Tourism in Canada

Canada has a large domestic and foreign tourism industry. The second largest country in the world, Canada's incredible geographical variety is a significant tourist attractor. Much of the country's tourism is centered on Canada's four largest metropolitan areas, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa, well known for their culture, diversity, as well as the many national parks and historic sites.

In 2012, over 16 million tourists arrived in Canada, bringing US$17.4 billion in international tourism receipts to the economy.[1] Domestic and international tourism combined directly contributes 1% of Canada's total GDP and supports 309,000 jobs in the country.[2]

World Heritage Sites in Canada

Canada's provinces and territories

British Columbia

British Columbia is Canada's westernmost province and touches the Pacific Ocean. The winters in the coastal areas are relatively warm in comparison to the rest of Canada. British Columbia is divided into 6 regions:

Vancouver, Coast & Mountains
Thompson Okanagan
Cariboo Coast Chilcotin
Northern British Columbia
Kootenay Rockies
Vancouver Island

British Columbia (BC) is Canada's most mountainous province and has some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the world. Alpine skiing is a major draw for the province. The province has about 33 large ski resorts spread out from Vancouver Island to the Alberta border. Whistler, British Columbia, nestled in the rugged Coast Mountains, is consistently ranked as the #1 ski resort destination in North America [3] and co-hosted the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Vancouver, the largest Canadian metropolitan area west of Toronto, is one of Canada's most multi-cultural cities. There is a large community of people of Asian origin [4]. Vancouver is a harbour city and provides beautiful landscapes of mountains and ocean.

Sites of interest in Vancouver

Capilano Suspension Bridge, a 136m long bridge 70m above the Capilano River
Stanley Park, a large forested park near downtown, the largest city owned park in Canada. 8 million visitors each year.
Granville Island, a small island near downtown with a public market, marina, shopping and theaters.
Chinatown, Vancouver, one of the largest in North America.
Robson Street, a bustling upscale shopping district with a good selection of restaurants.
Gastown, a mix of tourist-oriented businesses, restaurants and nightclubs.
Vancouver Art Gallery
Vancouver Maritime Museum
Museum of Anthropology at UBC
Vancouver Museum
Science World at Telus World of Science

Vancouver is home to the

BC Lions, Canadian Football League
Vancouver Canucks, National Hockey League
Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Major League Soccer

Victoria, British Columbia, located on scenic Vancouver Island, is a major Canadian tourist destination attracting millions of visitors each year. Popular activities for tourists are whale watching, enjoying the busking in the inner harbour area and visiting world famous Butchart Gardens.

Long Beach(Pacific Rim National Park) and the communities of Tofino and Ucluelet are popular tourist areas. Tofino, a town of only a few thousand, hosts more than one million visitors each year. Many new resorts are being built in the area to accommodate surfers, beach lovers, storm watchers and golfers.

Whale watching is common along the coastal areas of BC as is Pacific storm watching along the west coast of Vancouver Island during the winter months.

Wine tours are common in the Okanagan Valley, BC's wine and orchard country. The Okanagan valley area has some of the best beaches and warmest summer temperatures in Canada, as well as Canada's only hot desert around the town of Osoyoos. There are 53 golf courses and two major ski resorts in the valley.

British Columbia is also a popular location for the production of many Hollywood films, it is the third largest film center in North America only trailing California and New York.

Alberta

Alberta is a province in Canada's western prairies next to the Rocky Mountains. Its two major cities are Calgary, and Edmonton, the provincial capital. Edmonton is well known for West Edmonton Mall, the largest mall in North America, formerly the largest in the world. Another world-class attraction is the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, housing the largest collection of dinosaur fossils under one roof in the world. Alberta also contains significant natural scenery, including 5 of Canada's 17 UNESCO World heritage sites. These are Banff and Jasper National Parks, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Wood Buffalo National Park, Dinosaur Provincial Park and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. In the southeast, Alberta shares with Saskatchewan the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, a geographic region of importance both to aboriginal history and to the North-West Mounted Police. Alberta has no provincial sales tax.

Alberta is an important skiing destination for tourists. It has several world-class ski resorts. Canada Olympic Park, with its downhill ski and ski jumping facilities, is located in the city of Calgary.

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan offers two major cities, Regina and Saskatoon. Regina is home to one of Canada's most significant attractions, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Academy at Depot Division where visitors can view the Sergeant Major's Parade held weekdays and the seasonal Sunset Retreat Ceremonies. Regina is also home to the RCMP Heritage Centre which opened in May 2007. Saskatoon is home to the largest branch of the Western Development Museum, which houses important artefacts and recreations of the early settlement of the Canadian prairies.

The prairie province also has the most golf courses and water bodies per capita of any other province. Statistically the warmest summers with the most sunlight hours in Canada occur in Saskatoon. Natural attractions include Cypress Provincial Park, the Great Sand Hills, Scottie the Dinosaur (the largest intact Tyrannosaurus Rex found in North America).

