* I wrote this post in the middle of May, in what now seems like a different time as far as world consciousness around racial and cultural climate. Although I begin with mentioning multi-culturalism, the intention was not to suggest everything is as it should be, because I already knew that was not true, but rather to share some interesting things I have come across individually, as well as with my family, and to offer a “jumping off point” for exploring Canada. In that light …
The interesting thing I’ve found about being Canadian is that there is an inherent sense of multi-culturalism, regardless of where you live or the make-up of your family. Never mind that Toronto, our largest city, is apparently the most multi-cultural city in the world (I’m always a bit skeptical of how things are measured but, for the moment, Wikipedia tells me it’s still so), with a varied history, we have a range of linguistic and cultural perspectives right across the country. We are wide-ranging in our beliefs and ideas, our culture and celebrations and even in languages spoken – traditional, official and new.
And we have a lot of space. Beautiful space. Our population is still almost ridiculously small when compared to the physical size of our country. Again, diversity is the word … the rugged rocks of Newfoundland, the long stretches of prairie fields and their open skies, the Rocky Mountains, the coasts of three oceans and the incredible North have wildly different landscapes and “feels” about them.
And the different foods… mmm. Granted not everyone may enjoy poutine as much as we do (but lots do!)
So, with so many Canadian places and people to learn about, why, I asked my family the other day, have we spent so much time over the last several weeks oscillating back and forth between American and British documentaries and shows?
We love our American neighbors/neighbours to the south. They are fun, friendly, innovative and have fantastic music, shows and movies. They have a fascinating history, intrinsically linked with our own. Many of the sayings and common references we have here in Canada come from American culture.
We also love the United Kingdom and Ireland. We have so many British ties in our traditions and ways of being, and Canada’s Scottish and Irish background is huge. You can’t go to a parade without countless bagpipes and it’s hard to watch a Canadian nature documentary without hearing Celtic music and a tin whistle. In fact, the province of Newfoundland has maintained a strong Irish culture for many years, while also developing their own distinction.
So, yes, we have enjoyed settling in for some American or British screen time, music and books, BUT we talked about getting back to immersing ourselves in some good things Canadian. We’ve been having fun, and I thought I’d share some “springboard” points. These are just snippets here and there that might be fun on their own or might lead to a deeper dive into something.
If you are looking to explore Canada (virtually right now) as a Canadian or as someone from elsewhere, there is actually a wealth of material. If you have kids and you are looking to do a Canada study at home or supplement from a school unit (also virtual right now), can I interest you in just exploring together for fun and interest in a natural and intermittent way, rather than feeling you necessarily need to do a step by step walk through Canadian history and geography in exact order? Doing it the step by step way is linear (I get it – I have organized the provinces and territories that way here) and is unarguably more orderly, but may or may not “stick” or be of interest. Canada is a big country with a varied history, culturally, racially, religiously and certainly geographically.
I think a fun way to learn about Canada is to imagine a jigsaw puzzle or a map with lots of pieces and as we find out about new things, pieces start to fit together in some areas until eventually our jigsaw puzzle gets filled in (or not, if you lose interest in the puzzle and something else becomes more important, haha – but even so, some of the jigsaw puzzle is there and we can always finish it later). Sometimes the pieces are from opposite corners of the puzzle and don’t fit at all with one another, but as more pieces get added, connections are made and the big picture begins to make sense. In a perfect metaphor, the jigsaw wouldn’t really ever completely finished because with learning, there’s always room to expand.
If you do want to dive into learning more about Canada and a step by step way suits you and yours better, you might want to check out:
Discover Canada Province by Province – Sleeping Bear Press
Canada Year by Year – Elizabeth MacLeod
Explore Canada – Jocey Asnong (ideal for younger children)
The Kids Book of Canada, Barbara Greenwood and The Kids Book of Canadian History, Carlotta Hacker, Kids Can Press Publishing
The Story of Canada – Janet Lunn
This series is a piece by piece chronological story of Canada (for the most part – by necessity, there’s a bit of jogging back and forth between what was happening in one part of the country versus another). My opinion is that it is both beautifully powerful and a bit hokey in places. I think it’s ideal for adults, teens and older kids. We’ve seen it before and are working our way through it again. S and I really enjoy the music. It has a lot of action and violence, all in context, but in other places is quieter and slower. It’s very interesting of you stay engaged from the beginning.
