The Current - The top 10 vacation spots in Canada — voted by you!

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

Where’s the best place to visit in Canada? For weeks, listeners have been voting for the vacation spots they love across this big, beautiful country to build The Current’s travel bucket list. Rick Mercer joins Matt Galloway to reveal the top 10. Did your favourite place make the list?

1942, Europe. Soldiers find a boy surviving alone in the woods. They make him a member of Hitler's army. But what no one would know for decades, he was Jewish. Could a story so unbelievable be true? I'm Dan Goldberg. I'm from CBC's personally, Toy Soldier. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. Hello, I'm Matt Galloway and this is The Current Podcast. Yes, indeed.

After a month of voting, it's time we have our final current Canadian travel bucket list with Canadians looking to spend their travel dollars here at home. We set out to create your guide to the best places to visit in Canada. Every Canadian should go to one of these places is what you said. We got over 2000 submissions of locations from coast to coast to coast and champions made their case on the radio for their spot. You'll never feel as close to nature as you will in Bonavista. You are literally surrounded by earth, water, wind and sky and lots of wind at that. We didn't even know about it before we went there. It is the only park in Canada with natural prairie grassland. We're nestled on these gorgeous waters of Lake Huron.

It's one of those things that you don't understand until you're here. There's just something about this place. The pace of life is so fantastic. There's all kinds of grizzlies. There's a great big elk herd. There's cougars. There's wolves. There's deer. The feeling that you get when you go into the Rockies, it's a very different place. We don't have to go far to find beauty in Atlanta, Canada. And when the bucket list came out, I looked to see what was on there that I'd already kind of said to myself, where am I going to go? Even going to Ontario from Prince Edward Island, that's not a stretch and keeping it in Canada has served us really well.

Sounds like Canada, as our friend Sheila Rogers would say, just a sampling of some of the people and places we were able to highlight this past month from St. Andrews, New Brunswick to Manitoulin Island in Ontario to Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. Well, today, nearly 50,000 votes later, it is time to announce the final top 10 list. But first, a special guest returns to the current Rick Mercer is in our studio in St.

John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Rick, good morning. Good morning, Matt. I love when you say good morning. I always believe you. Because it is a good morning. Well, well, thank you. It's morning. And good morning to you, Matt. I love when you say good morning. I always believe you. Because it is a good morning. Well, thank you. It's morning.

Good morning to you, sir. You have seen an awful lot of this country and a lot of the places that were among the finalists are places that you have gone to. We'll get to the finalists, but what is it that makes traveling in this Canada – in this country, do you think? What makes it unique? Well, I just – I never ever regretted any of the trips I ever took in in the 16 years that I was doing it Professionally I can't I don't know if we're the best country in the world with but we're the best looking like it just never stops

And it's it's it's always worth the trip and and it's so large. It's so varied I mean a contest like this is so difficult because you're talking about spectacular places in Newfoundland and Labrador and then you're talking about the interior of British Columbia. I mean, these are – we're a big country and it's incredibly diverse geographically and this is a tough one coming down. You know, making a top 10 list is a tough ask. I said 50,000 votes.

I mean, one of the things that that speaks to is this moment of national pride How have you experienced that over the last little bit where people are wrapping themselves in the flag? Well, it's certainly happening. Isn't it? I can remember when Jean-Claude Jan brought in flag day and I can remember doing material about flag day and it happens every year and I hear about it in the peripheral. But I personally never hung up a flag on Flag Day. And this year, off I went to Canadian Tire and got my flag and hung it on the house.

And I think a lot of people did that. I think, you know, national pride, it's kind of like nobody saw that it was coming, but we all knew it was there. It just, we needed the threat and once the threat was floated, then we stood up. So we're going to go through the final 10 destinations, but I want to highlight some of the honorable mentions from the 2000 plus submissions we received. These ones were great destinations, didn't make that top 10. This one comes from Pam Paul in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who writes, you need to visit the world famous

Gopher Hole Museum in Alberta. It is weirdly fabulous, unique and wholesome, handmade by members of that community using donated already dead stuffed Richardson ground squirrels. The community creates their clothing and backdrops. People from around the world visit the hamlet of Torrington in order to see the world famous gopher hole museum. Rick, you must have been to the gopher hole museum. No, but you had me at makes their clothing.

