Prairie Provinces, the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, in the northern Great Plains region of North America. They constitute the great wheat-producing region of Canada and are a major source for petroleum, potash, and natural gas. These provinces are partially covered by grasslands, plains, and lowlands, mostly in the southern regions. These locations make up 80% of Canada’s agricultural production.

Climate
The Canadian prairies experience dry semi-arid climates with annual precipitation of 12 to 15 inches while regions with black and dark brown soils experience some dry, humid continental climate with an annual rainfall of 16 to 20 inches. Of the three Prairies, Manitoba is the coldest as well as the most humid. The region is also apt to experience thunderstorms during the summer and spring which sometimes are vigorous enough to create a tornado, especially in the far south of the province.

Main Attractions
Manitoba
• Polar Bear Safari in Churchill

Since long before Churchill had a human history, it was the polar bear capital of the world. Today, every October and November, up to 900 of these generally solitary creatures gather outside Churchill, making it the world’s greatest concentration of polar bears. Expectant bears fatten up on seals before coming on land to take their dens and bear young. The bears’ massive denning area was placed under the protection in 1996, and travelers are permitted to visit only as part of an authorized tour group. Beyond the excitement of seeing roving polar bears, the late fall night skies frequently pun on a show of their own, pulsing with the aurora borealis. These are the northern lights, shifting curtains of multicolored light that swirl across the sky, as the astral dance between the earth’s magnetic field and electrons and protons brought in by gusts of solar wind.

Saskatchewan
• Wanuskewin Heritage Park

Six thousand years ago, Wanuskewin echoed with the thundering hooves of bison and the voices of Indigenous peoples from across the Northern Plains; the land still echoes with these stories that Wanuskewin is proud to share with the people. The nomadic tribes who roamed the Northern Plains gathered on this site of natural beauty where today visitors can relive the stories of a people who came here to hunt bison, gather food and herbs and escape the winter winds. Walking in their footsteps, you will understand why this site was a place of worship and celebration, of renewal with the natural world and of deep spirituality.
The story of Wanuskewin is just beginning to be uncovered. Some archaeological dig sites date back thousands of years making them older than the Egyptian pyramids; these sites provide clues to the daily existence of the early peoples. Tipi rings, stones cairns, pottery fragments, plant seeds, projectile points, eggshell fragments, and animal bones all give evidence of active thriving societies. While some sites teach us about life thousands of years ago other sites like the ancient Medicine Wheel still remain shrouded in mystery.

Alberta
• Calgary Stampede

Calgary goes Western during its world-famous stampede, kicking up its boot heels for ten rodeo filled days in July. Rodeos have been a part of Calgary summers since 1886, soon after the city was founded as an outpost for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Calgary Stampede is the world’s largest and most prestigious rodeo, with more than 400 of the world’s elite rodeo contestants entered in six major events, competing for a total prize topping nearly $2 million. One of the stampede’s unique competitions is the Chuckwagon Race – not built for speed of grace- contend for the fastest time around the track in a fury of dust and pounding hooves.
• Banff and Jasper National Parks

Spanning the crown of the majestic Canadian Rockies are Banff and Jasper parks. Banff was Canada’s very first national park as is now 2,656-square-mile giant and Western Canada’s number-one tourist destination. The park’s pride is a pair of shimmering jade green lakes: the stunning Moraine Lake, nestled beneath soaring 10,000-foot peaks, and Lake Louise known for its dramatic setting at the base of Victoria Glacier. One of the world’s most scenic roadways, the 142mile Icefields Parkway links Banff and Jasper National Parks passing through an unbroken panorama of glacier-topped peaks, waterfalls, and turquoise lakes flanked by spruce and fir forests.
• The Canadian Rockies by Train

When railroads first crossed Canada in 1885, they did more than bring settlers: They opened western Canada to tourism. Traveling by train through the Rockies is one of the best and more relaxing ways to explore this massive and inspiring country.

