Since we’re not celebrating the way we would like, here’s a look at my first and only visit to Ottawa for Canada Day, four years ago to the day. Happy Canada Day! I’ve been lucky enough to call Canada home for 35 years now. But yesterday marked my first Canada Day in our nation’s capital. Go figure. It was, from start to finish, an absolute blast. The city was alive with people and colour and music and awash in red-and-white; Canada flag umbrella hats, red reindeer (I think) foam horns and plenty of prideful bits such as “Canada: Kicking Butt Read more
Canada Day
Happy Canada Day to all my friends and family! I was going through my emails on this lovely summer’s day in Toronto and spotted a new study from the Canada Goose clothing company that says 95 per cent of Canadians are proud of their country, which is great. The study also found that 64 per cent of Americans have considered moving north of the border, which I suppose means I was ahead of the curve by 38 years and two months, having landed on these shores via my Honda Accord hatchback on May 1, 1981, following a drive from my Read more
Nice to see some love coming Canada’s way as we get ready for our 150th birthday party on the weekend. Just in time for Canada Day (July 1 for those of you keeping score at home), a number of travel companies are offering special deals for travel to and from Canada. One of the best is a Canada 150 deal from Regent Seven Seas Cruises, which is rolling back prices on 20 voyages to the year 2012, when the Canadian dollar and the U.S. greenback were at par. That’s a huge savings versus today, when the Canadian dollar is trading Read more
A great hotel any time of the year. But especially wonderful on a Canada Day weekend. The Fairmont Chateau Laurier is a Canadian institution that has one of the most iconic settings in the country. It rests alongside the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO Heritage Site. Just the other side of the canal you’ll find the glorious stone of Canada’s Parliament buildings. Many rooms at the Laurier have views of both the canal and Parliament. If you’re lucky enough to have room 202 like I did this past weekend, you’ll also get a view of the Ottawa River and the Gatineau Read more
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
