Canoe tour of Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia

Over centuries the Mi’kmaw people, one of Canada’s First Nations, have navigated routes in the region. The Mi’kmaw would paddle along waterways then disembark their birch bark canoes to carry them on portages of up to two kilometres at a time. Cody explains that Todd Labrador, a Mi’kmaw craftsman, operates workshops in which he demonstrates how to strip bark from birch trees and make traditional canoes. Interpretative tours also provide insights to other aspects of Mi’kmaw heritage, including the medicinal use of plants.

First Nations in Yukon, Canada

“I don’t consider myself an elder but I’ve seen a temperature change of about 20°F in my lifetime. I remember when I was a child it was regularly -65°F [-53°C],” recalls Harold Johnson at Kwäday Dän Kenji – the Long Ago Peoples Place – of winters in the Yukon.

15 things to do in Winnipeg in winter

During February, the francophone St Boniface district of the Winnipeg hosts the Festival du Voyager, western Canada’s biggest winter festival.Thanks to the seasonal weather, finding a place to chill in Winnipeg in winter isn’t difficult. However, chilling at Thermea by Nordik Spa-Nature has a whole different meaning — it’s a chic spa with saunas and steam rooms ranged around a four outdoor pools of varying temperatures.

Nova Scotia Lighthouse Route

Washed by the white-capped waves of the unpredictable North Atlantic, Nova Scotia’s rugged coastline is at its most picturesque on warm summer days. Driving the Lighthouse Route is one way of exploring the province's coastline.

Rocky Mountaineer food and cooking

"If you have a beautiful canyon or mountain that has to be seen it references us as to when we are going to serve that breakfast or lunch. It would defeat the object of travelling in such a beautiful area if we were to travel late in the day or by night," says Jean Pierre Guerin one of the Rocky Mountaineer’s executive chefs.

Rocky Mountaineer train guest services

“We go through the Rockies, on the Rocky Mountaineer, but what I think a lot of people don’t realise is that we wind our way through some amazing desert canyons on the first day. They have some big sky vistas. That was a big eye-opener for me, the amount the scenery changes,” said Ira Young, Guest Service Manager on the Rocky Mountaineer.

Rocky Mountaineer train manager interview

“I think, more than any other country on earth, Canada was developed by the railway. It was the promise of a railway that brought British Columbia into the fold. I’m half-American, on my father’s side, and well aware of the American interest in British Columbia. It could have been an entirely American west coast if it was not for the railway. Being born in Canada I’m cognisant of the fact that there would have been no Canada as we know it,” said Zebulon Fastabend, the train manager of the Rocky Mountaineer, about the importance of the railways in Canadian history.

New cars for the Rocky Mountaineer train

Each of the new cars feature panoramic windows with electronically controlled tinting that can be lightened or darkened to suit the lighting conditions. The cars are air-conditioned and designed to operate with the outside temperature anywhere between a chilly -25˚C and sweltering 50˚C.