Other Resources
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta

References and Citations
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/important-facts-associated-with-the-canadian-prairies-or-the-prairie-provinces-of-canada.html
https://www.britannica.com/place/Prairie-Provinces
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Prairies
https://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com/things-to-do/attractions
https://wanuskewin.com
https://www.churchillwild.com/adventures/polar-bear-safari/
https://www.calgarystampede.com
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/banff
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/jasper/activ/passez-stay/camping
https://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/trains/rockies-and-pacific

Occupying nearly 40 % of Canada’s total landmass, the North is an iconic yet mysterious part of Canada. Though its igloos, icebergs, polar bears, seal hunters, and Northern Lights are some of the country’s best-known symbols, it remains a region few Canadians will ever visit.

“Northern” Canada encompasses all land above the country’s 60th parallel, which is divided into three territories: Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Upwards of 90% of the land in all three is strictly uninhabitable, a barren wasteland of rock, ice, and snow, meaning the populated areas are located either in the southern regions or close to the coast of a lake, river or ocean. Still, “habitable” remains very much in the eye of the beholder. Even in the North’s larger cities, it’s not at all uncommon for winter temperatures to dip below -40˚(C).

Territory vs. Province — what’s the difference?

Historically, the difference between a Canadian “province” and a “territory” was that territories were run by Ottawa, while provinces had democratic self-government. After self-governance was granted to the territories in the 1970s, the only real distinction was that territorial governments could not charge nor collect royalties on their natural resources — only Ottawa could. This was, in turn, abolished through so-called “devolution” reforms in the 2000s, meaning there are now basically no meaningful differences between a province and a territory beyond a name.

Main Attractions

Nunavut

The north is like no other place. Far from a frigid wasteland, the Arctic is a land of profound though alien beauty. It is a homeland to the Inuit; habitat for wildlife such as wolves, musk oxen, wolverines, and caribou; and temporary home for millions of migratory birds. Nunavut is Canada’s eastern Arctic and its newest and largest territory – approximately the size of Western Europe. Created in 1999 as a territory for the Inuit people, it has a human population of 30,000, which is outnumbered 30 to 1 by caribou. Few visitors travel to the Arctic, but those who do experience the subtitle yet powerful splendor of the landscape and, during the Arctic summer, witness the explosion of life that occurs when 24-hour daylight ignites a kaleidoscope of wildflowers. Given the precipitous seasonal changes, lack of roads, and minimal infrastructure for tourism, visiting the Arctic isn’t always easy, but a handful of backcountry lodges offer comfortable accommodations and guided adventures. 

Yukon

In 1896 the cry went up: Gold! A small party of prospectors panning for nuggets on a remote stream of the Yukon River discovered gold and lots of it. Word of Klondike gold fields spread like wildfire, and by 1898, Dawson city, just 165 miles south of the Arctic circle, counted more than 30,000 inhabitants, a boomtown if ever there was one. Nearly all 1898 gold rushers reached Dawson City via the mighty Yukon River, one of the most powerful rivers in North America. The most exhilarating way to enter town is till by river, perhaps even on a guided multi-day canoe trip. You will pass rugged pristine wilderness, First Nation fishing camps, and abandoned mining sited before paddling into Dawson. A city with a year-round population of 1,300. It has become an open-air museum. 

The Northwest Territories

Want to take the road less traveled? Then start revving up. Canada’s brand-new all-season highway to the Arctic Ocean opened to the public on November 15, 2017.

Inuvik-to-Tuk Highway is a milestone – the first road in history to reach the polar shore of North America. The highway stretches 140 kilometers from Inuvik, the hub of the Western Arctic, to the dynamic Inuvialuit community of Tuktoyaktuk on the wild Arctic coast.

Here’s why to start planning your northernmost road-trip. Head north from Inuvik, population 3,403. This is the regional center of the Mackenzie Delta, linked to the south via the epic Dempster Highway. View the East Channel of the Mackenzie River as it snakes its way northbound toward its mouth at the polar sea. Leave the northernmost reaches of the boreal forest, crossing the treeline into the wide-open tundra of the Barrenlands. Pass through the grazing range of Canada’s only heard of domestic reindeer, tended and harvested in the region since the 1930s. Glimpse the Aurora as it dances over the tundra, far from the glare of city lights. Visit Pingo Canadian Landmark, on the west side of the road, with the world’s largest cluster of ice-cored “pingo” hills. Roll into Tuktoyaktuk, population 935, the Northwest Territories’ Inuvialuit cultural hub. … and when you reach the shore, treat yourself to a brief, brisk dip in the Arctic Ocean. Congratulations – you’ve driven to the top of the world.