Manitoba

Manitoba was the 5th province to enter confederation in 1870. The province is home to many lakes and rivers with over 14.5% of the land area covered by lakes. This offers many opportunities for outdoor recreation, hunting, fishing, boating, and some of the finest beaches in North America. The province is a four season travel destination offering cross-country and downhill skiing opportunities, as well as many miles of groomed ski-doo trails. Churchill on the Hudson Bay is a popular attraction due to the large polar bear and beluga whale population. The capital city Winnipeg, with a population of near 700 000, offers many cultural and artistic events, museums and year round festivals. Other cities with more than 10,000 people are Brandon, Thompson, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk and Steinbach.

Sites of interest in Winnipeg

Assiniboine Park and Zoo
Costume Museum of Canada
Fort Gibraltar
La Maison Gabrielle Roy
Le MusÃ©e de Saint-Boniface Museum
Dalnavert Museum
Louis Riel statue near the Manitoba legislative building. See a figure of Manitoba's leadership.
Manitoba Children's Museum
Manitoba Museum
Naval Museum of Manitoba
Royal Canadian Mint
The Fire Fighters Museum
Transcona Historical Museum
The Forks
Upper Fort Garry
Western Canada Aviation Museum
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg Railway Museum

Winnipeg is also home to:

Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League
Winnipeg Jets Of the National Hockey League
Winnipeg Goldeyes of the baseball American Association

Other sites of interest in the Province

Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden
Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon
Lower Fort Garry in St. Andrews
Manitoba Agricultural Museum in Austin
Manitoba Amateur Radio Museum in Austin
Manitoba Antique Automobile Museum in Elkhorn
Marine Museum of Manitoba in Selkirk
Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach
New Iceland Heritage Museum in Gimli
Oak Hammock Marsh in Stonewall
Sam Waller Museum in The Pas

Festivals and Events

Festival du Voyageur held every February in Winnipeg
Folklorama held annually every August in Winnipeg
Jazz Winnipeg Festival
Red River Exhibition held annually late June in Winnipeg
Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival
Winnipeg International Writers Festival
Winnipeg Music Festival
Winnipeg Folk Festival

Ontario

Ontario is the most populous and second largest province in Canada. Southern Ontario is home to the Nation's capital, Ottawa and Canada's largest city, Toronto, which is the provincial capital and one of the most multicultural cities in the world. The forests and numerous lakes of Central Ontario and Northern Ontario also provide popular hiking and camping destinations.

Sites of interest in Ottawa

List of attractions in Ottawa
Parliament Hill
National War Memorial (Canada)
National Art Gallery
ByWard Market
Canadian War Museum
Canadian Aviation Museum
Canadian Museum of Nature
Canadian Museum of History
Canada Agriculture Museum
Canadian Museum of Science and Technology
Canada Agriculture Museum
Chateau Laurier
TD Place Stadium
Canadian Tire Centre
Rideau Canal

Sites of interest in Toronto

List of attractions in Toronto
Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome)
Fort York
Air Canada Centre
Hockey Hall of Fame
CN Tower
Ontario Place
Royal Ontario Museum
Toronto Eaton Centre
St. Lawrence Market
Queen Street West
Bata Shoe Museum
Art Gallery of Ontario
Kensington Market
Casa Loma
Ontario Science Centre
Toronto Zoo
Canada's Wonderland
See also: Hotels in Toronto

Other sites of interest in Ontario

List of attractions in Hamilton, Ontario
Ontario Tourist Routes
Science North and Dynamic Earth in Sudbury, Ontario
Niagara Falls
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Marineland
Muskoka Lakes
Algonquin Park
Fallsview Indoor Water Park, an indoor park in Niagara Falls, Ontario
Fort Henry
Kingston's Old Town
Upper Canada Village
The Thousand Islands
Boldt Castle
Stratford Festival
Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake
Pelee Island

Quebec

Quebec, a majority francophone province, is a major tourist draw. Quebec City is a taste of old France in the new world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Montreal, the second largest francophone city in the world, has several tourist attractions.

Sites of interest in Montreal

Olympic Stadium
Juste pour rire
Old Montreal
Festival International de Jazz de MontrÃ©al
OpÃ©ra de MontrÃ©al
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
McCord Museum
Crescent Street
St. Lawrence Boulevard
Canadian Grand Prix
McGill University
Mount Royal
Parc Jean-Drapeau
Underground city, Montreal
BiosphÃ¨re
Redpath Museum
Canadian Centre for Architecture
La Ronde
Saint Joseph's Oratory
Underground City

Sites of interest in Quebec City

MusÃ©e national des beaux-arts du QuÃ©bec
MusÃ©e de la civilisation
MusÃ©e de l'AmÃ©rique franÃ§aise
Espace FÃ©lix Leclerc
MusÃ©e naval de QuÃ©bec
Choco-MusÃ©e Erico
MusÃ©e des Ursulines de QuÃ©bec
MusÃ©e du Royal 22^e RÃ©giment/La Citadelle de QuÃ©bec
MusÃ©e de l'Abeille
Plains of Abraham Exhibition Center
Parc Aquarium du QuÃ©bec
Jardin zoologique du QuÃ©bec
ChÃ¢teau Frontenac

Other sites of interest in Quebec

Canyon Sainte-Anne

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is renowned for its sandy beaches especially along the Northumberland Strait which in summer has the warmest water north of Virginia.