North Woods Press is a Canadian curriculum and resources company with a plethora of really good stuff. Whether you are home educating or not, this company produces some wonderful Canadian material.
The Canadian Homeschooler is an absolutely fantastic resource for all things Canadian – resources, printables, information and lots of ideas. Again, you do not even need to be home educating to find some great Canadian information here.
Okay, so now to the more intermittent way of exploring …
Here are some snapshots and clips of many different places and aspects of Canada:
The Patriotic …
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield connects virtually from the space. He sings with and accompanies by guitar a choir of students from coast to coast here – hard to describe how much I love this!!
Canadian Second World War veteran, Don White, honoured in the Netherlands in 2019 for his service as part of the liberation of the Netherlands. This man is a member of our church:).
Highway of Heroes – the stretch between CFB Trenton, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario received its name from being the main repatriation route of for the soldiers lost in battle in Afghanistan – the honouring of them and the expressing of grief and solidarity for their families. Crowds at each bridge along the way would gather in support as the motorcades carrying the soldiers and their grieving families passed under. This span of highway begins kilometres from where I grew up and passes many towns and cities of familiarity, including our own city now, as it continues to Toronto. On two occasions, M and I joined the crowds on the bridges, honouring the fallen soldiers.
The Cultural …
Find out about the Freedom Soup that Haitian Montrealers make on New Year’s Day … yummm!! For a vegetable lover like me, it looks so good.
Taste of the Danforth in Toronto’s GreekTown, is the largest street festival in Canada, also embracing traditions of multiple other cultures … the music and the food!!
Find out more and celebrate the life of incredibly talented musician Oscar Peterson who Stevie Wonder once suggested was the best pianist in the world. There is a wonderful children’s book Oscar Lives Next Door: A Story Inspired by Oscar Peterson’s Childhood by Bonnie Farmer.
Please check out this impromptu version of a Newfoundland Kitchen Party, while waiting for their flight at Pearson Airport, Toronto here. (watch until at least 1:50 when the young boy begins to sing – lovely).
The Canadian Mosaic does not happen without complicated growing pains … some humorous and some very serious.
In 12 signs you were born and raised in Newfoundland the distinct culture that Newfoundland both is and has is shown. *Funny thing … when Canadian History is studied in a linear way, Newfoundland is often the first place shown because Europeans landed there first (Vikings, followed by the English briefly) and then shown again way down the line as it was the last province to officially join Canada.
Ice Breakers is a short video story about a young black Nova Scotian hockey player – his successes, his challenges to be respected and his opportunity to meet someone who introduced the true history of black hockey in Nova Scotia, and in fact, Canada.
Read a Globe and Mail article about the newest wave of immigration to Vancouver. (this one would likely be a better fit for older kids and adults as far as perspective and understanding).
There are loads more cultural tidbits throughout this post integrated within the clips for each province and territory.
Television Watching …
Anne with and E and Murdoch Mysteries have both been taped in a lot of places within about a 40 minute radius of us, so it’s fun to watch them and recognize the different places. “Charlottetown” in Anne with an E is taped using the street I did a student placement on. I can see the door to the old office in some of the scenes:).
My most recommended shows, though, are Still Standing and Rick Mercer Report because the hosts become immersed in local activities with the different parts of Canada that the particular episode features and there is both an element of comedy, as well as learning new things about places and people. Still Standing has a different small town in Canada as a feature each episode and it’s a lot of fun!
Anne with an E
Anne of Green Gables
Diggstown
Kim’s Convenience
Still Standing
Rick Mercer Report
Murdoch Mysteries
High Arctic Haulers
Ice Road Truckers
Heartland
Corner Gas
The Nature of Things
The literature …
W.O. Mitchell is the author of, among others, the renowned Who Has Seen the Wind, which is set in the Depression-era prairies – small town Saskatchewan, to be more specific. This is a book that might not necessarily be considered children’s literature, but M, S and I found it to be a really impactful novel for the teen years, and in fact, S and I read it when he was 10 or 11, and he was really drawn to it even then.
Ron Brown Books
I first saw The Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore – An Illustrated History of Railway Stations in Canada, followed by several others. I haven’t read all of these, but it’s a fun way to find out about and see photos of different parts of Canada and its train stations at the same time ghost towns or other various topics at the same time.