Other Resources 

Yukon

The Northwest Territories

Nunavut

References and Citations

http://www.travelyukon.com

http://spectacularnwt.com

British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. With an estimated population of 5.016 million as of 2018, it is Canada’s third-most populous province.

Climate
Coastal southern British Columbia has a mild, rainy oceanic climate, some far southern parts of which are the warm-summer Mediterranean, influenced by the North Pacific Current, which has its origins in the Kuroshio Current. Due to the blocking presence of successive mountain ranges, the climate of some of the interior valleys of the province is semi-arid with certain locations receiving less than 250 millimeters (9.8 in) in annual precipitation. The annual mean temperature in the most populated areas of the province is up to 12 °C (54 °F), the mildest anywhere in Canada.
The extended summer dryness often creates conditions that spark forest fires, from dry-lightning or man-made causes. Many areas of the province are often covered by a blanket of heavy cloud and low fog during the winter months, in contrast to abundant summer sunshine.

Top 10 metropolitan areas by population:
Vancouver 2,463,431
Victoria 367,770
Kelowna 194,882
Abbotsford 180,518
Nanaimo 104,936
Kamloops 103,811
Chilliwack 101,512
Prince George 86,622
Vernon 61,334
Courtenay 54,157

Main Attractions

Vancouver Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden

Canada’s multiculturalism, a fascinating mosaic of peoples and customs, finds its zenith in Vancouver, with one of the highest concentrations of ethnic Chinese residents outside Asia. Just east of downtown is Vancouver’s historic Chinatown, where nearly all of the signs are in Chinese and storefront windows are filled with hanging ducks, bales of dried fish, and unlikely looking medical potions. An island of calm in this otherwise frenetic community is the Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, the first full-scale Chinese classical garden ever built outside China. Its complex network of corridors and courtyards seems like an intricately chambered jewel box, a pocket-sized otherworld.

Yoho National Park

Yoho National Park lies in the steep drainage of the Kicking horse river, which boasts Class III and IV rapids, making it one of Canada’s most exciting white-water destinations. A popular short hike leads to a viewpoint overlooking Takakkaw Falls, Canada’s second highest at 1,250 feet.

The Gulf Islands

The rock-faced Gulf Islands lie sprinkled between the mainland city of Vancouver and Vancouver Island, in the Strait of Georgia. Five of the islands are easily reached on BC ferries, from Tsawwassen on the mainland or Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island – the narrow passage between these islands is considered one of the most beautiful ferries rides on earth. Each of the almost 100 islands exudes its own unique character.

Heli-Skiing and Heli-Hiking

Just west of the Canadian Rockies lie waves of mountains: The Cariboo, Bugaboo, Monashee, Selkirk, Galina and Purcell ranges are unknown to many but famous to fans of high-mountain hiking and powder skiing. These remote peaks are beyond the reach of roads and ski lifts, but getting to the mountain top is possible with a helicopter. High-country skiing requires intermediate to advanced skills, but the rewards are unmatched. Over the course of one mind-boggling powder-filled week helicopters set skiers down for 8 to 15 different runs per day, all on snow uncrossed by another human’s tracks. As soon as the snows melt, adventurers can pursue summer hiking and trekking in these same unbelievable mountains. The high country is transformed into a primeval world of alpine wildflowers and monumental views of dozens of snow-capped mile-high peaks.

The Okanagan Valley

The arid yet fertile Okanagan Valley is Canada’s second largest wine-producing area, the first one being Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario. Its 100 wineries comprise almost 10,000, producing wines that rival nearby Washington State’s in power, richness, and finesse. Kelowna is an excellent base for tasting expeditions, with more than 18 wineries within a half hour drive.

Pacific Rim National Park

The coastal rainforests, cliff-lined islands, and broad, sandy beaches of Vancouver Island’s remote western flank are preserved as the three-unit Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, a maritime wilderness that’s hallowed ground for ecotourists, long-distance hikers, and sea kayakers. In the first unit, you’ll find the West Coast Trail, a 47-mile track hailed as one of the most spectacular and challenging hikes on the continent. At the mouth of Barkley Sound is the park’s second unit, centered on the Broken Group Islands, a rocky archipelago rich with wildlife. The park’s third unit is its most accessible: the 9-mile curve of Long Beach, some 500 yards wide at low tide and popular in the summer when the weather is sunny and breezy.

