This month we hit another milestone! We have officially been to all 10 provinces of Canada! Of course, we haven’t even come close to visiting all the places we want to see within the 10 provinces (not to mention the territories), but still, it is pretty cool to have been able to see as much as we have! So, for this month’s post, I wanted to write a little bit about our time spent in each province so far and share a few of the things still on our list for whenever we make it back. Enjoy!
Alberta
We first went to Banff just a few months after moving to Canada, and we were absolutely blown away! I have a feeling we’ll be back to the Canadian Rockies a few times before we leave the continent because they are truly spectacular. Calgary was an easy entry point, Canmore and Banff were amazing, but the highlight was definitely the drive up to Jasper National Park on the Canadian Icefields Highway. Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Athabasca Falls, countless glaciers: it was incredible! In fact, for our next trip out that way, we’re actually thinking of doing it again just in reverse: flying into Edmonton, spending time in Jasper, and taking the Icefields Highway back down to Banff – the same gorgeous scenery in the opposite direction, and ideally, in a different season. The biggest challenge will definitely be deciding which season because I have a feeling all four are equally stunning!
British Columbia
Okay, so technically, British Columbia was the first province Tucker and I ever visited together. In 2008, we went on an Alaskan cruise, which served as my 50th US state expedition and our high school graduation trip, but unfortunately, we were only in Vancouver for a day. Therefore, it is high time for a BC re-do! Luckily, that trip is already in the books for January 2027. We’ll be stomping around the city for about a week, snowboarding for a day or two, and hopefully hoping over to the island as well. Of course, Whistler is also an option or the Sea-to-Sky Highway or more of the Rockies… Clearly, I’m still workshopping this trip, but whatever we don’t get done this time will just be on the list for a subsequent trip! Like the majority of Canadian provinces, BC is huge, and it really requires multiple trips to see and do all the things we’d like!
Manitoba
The very last province we made it out to was Manitoba, right in the center of the country. Here, we spent the majority of our time in Winnipeg, aka The Peg. Somehow, I feel like Winnipeg gets a bit of a bad rap, but we found the city to be super fun! It’s all very spread out, but it has a plethora of beautiful parks, lots of unique activities, and a solid amount of local color. I absolutely loved Assiniboine Park; Tucker loved all the breweries, and on our mini road trip day, we had a great time checking off a ton of fun roadside attractions en route to/from Riding Mountain National Park. Of course, I’m still eager to get back out to Winnipeg in winter, so we can see if “Winterpeg” really lives up to its name! Maybe we’ll combine that with a trip up to Churchill, the Polar Bear Capital of the World, which is on Hudson Bay on the northside of Manitoba. If you know us, you know that’s exactly the sort of thing we’d do…
New Brunswick
I sometimes feel a bit bad for New Brunswick. It seems like the most underrated/left-out province of them all, but it’s honestly so nice! The Bay of Fundy was probably our favorite sight since it’s so unique, but really, there is a lot we love about visiting NB (I think after Québec and Ontario, both of which we’ve called home, NB is our most-visited province). New Brunswick is right in the middle of Québec, Nova Scotia, and Maine, and I think it has a lovely mix of all the things you associate with those three slightly more famous destinations: French, forests, coastlines, etc. Of course, the Bay of Fundy is the true draw of NB. This bay actually has the highest tidal range in the world at over 50 feet, so here, you can literally watch the tide change right in front of your eyes. You can also walk on what is essentially the ocean floor if you time your visit correctly. Anyway, I actually wrote a whole post about the Maritimes, so if they’re on your to-visit list, definitely check it out!
Newfoundland and Labrador
The Far East, okay, not as far east as China, but as far east as you can get in Canada! In fact, the time zone in NL is 30 minutes ahead of East Coast time, which was just the first of many interesting facts we learned out there. Our trip centered around Newfoundland, which is an island affectionately known as “The Rock”, and I’d say that’s a fair assessment. NL is incredibly rugged. It’s also a bit isolated, which explains why it feels vastly different from the rest of the provinces. We spent a lot of our time in Newfoundland hiking because the coastline is dotted with lighthouses, lookout points, and depending on the season, either icebergs or rare birds. Despite some challenging weather, we had an absolutely amazing time schlepping around the island, and of course, the hospitality of the locals is second to none in all of Canada, so we also spent a good amount of our time chatting and drinking with locals who were just as curious about us as we were about Newfoundland. All in all, definitely a trip I’d love to do again, perhaps this time making up to Labrador as well!