Children’s picture book authors …
Nadia L. Hohn
Heather Patterson
Robert Munsch
Jocey Asnong
Olive Senior
Ian Wallace
Julie Flett
Janet Lunn
Monica Kulling
Sydney Smith
Marianne Dubuc
Children’s novelists …
Barbara Greenwood
Connie Brummel Crook
Shauntay Grant
Jean Little
Kenneth Opel
Bernice Thurman Hunter
Gordon Korman
Erin Bow
Diane Silvey
Janet Lunn
Eric Walters
Eric Wilson
L.M. Montgomery
David Robertson
Iain Lawrence
Shane Peacock
Deborah Ellis
and a whole bunch more … but there’s a starting point;).
The geography …
Newfoundland and Labrador
Bay Bulls, Newfoundland – the humpbacks and the puffins – wow! Our whale watching and puffin tour was beyond words (thank you Gatherall’s Puffin & Whale Watch! ) We saw many, many, many humpback whales in all directions from the boat. It was puffin mating season. The rocks were covered in puffins and the sky was full of them, flying around us and overhead. The captain reminded us to keep our mouths closed but unfortunately, L forgot to cover her ear – what a mess;).
Watch this Double Humpback Whale Breach in Bay Bulls!
Iceberg Alley – we went on an iceberg and whale watching tour (thank you Twillingate Island Boat Tours Ltd.) a few years ago in Twillingate, Newfoundland and the icebergs were small by then, but we saw the tail end of one that had floated down from Greenland and actually, the fact that it was so small meant that we could touch it! And the ocean and the rock … what a breathtaking place.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia has a Latin name. In English it translates to New Scotland – read a short history here.
Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia boasts Mi’kmaq, French (Acadian) and Scottish culture and is one of the most scenic islands for hiking, driving and golfing anywhere. Not to mention the fiddling …! Check it out here and click on the video for the beautiful scenery, recreation and culture.
Prince Edward Island – Mi’kmaq, Acadian and Celtic roots are all part of what make up the beautiful province of PEI. With red beaches and roads, a long Indigenous history, the Birthplace of Confederation and Anne of Green Gables, there’s lots to find out about such a little place. Oh and deep sea fishing and those famous lobster suppers – I almost lost my hat on a wild evening trolley ride through the countryside after one of those suppers.
New Brunswick
Confederation Bridge runs from New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island. It is the longest bridge in the world that covers icy water. It’s 12.9 km long (thank you, Canadian Encyclopedia) and a little scary to cross if you think too much about it. Somewhere, we have video footage of our drive across with a tour guide. Maybe someday I’ll find it and add it in here.
Hopewell Rocks has the most extreme tides in the world as well as the beautiful flowerpot rocks. I would suggest doing your own search as well and seeing if you can find a time lapse or video footage. We found it amazing to see how quickly the tides came in. S and I had a scary experience … maybe someday we’ll be up to telling it. All in all, though, it’s a beautiful place.
Quebec
Quebec City tour here and then, see the largest winter carnival in the world – Carnaval de Quebec
Quebec is the largest maple syrup producer worldwide the the sugarbush is deeply embedded in French Canadian history and culture – check it out here.
Ontario
Thousand Islands (actually 1,864 islands!) is an area of the St. Lawrence River, shared by Canada and US, with some areas of land and water belonging to each. They give wonderful boat tours where both private and tour boats of each country wave to the other:).
Many things Capital City Ottawa …!
Wonderful wintry footage of Niagara Falls.
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park is absolutely beautiful in the fall. Doing a search for autumn photos of the park should bring some fantastic results.
Manitoba
For maybe the best tourism video of Canada, in my opinion;), check out what Winnipeg has to offer.
Winnipeg, Manitoba houses the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Churchill, Manitoba is the polar bear capital of the world. The belugas aren’t too bad either …
Take a Via train ride up to Churchill, Manitoba.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a full- on prairie province. While Manitoba and Alberta each have significant sections of prairie, Saskatchewan is Prairie all the way. Top 10 attractions?
Tourism Saskatchewan offers virtual tours – have a look!
Saskatchewan – Land of Living Skies
A wee bit of science behind those living skies.