Stubbs Island Whale-Watching

Separating Vancouver Island from the cedar-flanked coast of British Columbia, Johnstone Strait near Telegraph Cove is home to the wolds’ largest concentration of orcas. Over 200 of these black-and-white whales inhabit these waters, and they have good reason to gather here. In addition to congregating to socialize and mate, the orcas come here to eat: The confines of Johnson Strait force migrating salmon into a narrow channel, which means they are easy to hunt. The area also features the “rubbing beaches” at the Robson Right Ecological Reserve, where the orcas gather at shallow, pebbly beaches to rub their bellies on rocks and gravel – a kind of whale massage. Although these beaches are off-limits to human visitors, wild-life viewing tours can bring you close enough to see these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat.

Victoria’s Inner Harbour

Replete with beautifully preserved Victorian-era architecture, British Columbia’s capital has always enjoyed its reputation as being “more British than Britain”. The Inner Harbour is Victoria’s centerpiece, a pocket-sized inlet flanked by historic buildings and bustling with sea-going vessels.

Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort

The giant twin peaks of Whistler and Blackcomb, just 75 miles north of Vancouver on the stunningly scenic Sea-to-Sky Highway comprise North America’s largest ski and snowboard resort, regularly rated No.1 by polls and magazines. After a major construction boom prior to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Whistler Blackcomb is now even more incredible than ever. Whistler and Blackcomb are separated by a deep valley and the Peak 2 Peak gondola carries skiers and in the summer thrill-seekers directly between the two summits: it is the world’s longest unsupported cable span.

Other Resources
British Columbia

References and Citations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia#Climate
https://vancouverchinesegarden.com
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/bc/yoho
http://gulfislandstourism.com
https://www.cmhheli.com
https://winebc.com/discover-bc-wine-country/okanagan-valley/
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/bc/pacificrim
https://www.stubbs-sightings.com
http://victoriasbestplaces.com/greater-victoria/victoria-neighbourhoods/victorias-inner-harbour/
https://www.whistler.com/skiing/

Central Canada is a region consisting of Canada’s two largest and most populous provinces: Ontario and Quebec.

Geographically, they are not at the center of the country but instead toward the east. Due to their high populations, Ontario and Quebec have traditionally held a significant amount of political power in Canada, leading to some amount of resentment from other regions of the country. Before Confederation, the term “Canada” specifically referred to Central Canada. Today, the term “Central Canada” is less often used than the names of the individual provinces.

Main Attractions

Quebec
• Montreal
After Paris, Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city in the world. It has many attractions, here are a few:

o Montreal Festivals

Montreal loves to party, as its reputation as Canada’s “capital of festivals” makes clear. By far the city’s most important event is the 11-day Montreal International Jazz Festival, world’s largest and most prestigious. Starting with a bang – quite literarily-the Montreal International Fireworks Competition lights up the city’s nights from mid-June through late August. The Just for Laughs festival is the world’s largest comedy event. In July, more than 1,600 comedians from over 20 countries come to Montreal for the two-week festival. In late August and early September, the World Film Festival brings together more than 450 international films, with entries from nearly 80 countries.

o Vieux-Montréal

Montreal got its start in 1642 when a group of French missionaries arrived by the river and set up camp, intent on converting the local Iroquois to Christianity. By 1759, after the British defeated the French for the rule on Canada, the growing city was centered along a narrow stretch of headland above the busy port on the St. Lawrence River. Today’ this is Montreal’s old city center, known as Vieux-Montréal, despite almost 250 years of British rule, it remains a bastion of French diaspora culture. Place Jacques-Cartier is the epicenter of Montreal summer life, with its street performers and horse-drawn carriages – you’ll see why it is commonly used by North American film crews as a stand-in location for Europe.

