Cool new hotels and attractions from coast to coast. A big 150th birthday bash for Canada. And a 375th birthday for Montreal. I just wrapped up two days of intense meetings with tourism folks from across Canada at the Go Media 2016 session in Montreal, put on by Destination Canada. I came away with some good ideas for stories and a half-ton of information about this great country of ours. Here are some of the highlights… ANNIVERSARIES Canada’s 150th will be a big deal, naturally, across the country in 2017. Ottawa will be doing a great deal of the partying, Read more
Parks Canada
Fittingly, my first exposure to the now famous Canadian flag was at a hockey game. Oddly enough, it was in Oakland, California. I grew up in the suburbs of San Francisco and always enjoyed sports. Once, perhaps as part of a school field trip, we went to a game at the Oakland Coliseum Arena to see the California Seals play. I remember, I think, the white skates. I definitely remember trying to figure out what icing meant. The rules confused me and I didn’t really understand what was happening on the ice (something my kids will say has stuck with Read more
Christmas lights that would make the Griswold family green with envy. Hot chocolate and mulled wine on a snowy winter’s night. There are plenty of traditional Christmas activities taking place over the holidays across Canada this year. But you’ll also find some oddball bits that bely our boring reputation; murder mysteries in Calgary, ugly sweater cruises in Toronto’s harbour and a festival in Newfoundland where folks are encourage to don an over-sized bra. Here’s a look at some great places and ways to celebrate the holiday season. ALBERTA The best place for winter in Canada (in my estimation) has a Read more
I mentioned Edmonton in a blog a couple weeks ago, showing some photos of a city that’s very much on the rise. Today I’ll stick to the mountains and a bit of Calgary as I continue my look at great Canadian destinations.
This is getting harder. Now that I’m travelling a lot more (and not tied to the desk as much as when I was the Toronto Star Travel editor, a post I left in August, 2013), my year-end “Jimmy Awards” are proving a little more tricky. I did a fair bit of travelling in Canada this year, hitting all the provinces except Newfoundland and New Brunswick. Which means I have a great many more things to single out than in previous years. Which is why I’m splitting up the Jimmy’s into two categories: Canada and the rest of the world. I’ll Read more
