The new Canada Strong pass was unveiled last week, providing Canadians and visitors alike with free access to national parks and historic sites this summer, plus great deals on national museums and significant VIA RAIL discounts.
I did a series of interviews on the pass last Thursday for CBC radio stations across the country, talking about how the pass works and whether it’s a good idea. Here’s a synopsis.
- How exactly does this pass work, and where?
I think the most obvious deal for people when they first hear about this is that all Canadian national parks are free until September 2, 2025. There are 48 national parks all told, in every province and territory. The pass also is good for all national historic sites run by Parks Canada. That’s not close to all of them, but the pass covers 171 national historic sites; again all across the country. It’s also good for five national marine conservation areas. The pass also gives children aged 17 and under free admission to national museums (most of them are in Ottawa) and the Plains of Abraham Museum in Quebec City. Young adults aged 18 to 24 get one-half off on entry to the museums. For selected participating provincial and territorial museums and galleries, there’s free admission for children and a 50% discount for young adults aged 18 to 24. There’s also a 25% discount on camping fees at national parks for everyone. The biggest financial benefit is that the pass allows children 17 and under to travel for free on VIA Rail when accompanied by an adult. Young adults aged 18 to 24 get a 25% discount on tickets. The offer is valid on Escape and Economy fares on all VIA Rail routes across Canada, which means potentially HUGE savings. One nice thing about the pass is that there’s no actual card to try to attain, and no on-line registration needed. You don’t need a QR code and you don’t need to download yet another app on your phone. Just buy your tickets on line for VIA, and just show up at your favourite national park. Click here for more information on the pass.
Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. JIM BYERS PHOTO
2. Will the Canada Strong pass encourage families with young children to explore the country more?
I think so, yes. It does need to be publicized beyond the initial announcement. I’m sure they’ll be doing that. But there are substantial savings. A family pass for Jasper NP in September is $22. It’s $17.50 in summer for Point Pelee in Ontario. If you went a few times you could easily save $50 or $60. The camping fee discount also could add up over a few days. But it’s the VIA Rail deal that could really make a difference in your travel budget. I saw a social media post (no guarantee it’s correct, of course) in which a man said he saved several hundred dollars on round-trip tickets for he and his wife and kids on a round trip between Vancouver and Calgary. A trip from Toronto to Halifax and back would almost certainly mean even bigger savings.
3. Is this a good ideal to try to better tourism in Canada??
Anything that brings Canadians together is a good thing. Canadian pride in this era of “elbows up” is seemingly at an all time high, and this can only help spread the word about what this amazing country has to offer. I think Canadians don’t always grasp what we have, which is probably true for residents of many countries around the world, so this could really help boost our appreciation of Canada. From an economic point of view, it’s also important to note that tourism and travel account for about one in 10 jobs in Canada. Many of these jobs are held by students, women and recent immigrants. It helps people feed their families and pay their rent. And it contributes valuable taxes to the national economy. In 2023, tourism generated $30 billion in tax revenue for Canada. That’s not small PEI potatoes; it’s big business.
Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada. JIM BYERS PHOTO.
4. What are some places I recommend?
I’d encourage Canadians and visitors alike to spread out a bit and try the lesser-known places. Parks near our biggest cities tend to be the most crowded. Banff, an hour or so from Calgary, gets more than 4 million visitors a year. Waterton Lakes National Park, a thoroughly delightful drive 2.5 hours south of Calgary, gets barely 500,000. Just over the border in B.C., Yoho National Park is a magnificent spot with towering mountains, emerald green lakes and the spectacular Takakkaw Falls. Last year it received only around 700,000 visitors. Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland (attendance figures not available) is astonishing. The hike to the most famous viewpoint is rather grueling. If you’d rather not spend eight hours on a hike, walk a half hour to the staging point for the boat tours on Western Brook Pond, a fjord like body of water surrounded by towering, dark cliffs. It’s truly sensational. I love the stark beauty of Kluane National Park in Yukon, which doesn’t even get 50,000 visitors a year. In Saskatchewan, Grasslands National Park features beautiful prairies and is fabulous for stargazing, yet receives only 18,000 visitors a year.
I also love many of our national historic sites. The pretty Lachine Canal is right in the heart of Montreal. The fun Gulf of Georgia Cannery in Richmond BC is just a short drive from downtown Vancouver. Fort Henry in Kingston, Ontario is a great place for history fans. In Nova Scotia’ I’ve enjoyed visits to both the Alexander Graham Bell and Port-Royal national historic sites. South of Calgary, the Bar U Ranch offers spectacular views of the Rocky Mountain foothills and that famous blue Alberta sky. The Forks national historic site is a great spot in downtown Winnipeg. Stanley Park in Vancouver is a national historic site. The Peterborough Lift Lock is an astonishing feat of engineering on the Trent-Severn waterway; only 90 minutes from Toronto.
A boat ride at Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. JIM BYERS PHOTO
I don’t know much about indigenous experiences in Canadian national parks, but I’m sure they exist. I talked about a few indigenous experiences you can try on my CBC radio chats. Talaysay Tours offers terrific guided visits to Stanley Park in Vancouver, where you can learn about how indigenous people here lived prior to the arrival of European settlers. Alberta has amazing indigenous experiences, such as Metis Crossing. At TJ Stables near Chatham in southwest Ontario you can mingle with rare Ojibway spirit horses. There are many opportunities in Quebec and Nova Scotia. In Saskatchewan, Wanuskewin Heritage Park (just outside Saskatoon) is a beautiful spot with great displays on indigenous culture and history, as well as a large group of re-introduced bison.
- Some might think that national parks are already crowded in summer. Will this overcrowd parks even more?
It’s a legitimate concern. Banff gets more than 4 million visitors a year and already has some restrictions on entry to places like Lake Louise. We probably don’t need more people in our most crowded parks, and Parks Canada is encouraging people to explore lesser-known spots. But officials also tell me they’ll be hiring extra students (good news for Canadian kids needing jobs) for parks entry, cleaning and other chores. There have been crowding issues in the past so we’ll see. But you can also look at more interest as a glass-half-full situation. More crowds means people are taking advantage of this country’s immense natural beauty, and that likely will increase future interest in visiting by other Canadians and other people from around the world. And that’s a good thing.
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