I like that they're already dead and stuffed. But it wasn't, they weren't wearing clothes. That's great. That's fantastic. It's on my list. This is from Vera Lynn Weeks who said we need to go to the spoon shanty in Rustico and Prince Edward Island. Vera Lynn Weeks who said, we need to go to the spoon shanty in Rustico and Prince Edward Island. Vera Lynn Weeks writes, Brendan Peters, the PEI spoon guy will teach you to play the spoons from a heritage lobster shanty in beautiful North Rustico PEI, hear fish tales from his family's

long history of lobster fishing. And after your spooning lesson, enjoy dinner at the world famous lobster suppers or head to the white sand beaches, Rick? Well, I didn't know that playing the spoons was called spooning I just see I like to think I'm an expert on so many things and now I'm learning you learn new things every day This is spooning lesson in PEI. Wow There's no better place. This is from Neil Martin. His submission is that everyone needs to visit the Bell Centre in Montreal, Hockey's Church. Neil, I feel for you, the Montreal Canadiens, the Habs

are out of the playoffs, having lost yesterday, but you want to go to the Bell Centre, perhaps next year. There's always next year. Is there a place, Rick, off the beaten track that you think Canadians should make a point of visiting? Well, I'm not privy to the final list, but Churchill, Manitoba. Oh, yeah. Churchill, Manitoba, the polar bear capital of the world. I mean, we all had this idea of polar bears. We've all seen the images of polar bears, but it's one of those things that until you

slap your eyes on one, you just really don't know what it's going to be like. And you go to Churchill and you go out on those polar bear buggies or whatever they're called, and they're everywhere. It's not like, oh, I hope I'm going to see a polar bear. You just see so many of them. It's exquisite. It's well worth the trip. All right.

So we're going to unveil the top 10. Maybe Churchill, Manitoba, we'll be on that. Please welcome, if you would, the CBC radio drum corps with the drum roll Our first destination on the currents travel guide is to Fino British Columbia You love to Fino Rick. I well when I was on this this program originally and you asked me to mention a few places I mentioned to Fino because it really truly blew my mind. It was one of those trips where I woke up, I arrived at night, I woke up, looked out, and I was just, you know, my breath was taken away and I spent time walking on that beach and it was like being in a cathedral. It's just, it's stunningly beautiful.

And what I didn't know, because I Googled it after I talked to you so passionately about my time there, was of course it's a huge winter destination because people go and storm watch there and surge watch, which I wasn't aware of, but I can imagine it, that it must be exquisite. Dan Law is the mayor of Tofino, British Columbia. Mr. Mayor, good morning. Good morning. You know how beautiful this place is, but for the rest of the country, are you surprised

that it made it to the top 10. No, I, you know, Tufino kind of sells itself, kind of like what Rick said there. It is, it is, I mean, it is remarkable for people who've never been, just what makes it so special. Well, it's, you know, it's not only, it's, it's opulently beautiful. Most people, that's all I can say. If I go away for any length of time and forget,

you know, what it's like, I come back and I'm always shocked and they go, oh my gosh, this place is just gorgeous. You're originally from Nova Scotia, is that right? Yeah, I spent most of my childhood in Nova Scotia, with a bit in Toronto, shout out to Toronto. And so why did you end up, you know, putting the flagpole into To into, into Tofino? Why is that the place for you?

Well, my wife and I had a, had a couple little babies and we were looking for a place to live. And we did a tour of BC. I mean, there's just so many fantastic places in BC and we couldn't decide where to, to sort of settle down. And so we, we talked to each other and said, let's go to Tofino to think about it. And we drove into Tofino and I thought, whoa, this place is amazing.

