Canadians spend 1% of our GDP on travel to the US

Collectively, Canadians $20.5 billion on travel to the US annually, supporting 110,000 US jobs – equivalent to 1% of Canada’s GDP.

Our Prime Minster, Justin Trudeau, shared this week that Donald Trump is serious about trying to annex Canada. This will likely be a functional impossibility with how the Canadian constitution works, and how a physical invasion would be nearly impossible from a physical logistics, global politics, and American politics perspective.

But here we are, talking it about. So what can we do?

We can change how we spend our money.

Canadians are mad, not sorry

While the tariffs may be off, Canadians are very mad, and it’s America’s turn to say sorry. I don’t think words can articulate how deep the rage runs within Canadians right now. The rage that our closest friend, ally, and neighbour would not only try to destroy our economy with tariffs, but repeatedly diminish the leader of our country and our sovereignty as an independent nation.

The rage has to go somewhere, so I wanted to give you my pitch for travelling within Canada this year, and keeping those tourism dollars in the Canadian economy.

If you want to hit America where it hurts, the economy, here is my advice:

Cancel your vacations to the US (yes. this includes Hawaii)
Spend your money on vacations in Canada
If you work in marketing for a Canadian company, move your annual conference to Canada – make Americans come spend money here
Stop shopping in the US: it’s the #1 tourist activity for Canadians visiting the US

From Far and Wide, Oh Canada

I’ve spent much of my life exploring other countries – international travel sounds very glamorous – but there’s so much to see here at home. Our country is big, beautiful, and diverse.

Last September, I did something I’ve always wanted to do: I drove across Canada in an electric pick-up truck! (A Rivian R1T). It took me 5 days to drive across Ontario: Canada is gigantic, it is over 5,000km across.

Here was my route:

Kitchener, Ontario (near Toronto)
Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario
Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario
Rainbow Falls Provincial Park, Ontario
Rushing River Provincial Park, Ontario
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba
Regina and Moosejaw, Saskatchewan
Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan
Drumheller, Alberta
Banff National Park, Alberta
Kelowna, British Columbia
Lake Okanagan South Provincial Park, British Columbia
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia

I then drove through the US National Parks on the way back, but we’ll pretend that never happened. When I got back to Ontario, I returned through cities:

Kitchener, Ontario
Ottawa, Ontario
Montreal, Quebec
Quebec City, Quebec
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia

While many people think of Canadian travel as the big cities (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa) or the big parks on the West coast (Banff, Whistler), there is so much more to see.

My favourite places were the unexpected ones in rural areas – Rainbow Falls, Riding Mountain, and Grasslands were my favourite parks. Drumheller was a crazy dinosaur town filled with dinosaur statues and hoo-doos. Vancouver Island is just stunning and there is no place like it.

Montreal is my favourite city in Canada. Fredericton is a beautiful historic city, and Halifax is a much bigger metropolitan city than you expect.

I’m going to discuss the provinces east-to-west across the country, as the Maritimes are often forgotten for Canadian travel, yet are some of the most beautiful places in the entire world. This is not a complete list or a set of recommendations.

Please share your favourite places in Canada in the comments!

Newfoundland and Labrador

I went to Newfoundland in highschool for a leadership program. We hiked Mount Gros Morne, kayaked beside whales, and went to St. John’s to see icebergs floating by in the ocean. I don’t have photos of this, it was 21 years ago, but I remember it so vividly for how beautiful it was. St. John’s has George St., which is a giant pub crawl. And of course, Screech.

My friend Larysa recently took her family to Newfoundland and says: Gros Morne National Park: western brook pond tour. Canadian fjords. Amazing hiking. Twillinggate for whale watching. Icebergs depending on time of year. Cool little museum. Bonavista lighthouse, puffins, and maybe my fav hike of the east coast was the Skerwink Trail. St Johns for all the music and fun. Eat at the Noon & Canery and Gypsy Tea room

And if you’re bougie, there is always Fogo Island.

*Photo credit: Larysa Wood*

Prince Edward Island (PEI)

I haven’t been to PEI, it’s a goal of mine this summer. Most people know of PEI from Anne of Green Gables, and it’s iconic red sand beaches. My friend Michelle recently took her family there and raved about it. They stayed at BlackBush Beach Resort and raved about The Table Culinary Studio.

