Canada Travel Notes

If you were to take the population of Canada (32,378,122 as of October 2005) and divide it by its area, which is 9,984,670 sq. km (3,855,103 sq. mi.), you find that Canada has a population density of 3.24 persons per sq. km. Compare this to the Netherlands at about 446 persons per sq. km and the UK at 245: you will conclude that almost no one lives in Canada.

This is what makes Canada such a curious travel destination. If you are feeling cooped up in your London, Munich or Amsterdam flat, try a trip to Moosejaw Saskatchewan. Your claustrophobia will switch to agoraphobia in a hurry. Watch out when Canadians say "that's not too far away." They will take you in their cars and drive 150 km to the point of interest.

Canada's culture, the nature of which many Canadians (particularly in the arts) have pondered endlessly, is suitably mixed up. The original European cultures were British and French (Upper and Lower Canada, based on the location on the St. Lawrence seaway). Back in 1867, these founding nations pretty much excluded the native population, but that's a discussion for elsewhere. Canada officially adopted multiculturalism in 1971, but Canada had been welcoming diversity since the end of WWII. In 2001, Statistics Canada measured these cultures in Toronto (Canada's largest city): Canadian, English, Scottish, Irish, Chinese, Italian, East Indian, French, German, Portuguese, Polish, Jewish, Jamaican, Filipino, Ukrainian, Dutch, Greek, Spanish, Russian, Hungarian, Sri Lankan, Vietnamese, Welsh, Korean, Pakistani, Iranian, West Indian, and Guyanese. Now you know where to go for good ethnic cooking!

Quebec is the famous francophone province and is curiously detached from France, because the British won the territory from the French in the 1760s. Just ask a Parisan what they think of Quebec French and they will tell you what's different. Quebec has its own intense and unique arts scene. The separatist movement is far from over, despite two failed referenda on the subject (1980 and 1995, which was a tight race).

For many travellers, it is difficult to discern an anlgophone Canadian's accent from an American accent. Don't let this fool you. The Canadians and Americans will be happy to, at length, discuss the differences in the accents. In fact Canadians will agree on one thing: Canadians are not Americans. This has been central problem with Canadian culture: "we are not American" is a fairly negative and vague definition of self.

The best way to explore the country is to pick one of the Canadian travel regions below and learn about the local customs and sites.

The major travel areas for the Canada are:

• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Nova Scotia
• Prince Edward Island
• New Brunswick
• Quebec
• Ontario
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan
• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Nunavut
• Northwest Territories
• Yukon

Enjoy your Canada travel.