Saint John, The largest city in New Brunswick and the oldest Incorporated in Canada at the mouth of the Saint John River. Steeped with history from Irish immigration to a great fire in the 19th century. The port city has numerous Victorian houses and amazing 18th and 19th century architecture in the Uptown area. The Saint John port welcomes close to 80 cruise ships a year with sites including:

The Bay of Fundy
Saint John River
Partridge Island
Reversing Falls
Market Square
Saints Rest Beach
New Brunswick Museum
Saint John Jewish Historical Museum
Prince William Street

Moncton, the province's second largest city and the recreational center of the province. With tourist attractions such as,

Magnetic Hill Zoo
Magic Mountain Water Park
Tidal bore, twice daily on Petitcodiac River

Fredericton, the province's capital and third largest city, is a cultural and educational centre housing the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University, and is filled with neighbourhoods featuring large Victorian-style homes.

Other attractions include:

Cape Enrage
Kouchibouguac National Park
New Brunswick Potato Museum
Whale watching and the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island are also draws.

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island (PEI) is the birthplace of Lucy Maude Montgomery's character, Anne of Green Gables, and a recreation of her literary home serves as a museum to the character. PEI is also famous around the world for its potato farms and rich red mud beaches.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador attracts many tourists because of its icebergs and fjords. It was settled by Leif Ericsson, an Icelandic sailor, in 1000 A.D. Remains of this settlement can still be found in L'Anse aux Meadows, northern Newfoundland. Europeans settled in 1497, headed by an expedition by John Cabot.

The province's capital, St. John's, is the oldest city in North America, founded in 1497 by John Cabot. It contains many historical locations, such as Cabot Tower, receiver of the first wireless trans-Atlantic message in 1901. Steeped in a long, proud history and home to a rich, unique culture - St. John's residents are known for their hospitality, and their city is a major travel destination in Newfoundland both domestically and for foreign travelers. In recent years, St. John's has become a popular stop for cruise ships originating from ports in Canada, the United States and Europe. The cruise industry has brought tens of thousands of tourists to the St. John's area. In the city's downtown core, George Street, renowned for its nightlife, is home to the most bars and pubs per square foot in North America.

Just outside St. John's lies Cape Spear, the most eastern point in North America. From this point, London in the UK is closer than Vancouver.

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is known for its lovely scenery; most renowned is the Cape Breton Highlands. The historic 18th century Fortress Louisbourg is also a major draw [5].

Halifax, the provincial capital, has several major attractions, such as the Pier 21 museum, Citadel Hill, and the Public Gardens. The Halifax Metro Centre is home to numerous events both sport-related and otherwise, such as the Nova Scotia International Tattoo. Downtown Halifax is considered the prime tourism district in Halifax, with most historic attractions located here as well as the waterfront harbourwalk, a continuous 3Â km (2Â mi) stretch of boardwalk home to street vendors, entertainers, the Casino Nova Scotia, and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Downtown Halifax is also the location of several major hotels.

Yukon Territory

With its history of the Klondike Gold Rush, First Nations culture and spectacular wilderness, the Yukon Territory has an extensive tourism industry, welcoming over 300,000 visitors a year. Tourist attractions include the gold rush town of Dawson City, Kluane National Park and Reserve and a number of attractions in Whitehorse and other communities. Opportunities for wilderness adventure tourism and ecotourism abound (hiking, canoeing, kayaking, skiing, dog-sledding), but the territory is also served by a well-developed road network, with most places accessible by road.

Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories attractions include:

Aurora Borealis
Northern Life Museum
N.W.T. Mining Heritage Society
Wood Buffalo National Park
Tuktut Nogait National Park
Nahanni National Park Reserve
South Nahanni River
Canol Heritage Trail
Aulavik National Park
Coppermine River
Mackenzie River

Nunavut Territory

Nunavut is probably the most expensive of all the tourist destinations in Canada. Attractions in Nunavut include:

Auyuittuq National Park
Quttinirpaaq National Park
Sirmilik National Park
Ukkusiksalik National Park
Ovayok Territorial Park

Neighbouring countries

Canada shares the world's longest undefended border with the United States.
A marine border is shared with both Greenland (a Danish territory) and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (a French overseas collectivity).

Tourism in Canada

Friday, July 17, 2015