My friend Kayleen says: In the winter months be prepared to stay on Charlottetown as most attractions are for the summer, but there is so much to enjoy in town. there is the Gahan House (brewery and restaurant, you can see the original brewery in the basement), Anne of Green Gables, and you can walk the main roads to the Brighton lighthouse In the Summer, rent a car and drive the whole island or to New Brunswick across the massive bridge. Try Cavendish and see the red soil.

My friend Sybil says: “I go in August, I just spend my entire time on the beach. When the tide goes out and the tiny water level is a mirror scape.”

*Photo credit: Sybil O’Connor*

Nova Scotia

I recently moved to Nova Scotia, falling in love with how beautiful the landscape is and how kind the people are. I’ve been so struck with how wrong my assumptions about Nova Scotia have been. I now living in the Annapolis Valley region, 45 minutes from Halifax, and I’ve never been surrounded by better people, food, farming, views, activities, wineries, and more.

I live in Windsor, Nova Scotia – a town with 3,000 people and I have more fun here than I did in a city of 750,000 people. Last night I went to a sold out drag bingo show in a town of 3,000 people. 400 people came!** It’s incredibly welcoming and inclusive here.

The bakery here in Windsor, Bedard, challenges the best bakeries I’ve been to in Montreal for quality. (Arch & Po in Annapolis Royal is also excellent).

*Cape Forchu in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia*

*Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage site*

*Historic Annapolis Royal*

I’m going to do a full pitch for Nova Scotia soon. The more I learn the more amazed I am at how much there is to see and do here, and I believe this to be true for all of Atlantic Canada.

But for your online research, here are some places to look up:

Halifax is the main city, with a ton of great food and entertainment options. Halifax has everything any big city has to offer, plus the ocean.
South Shore is the main tourist attraction: Peggy’s Cove, Mahone Bay, and Lunenburg
Just west of Halifax is some of the best surfing in Canada at Cow Bay
The Annapolis Valley (“The Valley”) is the most beautiful area to me: rolling hills, forests, ocean, farm fields, and small towns bursting with personality. There are over 20 wineries (that make excellent white wine), beer and cider breweries, farm-to-table restaurants like Bessie North House and Le Caveau, and tons of entertainment options. A few weeks ago I went to Salt Air Nordic Spa in Baxter’s Harbour and it’s the best Nordic spa I have ever been to – anywhere. Everywhere you look you have views of the ocean.
Cape Breton Island is the large, Eastern half of Nova Scotia. I haven’t been there yet, but it is world famous for the Cabot Trail, which my friends drove last year and said was absolutely stunning – rolling cliffs of trees in beautiful Fall colours. My hope is to visit this year.
Sable Island is a remote National Park in the Atlantic Ocean with stunning views and nature

*The view from an Airbnb I stayed at last Spring in Chester, on the South Shore of Nova Scotia.*

*Lunenburg being cute*

*A small portion of The Annapolis Valley as viewed from The Lookoff*

*A local art show in Bear River, Nova Scotia. There is a huge art culture here.*

New Brunswick

I haven’t spent much time in New Brunswick yet, only driven through it.

From my friend Kayleen: Saint John New Brunswick has an amazing market for veggies, seafood, and the occasional souvenir. St Andrews by the Bay is a quaint welcoming town on the Bay with a beautiful view and the Algonquin is a well known landmark as a vintage hotel/good course. Rothesay is beautiful. Walking along the road but be ready for some hills. Try out Pomodori Pizza Rothesay one of the best pizzas I've had. We ate there twice! Shadow lawn in is also a nice B&B.

From my friend KJ: I would recommend looking at Saint Andrews by the Sea. They have a lot of historic monuments, that are pretty cool to look at. I would also look into Fort Lewisburg, they did a restoration project in the early 2000s. Obviously, the valley. When I travel, I am big history, buff, so I like to connect to the historical side of things.

New Brunswick has three main centres: St. John, Fredericton, and Moncton, all within close driving distance of each other.

*Photo credit: Kayleen Hamelin*

Québec

If you want to feel like you’ve gone to Europe, go to Quebec. Montreal and Quebec City are extraordinarily magical places. In general, you can get by with English in Montreal, but brush up on your French for Quebec City.

There are many beautiful small towns, like Saint-Jean-Port-Joli. You can go skiing in Tremblant. You can spend the summer in the amazing Quebec and Canadian National Parks, such as La Maurice and Gaspésie. There are hidden gems like The Magdalen Islands.

