The Social 20 curriculum in Alberta is all about nationalism and the role it plays in the world; students wrestle with this question: “What does it mean to be Canadian?” While this is a loaded question with a plethora of answers; there is a variation of this question which is MUCH easier to respond to… “What do you love about Canada?” Since it is our country’s birthday today, I figured I’d share a ‘few’ of my favourite things about this great nation from West to East!
In general…
1. Rights & Freedoms 2. Landscape: Our Great Geographic Variation 3. Safety 4. Kraft Dinner 5. Our signature drink, The Caesar 6. O Canada 7. Hockey 8. Canadianisms & Humor 9. The Maple Leaf 10. Bilingualism 11. The Canadian culinary scene that has exploded!
British Columbia…
12. Sturgeon fishing in the Fraser River 13. Haida Gwaii 14. Vineyards of the Okanagan 15.Walking the Seawall in Stanley Park 16. Barkerville & the Cariboo Road 17. The Empress Hotel in Victoria 18. Whistler-Blackcomb 19. Great Bear Rainforest 20. Hiking the West Coast Trail & Grouse Grind 21. Sailing in the Pacific Ocean
Alberta…
22. Calgary Stampede 23. National Parks: Banff, Jasper, Waterton, Elk Island & Wood Buffalo 24. Edmonton Ice Castles 25. Royal Tyrrell Museum 26. Views from the Calgary Tower 27. Pioneer & Fur Trade Experiences: Dunvegan, Fort Edmonton, Stephansson House, Ukrainian Cultural Centre, Victoria Settlement, etc 28. Quirky Tourist Attractions like the Gopher Hole Museum, Curbside Museum, World’s Largest (perogy, sausage, pysanka egg, beaver, etc) and seemingly random art installations. 29. Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump 30. WinSport/ Olympic Park 31. Fly Fishing (Forestry Trunk Road & Bow River)
Saskatchewan…
32. Sunsets in Saskatchewan (after all it is the “land of the living skies”) 33. Tunnels of Moose Jaw 34. The last two Fuddruckers are located in Regina & Saskatoon 35. RCMP Heritage Centre in Regina 36. Little Lake Manitou 37. Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park 38. Mosaic Stadium 39. Lake Diefenbaker 40. University of Saskatchewan’s stunning campus
Manitoba…
41. Polar bears in Churchill 42. The French Quarter 43. Experiencing Metis History and Culture 44. The Forks 45. The Spirit Way 46. Buffalo Point Resort 47. Little Limestone Lake 48. Festivals like Gimli’s Icelandic Festival & Festival du Voyageur 49. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet 50. Canadian Museum of Human Rights
Ontario…
51. Niagara Falls 52. Parliament Hill 53. Algonquin Provincial Park 54. Distillery District 55. Great Spirit Circle Trail 56. Thousand Islands 57. Casa Loma 58. Ice Skating on Rideau Canal 59. Stratford Festival 60. Toronto International Film Festival
Quebec…
61. Underground City of Montreal 62. Old Quebec 63. Parc National de la Jacques- Cartier 64. Montmorency Falls 65. Quebec Winter Carnival 66. Gespeg Mi’gmaq Interpretive Centre 67. Plains of Abraham 68. Mont Tremblant 69. Sugar Shacks 70. Biosphere Museum of Montreal
New Brunswick...
71. Village Historique Acadien 72. It is the ONLY officially bilingual province in the country 73. Boasts year-round glamping 74. Metepenagiag Heritage Park 75. Indulgent spas 76. The Bay of Fundy 77. Historic Fredericton 78. Camp Enrage 79. St.Andrews-by-the-Sea 80. Sugarloaf Mountain
Nova Scotia…
81. Lobster 82. Bird Islands to see the Puffins 83. Mahone Bay 84. Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse 85. Lunenburg 86. Eskasoni Cultural Journey 87. Cabot Trail 88. Incredible breweries 89. Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site 90. Bluenose II
Prince Edward Island…
91. Clam digging 92. Golfing at Crowbush Cove 93. Beautiful Charlottetown 94. Legacy of Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery & Avonlea Village 95. Drives along the coast 96. Confederation Bridge 97. The music scene & pub life 98. Rock crab fishing 99. Seal watching 100. Biking the Confederation Trail
Newfoundland & Labrador…
101. Experience the oldest English founded city in North America: St. John’s 102. Whale watching 103. Getting “Screeched” 104. L’Anse Aux Meadows 105. Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve 106. Torngats Mountain 107. Cod fishing 108. Iceberg viewing 109. Gros-Morne National Park 110. Fisherman Museum & Memorial Garden
Yukon…
111. Yukon Wildlife Preserve 112. Dawson City 113. Sign Post Forest 114. Watching the Northern Lights 115. Bonanza Creek 116. Jack London Museum 117. Donjek Glacier 118. Takhini Hot Springs 119. Caribou hunting 120. Emerald Lake
Northwest Territories…
121. Great Slave Lake 122. Inuvik 123. Experiencing Dene art and culture 124. Old Fort Providence 125. Ice Roads 126. Canoeing in the Keele River 127. Northwest Passage 128. Canol Trail 129. Yellowknife 130. Dempster Highway
Nunavut…
131. Wildlife of Ellesmere Island 132. Beauty of Pond Inlet 133. The reclamation of Inuit control over their lives, culture and governance 134. Dogsledding experiences 135. Glaciers of Sirmilik National Park 136. Inuit arts and cultural experiences/festivals 137. Belcher Island Walruses 138. Ability to camp at the “Top of the World” 139. Remote and tranquil Repulse Bay 140. Baffin Island
In general…
141. Publicly funded health care 142. Democracy 143. Multitude of natural resources 144. Our “funny money” 145. Peacekeeping participation 146. We are “Hollywood North” 147. We are the second largest country in the world (sq km) 148. Heroes like Terry Fox, The Famous Five, Chris Hadfield, Tekahionwake (AND SO MANY MORE) 149. Being a land of opportunity 150. High level of quality of life 151. Solitude 152. Multiculturalism 153. Canada Day Celebrations