Nova Scotia
Another heavy-hitter in Canadian tourism, Nova Scotia has a lot to see. Halifax, of course, but the infamous Cabot Trail and Peggy’s Cove are here as well. Plus, the lobster rolls, Halifax donair, Moon Mist ice cream…it sort of seems like food was a driving force during our time spent in Nova Scotia, and on that front, we were never disappointed (well, unless you count that time a seagull stole a $30 lobster roll right out of Tucker’s hand lol). Seagulls notwithstanding, Nova Scotia is absolutely beautiful and really accessible. When compared to some of the other provinces, driving across NS seems downright quick! And like Newfoundland, the locals are incredibly welcoming and really seem to enjoy sharing their favorite local hangouts. At one point, we were even considering moving to Halifax, so you never know, we might soon be exploring even more of Canada’s Ocean Playground!
Ontario
Where do I even begin with Ontario? We called this province home for 2 years, so obviously Ottawa is my favorite city in Ontario. But we also took trips to Niagara Falls, Toronto, Kingston, and about a dozen smaller towns in southeastern Ontario. Our first Canada Days were celebrated here. Ontario was where we were introduced to Beavertails, butter tarts, ketchup chips, and Coffee Crisps. This is also where we learned to love the extreme seasons of Canada, specifically of Central Canada. And even though we’ve already made trips back to Ontario after having moved to another province, there are many more we still want to make. Top of the list would probably be Thunder Bay. Lake Superior is the only Great Lake I have yet to see in person, and Thunder Bay looks like a stunning place to do just that. The problem with Ontario is that it’s absolutely massive. If I wanted to drive from Ottawa to Thunder Bay (both of which are in southern Ontario), it would take 16 hours. Maybe we’ll just fly.
Prince Edward Island
PEI might be the tiniest province of Canada, but it definitely packs a punch! I associate the island with Anne of Green Gables, but there’s a lot more to see than the rolling green hills and red dirt paths described in the novels. Prince Edward Island has a little bit of everything: farmland, gorgeous coasts, vineyards, the longest bridge in Canada! One of the best things about it is how much you can see there in a short amount of time. It only takes 3 hours to drive from one side to the other. While we were there, we saw the most beautiful sunset on the west coast of the island, and ever since then, I’ve had the idea to go back and watch a sunrise on the east coast in the morning, spend the day crisscrossing the island, exploring all the amazing restaurants, shops, coastal drives, etc. ending up on the west coast for another spectacular sunset. Of course, these days, I’ve been talking with a lot of people who have cruised to the island, which also seems like it would be a lovely way to see PEI. We’ll just have to see!
Saskatchewan
We finally made it out to Saskatchewan on one of our most recent trips, and I’m so glad we went full-on prairies! I knew I wanted to see the prairies in all their glory, so not only did we spend several days in Saskatoon walking the Meewasin Valley Trail, we also rented a car and drove for hours around the vast nothing between Saskatoon and Regina. And if that wasn’t enough, we also took a 14-hour train ride right through the prairies so I could be absolutely sure we saw the true extent of the province’s vast supplies of wheat, canola, and potash from every possible angle. I’m not sure what we expected before spending time in Saskatoon, but we left feeling like this was another underrated city that is well-worth a visit. It’s called the Paris of the Prairies, and I’d say for good reason. The Saskatchewan River is extremely picturesque, and the city wraps around it beautifully with a collection of lovely bridges. Calgary and Winnipeg on either side have vastly different vibes; Saskatoon feels to me a bit more like Québec: a little calmer, a little more relaxed, and really just a great place to vacation. I can easily see us going back to Saskatchewan. I mean, we didn’t even make it all the way down to the City that Rhymes with Fun (aka Regina)!
Quebec
Another one that’s hard to sum up into one short paragraph! Quebec is our home, and even before moving here, we had visited several times. There’s no denying Montreal is effortlessly cool, but clearly, I’m Team Québec City all the way! As much as it’s cliché to say, there really is a certain je ne sais quoi about Quebec. The province has glittering lakes, winding rivers, forested mountains, colorful leaves, snowy winters, and everything else you could ever want from nature. Quebec is culturally rich as well; it’s indigenous, French, English, and Canadian all at the same time! During our time here, of course, we’ve seen a lot of what Montreal and Québec have to offer, but also Charlevoix, Saguenay, Rivière-du-Loup, Mont Tremblant, and more. Our next big trip within Quebec will probably be out to Gaspé, another one of the most beautiful landscapes in all of Canada. And in case you were wondering, I do in fact pinch myself often just to make sure this really is my life and not just a dream!
So, here’s to the 10 incredibly beautiful provinces of Canada! I sincerely hope you also get the chance to visit them all one day because from coast to coast to coast, Canada really is something special!