Quebec is geographically huge and culturally fantastic and worth exploring.

Here is a guide I previously wrote about Montreal (and a bit of Toronto, Ontario):

*Want to feel like you’re in Europe? Head to Montreal*

# Ontario

I spent 38 years of my life in Ontario. Ontario has so much stuff. It’s gigantic. Take your pick.

Head to Toronto for New York vibes
Prince Edward County or Niagara on the Lake for Napa vibes (Restaurant Pearl Morissette and RPM Bakehouse are world-class)
Niagara Falls for Vegas vibes
Ottawa for Washington, DC vibes
Any of the National or Provincial parks, from Alongquin for back-country camping to The Pinery for beaches to Bruce Peninsula for clear blue waters near historic Tobermory
Any of the beach towns along Lake Huron and Georgian Bay
Northern Ontario – once you pass Sault St Marie and into Thunder Bay – is unlike any other part of Canada. It’s this rugged, mountainous area that is so incredibly beautiful. I stayed in an off-grid cabin in Thunder Bay, near Sleeping Giant Provincial Park a couple of years ago.

Here is a guide I previously wrote about Kitchener, where I was born and spent the first 38 years of my life:

*The Elora Christmas Market, Elora, Ontario*

*Sunrise at Niagara Falls, view from my hotel*

*The drive to Thunder Bay, Ontario in the Fall*

*Lake Superior Provincial Park – this was the view from my campsite*

*Sleeping Giant as seen from the Terry Fox Memorial*

# Manitoba

In Manitoba I went to Winnipeg to meet my friend Nina, who owns HutK, one of the best home furnishing stores in Canada. We went next door to Yujiro Sushi, one of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants (a great list to build itinerary around).

From there I went to Riding Mountain National Park, which was a stunningly beautiful place I want to explore more of.

*Riding Mountain National Park in the Fall*

# Saskatchewan

A preview clip of my YouTube video that I will one day maybe publish when I have free time to edit videos.

When I told people I was driving across the country, everyone complained about how long and flat Saskatchewan was – and I didn’t have that experience. I think this is a virtue of “you only see what you expect to see.” If you see Saskatchewan as a path between Alberta and Ontario, you are going to see it as a road.

I went to Grasslands Provincial Park, 200km south of Moosejaw. It’s a Dark Sky Park. They have cabins you can (and should) rent. Grasslands is stunning day and night. You can go horseback riding, hiking, and look at the stars.

*Yes, it really looks like this in real life*

# Alberta

I had meant to stay in Dinosaur Provincial Park, but do to some scheduling changes I had to move my camping stop and couldn’t get another reservation. It’s popular and looks beautiful. I pivoted my stop to Drumheller, Alberta – Canada’s dinosaur capital. I was stunned walking around, as there is dinosaur statue after dinosaur statue after dinosaur statue. There’s a dinosaur museum (sold out the day I was there, plan ahead!) The landscape is rugged hoodoos jutting out of the earth.

I then went to Banff, Alberta. Banff, and nearby Lake Louise, are some of the most popular tourist destinations in Canada. Banff is beautiful, set in between mountains on all sides and bursting with wildlife. I stayed in the Banff National Park campground and you can walk into the town of Banff. I missed Lake Louise as it was snowing for the first time of the year when I left Banff.

Near Banff is the town of Canmore, a now tourist destination set with the mountains in the background. Of course, there is also Calgary (and the Calgary Stampede), Edmonton, and a slew of small towns to explore.

*Drumheller has a surreal amount of dinosaur statues and a dinosaur museum*

*The town of Banff, next to Banff National Park, is a beautiful place to stay in the mountains*

The view from the Banff Sulphur Springs

British Columbia

While many people think of Vancouver first, British Columbia is a huge and diverse province. During my roadtrip, I drove through the mountains from Alberta to the coast, stopping in Kelowna to see a friend, then camping at Lake Okanagan in the middle of the mountain ranges. Kelowna and Lake Okanagan are in a stunning landscape that feels somewhere completely different than the rest of Canada, very Californian. The mountain drive is intense on both sides, particularly the Coquihalla highway.

I drove through Vancouver and took the ferry to Nanaimo (specifically to make Nanaimo Bars on video, yes) on Vancouver Island. I wish I would have spent more time on the island – driving through it was stunning. My friend Jacqui tells me I need to go to Tofino (“It is where my heart lives, Marko.”). Victoria was my last stop on the west coast of Canada and it was very cute.

