Rough Guides - The Rough Guide to Canada (Travel Guide eBook)

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Introduction to

Canada

The home of ice hockey, the Niagara Falls, Mounties and maple syrup not to mention Ryan Gosling, Cline Dion, Drake and of course, Justin Bieber almost everyone on the planet knows something about Canada. Yet first-time visitors should expect some surprises, beginning with the immense size of the country, hard to appreciate until you get here. Canadas cities enchanting Qubec, trendy Vancouver, cosmopolitan Toronto and stylish Montral among them are rich with historical and cultural treasures, but above all Canada is a land of stunningly beautiful landscapes, from the spectacular fjord-slashed coastlines of Newfoundland and the Maritimes, to the Rockies glittering lakes and majestic peaks, and the rippling prairie expanse with all the sky for a ceiling in between.

The second largest country in the world (after Russia), Canada covers an area the United Kingdom could fit into 41 times over. Much of this expanse is sparsely inhabited and the majority of the 36 million Canadians live in its southern half, relatively close to the US border. Like its neighbour to the south, Canada is a spectrum of cultures, a hotchpotch of immigrant groups who supplanted the continents many Aboriginal peoples.

For the visitor, the mix that results from this mostly exemplary tolerance is an exhilarating experience, offering such widely differing cultural, artistic and culinary experiences as Vancouvers huge Chinatown, the Inuit heartlands of the far north, the austere religious enclaves of Manitoba or the Celtic-tinged warmth of the Maritimes.

Yet in stark contrast to their southern neighbours some Canadians are often troubled by the lack of a clear self-image, tending to emphasize the ways in which their country is different from the US as a means of self-description. The question What is a Canadian? continues to linger, with the on-again, off-again and always acrimonious debate over Qubecs secession, but ultimately there can be no simple characterization of a people whose country is not so much a single nation as it is a committee on a continental scale. Pierre Berton, one of Canadas finest writers, wisely ducked the issue: A Canadian, he quipped, is someone who knows how to make love in a canoe.

Despite this balancing act, one thing is clear: Canadians have an overwhelming sense of pride in their history, their culture and the mesmerizing beauty of their land. Indeed, Canada embraces all this as well as its own clichs with an energy thats irresistible.

Where to go

Ontario contains not only the countrys manufacturing heart and its largest city, Toronto , but also Niagara Falls , the premier tourist sight. North of Toronto theres Georgian Bay , a beautiful waterscape of pine-studded islets set against crystal-blue waters. The bay is also accessible from the Canadian capital, Ottawa not as dynamic as Toronto, but still well worth a stay for its galleries, museums and handful of superb restaurants.

Qubec , set apart by the depth of its French culture, is anchored by its biggest city, Montral , which is for many people the most vibrant place in the country, a fascinating mix of old-world style and commercial dynamism. The pace of life is more relaxed in the historic provincial capital Qubec City , and more easygoing still in the villages dotted along the St Lawrence lowlands, where glittering spires attest to the enduring influence of the Catholic Church.

Jesse Milns / Tourism Toronto

FACT FILE

• Canada has the 10th largest economy in the world; the countrys richest person is David Thomson (chairman of Thomson Reuters), worth around $25 billion.
• Its true: the Canadian province of Qubec is by far the largest producer of maple syrup in the world (accounting for three-quarters of global output).
• Established in 1964, Tim Hortons is a Canadian icon, with over 4000 doughnut and double-double (coffee with two sugars and two creams) stores nationwide.
• Unbeknown to most Americans, Hollywood is crammed with Canadians: Michael Cera, Ryan Gosling, Evangeline Lily, Rachel McAdams, Mike Myers, Ellen Page, Keanu Reeves, Ryan Reynolds, Seth Rogen, Kiefer Sutherland and William Shatner (Captain Kirk!) among them.
• Since 1952, Saturday nights have been home to Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, when thousands are glued to the TV to pay homage to the national winter sport.

Across the mouth of the St Lawrence River, the pastoral Gasp Peninsula the easternmost part of Qubec borders New Brunswick , a densely forested introduction to the three Maritime Provinces , whose people have long been dependent on timber and the sea for their livelihood. Here, the tapering Bay of Fundy boasts mind-blowing tides rising and falling by 9m or more and superb maritime landscapes, while the regions tiny fishing villages are at their most beguiling near Halifax , the busy capital of Nova Scotia . Connected to New Brunswick by bridge is Prince Edward Island , Canadas smallest province a picturesque place of rolling farmland and Victorian homes. Even prettier are the land and seascapes of Cape Breton Island , whose rugged topography anticipates that of the Atlantic province of Newfoundland to the north. The islands isolation has spawned a distinctive culture thats at its most lively in St Johns , where the local folk music scene among Canadas best. The island also boasts some of the Atlantic seaboards finest landscapes, particularly the flat-topped peaks and glacier-gouged lakes of Gros Morne National Park .

Back on the mainland, the prairie provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan have a reputation for dullness thats unfair: even in the flat southern parts theres the diversion of Winnipeg , whose traces of its early days make it a good place to break a trans-Canadian journey. Numerous lakes and gigantic forests offer magnificent canoeing and hiking, and in the far north, beside Hudson Bay, Churchill remote, but accessible by train is famous for its polar bears, beluga whales and easy viewing of the Northern Lights . Moving west, the wheatfields of Alberta ripple into ranching country on the approach to the provinces two main cities, Edmonton and Calgary , grown fat on the regions oil and gas fields. Calgary is especially known for its cowboys, rodeos and sumptuous steaks. Both cities provide useful springboards for trips into the Canadian Rockies most popularly to the resorts of Banff , Lake Louise and Jasper and the most incredible scenery in the country, from mighty glaciers to the serene beauty of Moraine Lake and the rugged wilderness of Icefields Parkway.

Further west, British Columbia is a land of snow-capped summits, rivers and forests, pioneer villages, gold-rush ghost towns, and some of the greatest hiking, skiing, fishing and canoeing in the world. Its urban focus, Vancouver , is the countrys third largest city, known for its spectacular natural setting, fabulous food and a laidback West Coast hedonism. Off the coast lies Vancouver Island , a microcosm of the provinces immense natural riches and home to Victoria , a devotedly anglophile little provincial capital. Its also well worth journeying over to the islands west coast to take in the rugged beauty of Pacific Rim National Parks Long Beach , Clayoquot Sound and surf town of Tofino .