• Quebec City
o Carnival de Québec

In winter’s frosty midst- partly in defiance, partly in celebration- Quebec City springs to life during the Carnaval de Quebec (Quebec Winter Carnaval). The world’s largest winter carnival and the Mardi Gras of the north, it promises 17 festive days of dancing, music, parades and winter sports. Here you can also try the Caribou drink, a mixture of brandy, vodka, sherry, and port. Presiding over the carnival is Bonhomme, a snowflake and mythical resident of the Ice Palace, an enormous castle built entirely of ice near the Quebec Parliament Building. A high point of the carnival is the International Snow Sculpture Competition. You can stay at the Hôtel de Glace, a 32,000-square-foot hotel constructed of ice and snow. It offers 44 guest rooms and suites made entirely out of snow and ice.

o Vieux-Québec

Once the capital of New France, Quebec City is one of the oldest European settlements in North America and the continent’s only walled city north of Mexico. Vieux-Québec is divided into the Haute-Ville and Basse-Ville ( Lower and Upper Towns). Towering above all of the Vieux-Québec with green-copper turrets, and in many ways, the symbol of the city is the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac.

• Mont Tremblant Resort and the Laurentian Mountains

Mont Tremblant, North America’s second oldest ski resort after Idaho’s Sun Valley stand atop the highest peak of Quebec’s Laurentian Mountains. The mountain receives more than 150 inches of snow each winter, and a full 50% of its trails are classified expert, including a daunting double-black diamond Dynamite with 42-degree incline, the steepest in Eastern Canada. At the mountain’s base lies Mont Tremblant Village, a pedestrian-only area designed to resemble Quebec City’s historic district, right down to its cobbled streets, wrought-iron balconies, and tin roofs. Mont Tremblant is as busy in summer as in winter. July brings a popular 9-day blues festival; in September the Laurentian Mountains are ablaze with colorful autumn foliage, particularly the fiery red of native sugar maples.

• Charlevoix

An hour northeast of Quebec City, along the north shores of the St. Laurence River, the and grows rugged; forests of fir, cedar, and spruce edge into farmland, and the banks of the river rise into rock-faced cliffs. Charlevoix beauty began to attract travelers, and during the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, a summer influx of wealthy American families began streaming into the Charlevoix villages known collectively as Murray Bay (in French, La Malbaie, and Pointe-Au-Pic)’ making this the “Newport of the North”.

• Lake Massawippi and Eastern Townships

Quebec’s Eastern Townships feature wide valleys, glacial lakes, and low mountains ( the northern extension of Appalachians) snuggled between the St. Lawrence River and the borders of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The region’s many farms and vineyards provide the produce, wines and traditional foods that lend a French je ne sais quoi to fine cuisine across the province of Quebec. At the turn of the 20th century, Lake Massawippi, a narrow, 10-mile-long glacier-dug lake flanked by hardwood forests, had become a favorite summer destination for wealthy families; train lines brought America’s captains of industry, who built grand lakefront estates here.

Ontario

• Ottawa
o Parliament Hill and Changing of the Guard

Parliament Hill with its Gothic revival suite of buildings is the home of the Parliament of Canada and has architectural elements of national symbolic importance. Parliament Hill attracts approximately 3 million visitors each year. Attend the changing of the ceremonial Guards on the Parliament Hill. Distinctive in the scarlet uniforms and bearskin hats, the Band of the Ceremonial Guard attracts huge crowds wherever it performs.

o Rideau Canal and Winterlude

If nature gives you snow and ice, celebrate the joys of winter. That’s exactly what Canada’s capital city has done every February since 1979, during Winterlude. It offers a variety of activities for the whole family like skating and fun in the snow. The Rideau Canal is the centerpiece of Winterlude. Built in the 1930s as a 126-mile military route linking the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario, North America’s oldest continuously operated canal become Winterlude’s main drag when 5 miles of its length, in the heart of Ottawa, are groomed for skating. It is the world’s largest natural frozen ice-skating ring.
o Royal Canadian Mint

The Mint’s facility in Ottawa is responsible for producing collector and commemorative coins, bullion in the form of coins, bars, wafers and grain, medals and medallions. This is also where the master tooling is done to create the dies that strike coin designs for both circulation and commemorative issues. You can visit the museum and watch people at work during the weekdays.

