From the windswept and rocky shores of the Atlantic islands to mysterious coastal rainforest, Canada has endless opportunities for adventure. The Canadian Rockies contain some of the most beautiful alpine ecosystems on the planet (see Banff, Jasper, and more). The vast interior contains a sparsely populated boreal forest, the Great Plains, a forgotten North Shore, and the Polar Bears of the Canadian arctic. And that doesn't even include its urban centers - international blends with classic Canadian favorites (Ah, poutine!). Come for a little bit of everything, eh? The wild, the people, the art, the landscapes. Canada is the true north, strong and free.
Places to Visit
What & Where to Eat
What to Watch & Read
A Canadian Starter's Guide
Movies
Books
Relevant to travel in Prince Edward Island:
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For any ​Green Gables fan, the Green Gables Heritage Place (in Prince Edward Island National Park) is a must-visit. Open from May-October, the park showcases a Green Gables farmhouse, Lover's Lane, the Haunted Woods, and other wonders discovered by Anne on PEI's north-Atlantic haven.​​
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Relevant to travel in Labrador:
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Happy Valley-Goose Bay/Northwest River: Every local Happy Valley gander brought this up as a "must-read". There is even a small museum in Northwest River (45 minutes north of Happy-Valley-Goose Bay) that displays recovered items from the infamous expedition, and retells their journey. The book captures an adventurous spirit, Canadian-American pioneers, and the harsh realities of the sub-Arctic ecosystem. It's a great read. And wild to find remnants of the expedition in the museum
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Relevant to travel in Newfoundland:
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A Darkly comic and beautifully described, The Shipping News, won the Pulitzer Prize and U.S. National Book Award. Proulx spent time living between Newfoundland and the USA, her witty plot and captivating description of people and land describe life as a "Newfie". ​
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Learn From People of Canada's First Nations
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Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001) - Winner of the Cannes Golden Camera Award, the movie retells an Inuit legend passed down through centuries of oral tradition with stunning cinematography.
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My Name is Arnaktauyok by Germaine Arnaktauyok & Gyu Oh (2015) - Artist Germaine Arnaktauyok tells her life storyand it includes over 100 full-color reproductions of her work.
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​There are hundreds of First Nations peoples located throughout Canada. Their perspectives should be heard and considered - challenge the stereotypes and misconceptions encouraged by the mainstream media with the Inconvenient Indian, discover native art with Arnaktauyok. Or watch the first full-length feature film ever to be written, directed and acted entirely in the Inuktitut language.
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Relevant to Travel in Quebec
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My Uncle Antoine (1971) - Movie about rural Quebec from the point-of-view of a 15-year old boy before the Silent Revolution. The movie is noted as an important milestone on the way to further Quebec autonomy.
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Jesus of Montreal (1989) - An actor at a local church transitions to a story mirroring many New Testament stories.
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Canada's semi-autonomous province is a unique situation in Canada, let alone North America. These films capture the French-Canadian pride - through language, resistance, and culture.
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Canada At-Large
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Margaret Atwood - A prolific and award-winning author, this Canadian has published famous works like The Handmaid's Tale (1985), Alias Grace (1996), The Robber Bride (1993), and The Blind Assassin (2000).
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The Last Spike: The Great Railway, 1881-1885 by Pierre Berten (2001) - A renowned historical account of the first railway construction across Canada.
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My Winnipeg (2007) - A fantastical mockumentary describing a man's relationship with Winnipeg (it's a love-hate relationship).
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​Relevant to travel in Winnipeg: See what central Canada's largest city is all about...
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Never Cry Wolf (1963) - Funniest book on nature that you'll ever read
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Lucy Maud Montgomery (1908)
Anne Shirley is an orphan with a flowery imagination and exuberant personality - she is adopted by a strict, but sweet couple that owns a farm on Prince Edward Island. Anne of Green Gables is a widely regarded as a classic novel, listed among BBC's "The Big Read", top 200 novels of all-time.
Dillon Wallace (1905)
Journals of the ill-fated expedition to canoe the Naskaupi River-Michikamau Lake in Labrador. Dillon Wallace survived to write a book about the experiences of Leonidas Hubbard Jr. (of Michigan), George Elsen (local), and himself (of New York).
Annie Proulx (2003)
A struggling family moves from New York to their ancestoral home on the island of Newfoundland. Darkly comic and beautifully described, The Shipping News, won the Pulitzer Prize and U.S. National Book Award.
Movie (2001)
Winner of the Cannes Golden Camera Award, the movie retells an Inuit legend passed down through centuries of oral tradition. It is the first full-length feature film ever to be written, directed and acted entirely in the Inuktitut language.
Arnaktauyok & Gyu Oh (2015)
Artist Germaine Arnaktauyok tells her life storyand it includes over 100 full-color reproductions of her work.
Movie (1971)
Movie about rural Quebec from the point-of-view of a 15-year old boy before the Silent Revolution. The movie is noted as an important milestone on the way to further Quebec autonomy.
Margaret Atwood (1985); TV Show (2017-2020)
Well-written characters navigate dark story lines and dystopic realities. The Handmaid's Tale has become a popular Hulu television series, and Alias Grace was a Canadian mini-series.
Farley Monfat (1963)
Hilarious. Monfat ingeniously describes the world around him, taken to the far north to study wolf populations. Brilliant observations and ecology of wolves that will constantly make you laugh.
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