to end quickly?", options: [ "41 percent", "59 percent", "66 percent", "73 percent", ], answer: "66 percent", correct: "Reuters and Ipsos found that 66 percent of Americans want a quick end to the Iran war, even if the administration’s goals aren’t achieved, and 60 percent disapprove of the strikes. That’s terrible political terrain for the party that started the war, especially if gas prices stay high and the body count keeps growing.", incorrect: "Reuters and Ipsos found that 66 percent of Americans want a quick end to the Iran war, even if the administration’s goals aren’t achieved, and 60 percent disapprove of the strikes. That’s terrible political terrain for the party that started the war, especially if gas prices stay high and the body count keeps growing.", }, { image: "https://walrus-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/img/Popplewell-Greenland-1800.jpg", title: "I Went to Greenland and Saw a Warning for Canada", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/i-went-to-greenland-and-saw-a-warning-for-canada/", question: "In January, Nuuk became the focal point of international military efforts as NATO-aligned countries deployed personnel to Greenland’s capital amid fears of a US invasion. What was the primary purpose of this multilateral force?", options: [ "To prepare for joint Arctic training exercises", "To assist with crisis response coordination", "To signal their commitment to protecting the rule-bound order", "To make visible the value of principled co-operation", ], answer: "To signal their commitment to protecting the rule-bound order", correct: "In the opening salvos of 2026, Greenland felt at the centre of everything. What may have seemed abstract to those watching from afar felt both real and urgent for the people of Nuuk. By mid-January, the threat of invasion left citizens awake in the night and transformed the port city from an otherwise quiet Arctic outpost of 20,000 people into a rallying point for NATO troops and ambassadors. French soldiers were there, as were Germans, Swedes, and Finns. Together, they formed a tripwire force hastily deployed as an armed symbol of the Western alliance’s resolve to preserve the rule-bound order—even if it meant going to war with itself.", incorrect: "In the opening salvos of 2026, Greenland felt at the centre of everything. What may have seemed abstract to those watching from afar felt both real and urgent for the people of Nuuk. By mid-January, the threat of invasion left citizens awake in the night and transformed the port city from an otherwise quiet Arctic outpost of 20,000 people into a rallying point for NATO troops and ambassadors. French soldiers were there, as were Germans, Swedes, and Finns. Together, they formed a tripwire force hastily deployed as an armed symbol of the Western alliance’s resolve to preserve the rule-bound order—even if it meant going to war with itself.", }, { title: "The Roller-Coaster Price of Oil Is Bad for Almost Everyone", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/the-roller-coaster-price-of-oil-is-bad-for-almost-everyone/", question: "In response to recent oil price shocks, several countries have accelerated their shift toward renewable energy. Similar responses have occurred in the past—take Pakistan, for example, which dramatically scaled up its clean energy capacity following the 2022 energy crisis. By how much did the country increase its solar capabilities during that period?", options: [ "Twofold", "Threefold", "Fourfold", "Fivefold", ], answer: "Fivefold", correct: "Pakistan responded to the energy crisis of 2022 with a fivefold expansion of its solar power, a move that’s expected to save the country over $6 billion (US) in fossil fuel imports this year. The United Kingdom has responded to the Iran war by mandating solar panels and heat pumps for all new homes in England starting from 2028. China, which exports 60 percent of the world’s wind turbines and 80 percent of all solar panels, has happily (and lucratively) picked up the energy-transition leadership mantle from the ditch the US threw it into. This is the reality US president Donald Trump ignored when he told world leaders, a month into the Iran war, to “go get your own oil.” In 2026, oil and gas aren’t the only option anymore.", incorrect: "Pakistan responded to the energy crisis of 2022 with a fivefold expansion of its solar power, a move that’s expected to save the country over $6 billion (US) in fossil fuel imports this year. The United Kingdom has responded to the Iran war by mandating solar panels and heat pumps for all new homes in England starting from 2028. China, which exports 60 percent of the world’s wind turbines and 80 percent of all solar panels, has happily (and lucratively) picked up the energy-transition leadership mantle from the ditch the US threw it into. This is the reality US president Donald Trump ignored when he told world leaders, a month into the Iran war, to “go get your own oil.” In 2026, oil and gas aren’t the only option anymore.", }, ];