• Toronto
o CN Tower and EdgeWalk

The CN Tower’s Glass Floor is a unique experience that has inspired an international bucket list of see-through floor experiences including the Grand Canyon Skywalk, Chicago’s Ledge, and many more. EdgeWalk is CN Tower’s most thrilling attraction in its history and the first of its kind in North America. It is the world’s highest full circle hands-free walk on a 5 ft (1.5 m) wide ledge encircling the top of the Tower’s main pod, 356m/1168ft (116 stories) above the ground.
o Hockey Hall of Fame

The Hockey Hall of Fame is home of the Stanley Cup and the finest collection of hockey artifacts in the world.
o Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum

With a collection of more than 90000 works of art, the Art Gallery of Ontario is among the most distinguished art museums in North America. The Royal Ontario Museum is an indispensable resource for building community by nurturing discovery and inspiring wonder.
• Niagara Falls and Niagara Wine County

Almost a mile wide in total, the falls straddle the U.S.-Canada border and are divided by islands into three sections: the 1,060-foot American Falls, which includes a smaller section called Bridal Veil Falls, and the 2,600-foot Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side. The Canadian side offers the best views including the illumination shows.
The Niagara Peninsula, a neck of land that separates Lake Erie from Lake Ontario and shares Tuscan’s Latitude, is the largest viticultural area in Canada, with some 60 wineries what account for 80% of Canada’s grape-growing volume.
• The Stratford Festival

The largest classical repertory theatre in North America, the venue offers over a dozen productions yearly, from mid-April through early November. In addition to world-class production of Shakespeare, it mounts a broad range of classic plays on its four stages.

Other Resources
Quebec
Ontario

References and Citations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Canada
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5687582
http://www.tourisme-charlevoix.com/en/
http://www.mint.ca
https://visit.parl.ca
http://www.army-armee.forces.gc.ca/en/ceremonial-guard/index.page
https://www.cntower.ca/en-ca/plan-your-visit/attractions/edgewalk/edgewalk-overview.html
https://www.hhof.com
https://www.stratfordfestival.ca
https://www.niagarafallstourism.com
https://ago.ca
https://www.rom.on.ca/en
http://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/rideau-canal-skateway
https://www.easterntownships.org
https://www.mtl.org/en

Atlantic Provinces of Canada are comprising Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick. The population of the four Atlantic provinces in 2016 was about 2,300,000 on half a million km2. 

Main Attractions

Newfoundland and Labrador 

•   Gros Morne National Park

Gros Morne National Park is sometimes called the “Galapagos of Geology” because its rocks provide fascinating evidence for plate tectonics – a theory that is to geology what evolution to biology.  A place of immense splendor and lonely beauty, it is eastern Canada’s most renowned hiking and adventure destination. Start your exploration at the Discovery Center with exhibits on the geology, plant and animal life, and diverse history of the Northern Peninsula. One of the parks indisputable highlights is the rugged massif called Tablelands, where hiking trails meander over rocks jutting up from the ancient mantle in the earth’s interior. The boulders have such unusual chemistry that many plants cannot easily grow in their orange-brown terrain. 

•   St. John’s

St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital. It is the perfect combination of big-city luxury and traditional small-town charm. It is one of the oldest and most easterly cities in North America.  St. John’s has become a rare destination full of character and charisma, with a contemporary, sophisticated edge.

•   Terra Nova National Park

Terra Nova National Park is Canada’s most easterly national park. Four hundred square kilometers of natural beauty. Here you can kayak or boat from sheltered bays to breathtaking coastlines, amongst whales and seabirds. Dense forests and quiet coastlines wait to be explored along 11 beautiful hiking trails. As you walk along the twisting paths you might spy a moose, lynx, beaver, or an eagle.

•   Torngat Mountains National Park

Torngat Mountains National Park takes its name from the Inuktitut word Tongait, meaning place of spirits. It is 9,700 square kilometers of spectacular wilderness stretching north from Saglek Fjord to the northern tip of Labrador, and westward from the Atlantic seacoast to the Québec border. It’s a land of mountains and polar bears, small glaciers, and caribou, where the Inuit hunt, fish, and travel, as their predecessors did for thousands of years.