From Jacqui: “Tofino is magic, I don’t know how else to describe it. Like fairies and mermaids and magic. And rainbows and butterflies and fresh salt air. And white sand and big trees and rainforests. And beautiful book stores and yummy coffee. And fresh seafood. And artists and art everywhere.”

Previously I’d been to Whistler for a conference. Many people think of Whistler for skiing, but it was stunningly beautiful to take the gondola to the top of the mountain and go for hikes along the beautiful views.

*Lake Okanagan South Campground*

*Me, 10 years ago, at a conference in Whistler during the summer.*

*Whistler, British Columbia, in the summer*

*Victoria, British Columbia*

The True North, Strong and Free: Canada’s Territories

Canada also has 3 northern territories – I have not been to them, but my friends have. The Yukon, The Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. My friend lives in Yellowknife, NWT and shared the following:

The ‘Territory,’ as locals call it, is pure Canada: north, bitterly cold for 6 months of the year & immensely vast. Think Canadian Shield, trees, lakes, waterfalls and landscapes for as far as the eye can see. But don’t don’t forget it’s also full of kind, adventurous and resourceful Canadians - spread across 33-ish communities that dot its landscape. The largest community and the capital is Yellowknife, which is accessible via plane and car (only a short 15 hrs north from Edmonton).

Activities here are heavily season dependent. If you’re coming in the Winter (November-April), you can enjoy so many uniquely Canadian experiences (assuming you’ve got a parka and some warm boots). Imagine seeing the…

Northern lights. Yellowknife’s very clear skies give you the highest probability to see the Northern Lights in North America (and possibly the whole world). They are best seen Feb-May and Sept-October.
Winter activity paradise. Cross country ski across frozen lakes, snowshoe, skijor, sled dog, snowmobile.
March is all about the Snowking Ice Castle winter festival. Yes there’s a ice castle built on-top of Great Slave Lake, and yes there are comedy, music and movie nights hosted on many nights. Oh also, there’s ice slides - they are seriously slippy!
There is a ~10 km long ice road connecting Yellowknife to the nearby community of N’Dilo. Take a car, take a walk, or do both!
Get some freshly caught fish & chips at the famous Bullocks Restaurant. The vibe & aesthetic give the best hipster brunch spot anywhere in Canada a run for its money. There’s also the Woodyard & NWT Brewing Co. too with locally made beer & gin.

The summer has so much to offer as well. Imagine the best camping, canoeing, fishing, boating you can do in Canada but add the midnight sun and subtract any traffic or stress. Oh also, don’t sleep on Folk on the Rocks - it’s a very unique festival held just on the outskirts of Yellowknife every summer.

*Photo credit: Sam Legge*

With Glowing Hearts

To make your travel plan, figure out what you love and work backwards to your plans in Canada. Canada has nearly everything to experience.

If you love theatre, head to Stratford, Ontario for the Stratford festival and build the rest of your trip around that.
If you love food, work backwards from the Top 100 Restaurants list or find a farm-to-table region like Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia.
If you love history, head to Ottawa, St. Andrews By The Sea, or Annapolis Royal.
If you love the beach, take your pick of coasts – surf in Tofino, BC or Cow Bay, NS. Rent a cottage in Tobermory, Ontario. Tan on the red sand beaches of PEI.
If you love camping and hiking, head to any Canadian National or Provincial park. I’m heading to Cape Split in Nova Scotia this summer.
If you love city life, head to Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver. At a smaller scale, Halifax, Winnipeg, Kitchener, Ottawa, Calgary, St. John, or St. John’s.
If you love a grand adventure, take the train to the Yukon or drive to Yellowknife and see the northern lights. Drive the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island. Head to the Magdalen Islands or Fogo Island. Drive through the mountain ranges of British Columbia.
If you love to go skiing or snowboarding (or just sitting by a fire), head to Whistler or Tremblant or Collingwood (or Wentworth in Nova Scotia).
If you want historic Christmas magic, head to Quebec City, or cute small towns like Elora.

My list is not complete. It’s biased based on my own life experiences and limited experiences through this big beautiful country.

Canada has something for everyone, every time of the year. Summers here are hot, Fall and Winter are stunningly beautiful in every province and territory.

It’s time for Canadians to discover what’s in our own backyard.

– Marko