I’m sad to hear of them disappearing. I remember driving past them as a kid we camped across Canada (yes, we did, in an old, heavy but loyal van and nothing else) over the course of a couple of summers.
Saskatchewan, along with Manitoba and Alberta, became known as one of “the bread baskets of the world” due to its incredible wheat industry. Those grain elevators that can be seen so far in the prairie distance are a piece of history.
Alberta
Beginning as prairie stretching toward the Rocky Mountains (if you’re coming from the east), Alberta boasts absolutely beautiful landforms and not surprisingly incredible national parks.
Have a look at Jasper National Park, first from the nature perspective of Parks Canada and then from the tourist perspective of Must Do Canada.
And Banff National Park …
In A Wild Year, we see a time – lapsed video of footage shot over the course of a year from a camera stationed in the same spot in Banff. Lynx, cougars, deer, wolves, bears, mountain goats, a moose, hikers, cross country skiers come by … fun.
This is interesting and fun – cameras at the animal crossings above and below the highway capture cougars, bears, moose, deer and more in A Wild Way to Move.
Here is a short, but interesting piece on the potential of bison ( what we often call buffalo) grazing the land in Banff again In Banff National Park – The Missing Link.
The Calgary Stampede is a summer staple in Alberta. It has a spirit and life all its own. Tourism Alberta gives some introduction to different aspects and you can explore from there.
British Columbia
Ah, beautiful British Columbia:).
To see an account of a young totem-pole builder as he works with other members of his clan, check this out.
Totem poles tell the story and identify of the people they represent. Here’s a short clip to find out a bit more.
Did you know that we have a rainforest in Canada? It’s a coastal temperate rainforest and home of the little known Spirit Bears among a great variety of other wildlife.
See the trailer and some additional video from the Great Bear Rainforest Film.
Discover Vancouver through a tourism promotional video.
And have a look at Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia – Less talked about than Vancouver, but with its own very unique charm.
Yukon Territory
Travel Yukon gives an overview with potential rabbit holes to go down, depending on what catches your eye.
Travel Yukon also gives a short video featuring some absolutely gorgeous footage of Northern Lights, snowy landscapes and more.
Must Do Canada shows an in person account of a visit to the Yukon … glimpses into wildlife, glaciers, historical buildings, Gold Rush Information and more.
Northwest Territories
Northern Lights, sled dogs, snowshoeing – find this Northwest Territories Tourism video here.
Muskrat 411 – Trapping Beaver and Travelling in the Spectacular Richardson Mountains of NWT
Muskrat Jamboree – what a way to welcome spring in the North. This is just a taste of this lively annual event. You can find out more by visiting videos listed in a search.
Nunavut
Learn more about Canada’s newest territory (1999)…
Travel to Nunavut, Canada is wonderfully narrated by Inuit children, even with a bit of discussion between them – love this
Welcome to Nunavut is a short video welcoming you to the territory of Nunavut – a mix of wildlife, landscape, people and culture.
Join Alex and Luke for a few hours in Iqaluit, Nunavut – it’s dark by 3 pm.
In Cape Dorset, Nunavut: the Epicentre of Inuit Art, we learn about the Art Co-op in West Baffin and the skilled artists who create unique sculptures and print art.
Golfing at midnight? In Midnight Golf at Yukon’s Solstice Tournament, you get just that:).
Hopefully you’ve found a few interesting bits here and I’d encourage you to dig deeper into anything that sparked interest.
There are so many other things as well … let me know in the comments if anything else comes to mind:).
*All photos are our own or used with permission from family
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Wow Erin, a wonderful collection of resources, thanks. Ashamed to admit that the only thing I was familiar with in tv and literature was Ice Road Truckers. Have always fancied visiting Canada one day and this list, plus the wonderful Winnie’s Great War, recommended by your very lovely self, has inspired me to learn more 🙂
Thanks Hayley! Yes, there is some great Canadian stuff out there for sure, and I keep remembering things but not taking time to add them! I’m going to cheat a bit here and mention a folk artist by the name of Maud Lewis from the eastern maritime province of Nova Scotia. If you simply google “Maud Lewis paintings,” so many brilliant colours pop up, portraying the Nova Scotia landscape in all seasons and leading to some background on her resilience and determination. Glad you enjoyed Winnie’s Great War:).
Had a quick look and I love the colours. Thanks Erin 🙂