Prince Edward Island

•   Canada’s smallest province

Prince Edward Island (PEI) is a low-lying, richly agricultural isle in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. PEI is a pastoral as a postcard, with tiny farm towns set amid rolling green hills and coastal villages on rocky bays where fishermen pull lobsters, clams, scallops, and oysters from the sea. Charlottetown is PEI’s one true hub, though it feels more like a friendly small town. Its waterfront, with Peake’s Wharf at its center, is a lively place to visit. Above the waterfront, the old town center is nobler, with Georgian-era homes and storefronts. Charlottetown celebrates its fishing heritage during September’s International Shellfish Festival. Those prized Malpeque oysters, shipped worldwide, taste twice as sweet here. 

•   Anne of Green Gables

When the novel Anne of Green Gables was first published in 1908, most people could only dream of visiting its magical setting. As the book became popular around the world, it’s likely that many readers had no idea where Prince Edward Island was. Today, millions of the book’s fans have made the trip to PEI and discovered the land that captivated Anne in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s stories. And for those who just can’t get enough of their favorite red-headed girl, or the woman who created her, there are Anne-related attractions all over the Island.

•   Authentic PEI Experiences

In an ever-growing series of activities, you can work side-by-side with chefs, artisans, fishermen, farmers, musicians, and a host of people who defy categorizing, but who love what they do and want to share it with you. So, if you’re looking for a holiday with some real life behind it, you’ll find it here. Yes, you might get your hands dirty. You might also get your shoes wet. And your knees stained. All temporary. But the memory of your Island experiences will last a lifetime.

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

•   Bay of Fundy

The Bay of Fundy boasts the world’s highest tides, rising as much as 48 feet in six hours- more than 22 times greater than the average tide in open seas. The hard-rapid tides have sculptured the bay’s cave-pocked coastline, reducing huge boulders to fancy shapes, such as the Hopewell Rocks, which just from the sand with miniature forests on their summits. The bay is best observed at Fundy National Park, established in 1948 to protect 80 square miles of coastline and forested mountains on the bay’s New Brunswick coast. So dramatic is the difference between low and high tide that, at the park’s Alma Beach, almost three-quarters of a mile of tidal flats are exposed at low tide. Then, when the water comes rushing back in, it produces a roar at mid-tide called “the voice of the moon”.

Nova Scotia

•   Cape Breton Island

As it juts northward between the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of St. Laurence, Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island becomes increasingly mountainous and barren. Cape Breton Highlands National Park protects much of the island’s northern tip, a region so remote it wasn’t even accessible by car until the 1930s. Today, you can take one of the greatest drives here: the 184-mile-long Cabot Trail. Follow the picturesque, craggy coastline around the 365-square-mile national park, passing centuries-old French Acadian and Scottish fishing villages before pushing up and over the island’s central plateau, between Pleasant Bay and Cape North – a striking moorland with stunned old-growth hardwood forests and tundra-like meadows. 

•   Old Town Lunenburg

In the 1750s, lured by the prospect of free land, nearly 1,500 Protestant pioneers from Germany, Switzerland, and France set sail under the protection of the British Crown to establish a colony on the coast of Nova Scotia. With them was a set of town plans drawn up by the London-based Board of Trade and Plantations. As part of the agreement with their British sponsors, the colonists would use these plans to build a predesigned “model town” in the Canadian wilderness. The Lunenburg colony survived and prospered as a well-known shipbuilding and fishing center. Little change has come to its Old Town and waterfront since the 1700s, and two and a half centuries after its establishment, the tiny coastal hamlet is still in near-pristine condition. 

•   Halifax Waterfront

Discover the historic port city of Halifax when you walk along the Halifax waterfront. Start at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 – the gateway into Canada for one million immigrants – and then explore eclectic shops and galleries, some of the city’s best restaurants, and ships including the last of the WWII convoy escort corvettes.

•   Peggy’s Cove

Nova Scotia is home to over 160 historic lighthouses, but no beacon is as photographed as the one in the vibrant fishing village of Peggy’s Cove. Built in 1915, Peggy’s Point Lighthouse still keeps watch over surging ocean waves and working lobster boats. Scramble over giant rocks worn smooth by the sea and share in the view.

Other Resources

Newfoundland and Labrador

Prince Edward Island

Nova Scotia

New Brunswick

References and Citations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Canada

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_and_Labrador

https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/top-destinations

https://www.tourismpei.com/pei-activities

https://www.novascotia.com/explore/top-25

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/741

https://www.cbisland.com