And that was it really, that was 25 years ago. It's a good- Dan, can I ask, when I talk about walking on the beach, I walked for a long time. How long is that thing? Like if I wanna go for a walk. Well, I mean, there's beaches in Tofino that you could walk for a while, but you're probably thinking of Long Beach at the Pacific National Park, which is long. I mean, it's kilometers,

kilometers long, but you can walk this. You know, Tofino is about 10 kilometers long. You can walk all the way out and all the way back on the dedicated, dedicated multi-use path. And people are there winter and summer. Winter and summer. It's fantastic in the winter and fantastic in the summer. Yeah. It's a special place.

Excellent. All right, Dan, hang around. Cause the next stop on our top 10 list, voted on by almost 50,000 people is somewhere that Rick knows very well, Bonavista, Newfoundland. Aha, Bonavista makes the list. John Norman is the mayor of Bonavista, Newfoundland. Aha, Bonavista makes the list. John Norman is the mayor of Bonavista at Newfoundland.

John Norman, good morning to you. Good morning to you. You cannot be surprised that Canadians chose beautiful Bonavista as one of the top 10 destinations in this country. No, I'm not overly surprised. We don't offer spooning lessons, but we offer a lot of things.

What is it that makes it, make the pitch, what is it that makes it such an amazing place to visit? Well, of course it's in the song, this land is your land, this land is my land, from Cape Bonavista to Vancouver Island. So we're far off on the other end of the country, we're a unique old place, and we're a off on the other end of the country. We're a unique, old place. And we're a rural community in the country

that, like so many others, has had a storied past, a complicated socioeconomic situation, pretty much economic collapse when you're talking about the Cod moratorium. And now in recent years, quite a renaissance and revival happening in the community. So a great place to live, so it is now, has become a great place to visit.

How do you balance the two, making it a great place to live, but also a great place to visit? BandaVista has taken a lot of strategic moves over the years, and I've been involved with a number of those. A lot of investments in social enterprise and not-for-profit work in the community enhancing what we offer recreationally, arts, culture, heritage. This is a community of around 3,500 people and this community has built heritage, its landscape, its built landscape of over

a thousand structures that are municipally, provincially, or nationally designated. So we're talking about a really unique historic place nestled right in the middle of a UNESCO global geopark with phenomenal geology, coastal geomorphology, everything you could want in the mix. If there was a place, I mean, you love your town, but if there was another place in this country that you had to pick a spot that you want to visit in Canada, where would it be John? Dawson city.

Dawson city. What is that? What is it? I mean, it's, I mean, I've been, and it's wonderful, uh, those late, late nights are spectacular. What is it about Dawson that is so intriguing to you? I have a background in earth science.

Of course I love earth science, but my passion day to day is built heritage. I've done talks on rural economic development across the country in lots of towns with old and unique buildings and landscapes, but I have yet to make it to Dawson city. I really want to see it, feel it, and understand how that isolated community works.

Dan, is there one place for you that, um, that you need to get to in this country? Well, I was going to say gross mourn, but now I think maybe it's part of this. You can do both. Absolutely do both. Yeah, no, there's, there's a lot of places I want to go. You can absolutely do both. Yeah, no, there's a lot of places I want to go. I do want to see the Yukon.

I've been right up to the border of the Yukon and it's just fabulous all through. I've been across Canada. So I've been to a lot of places, but I actually really do want to go to Newfoundland. It's been on my bucket list. Maybe John Norman can help you out there. It's good to speak. That's right, I was gonna. Well, it's like there could be a summit

or something like that, a mayoral summit in Newfoundland. I was hoping he'd say Tofino, then we could maybe switch houses and stuff like that. We'll see what we can do. The power of radio. It's good to speak with you both and thank you for championing the places that you love. Okay, it's great to be here.

Thank you. Stan Law, Mayor of Tofino, British Columbia, John Norman, the Mayor of Bonavista, Newfoundland. Hey there, I'm David Common. If you're like me, there are things you love about living in the GTA and things that drive you absolutely crazy. Every day on This is Toronto, we connect you to what matters most about life in the GTA, the news you gotta know, and the conversations your friends will be talking about.

Whether you listen on a run through your neighborhood, or while sitting in the parking lot that is the 401, check out This Is Toronto, wherever you get your podcasts. Here are the next four spots in our top 10. Again, no particular order, because we don't want people to be upset with us. Basin Head Provincial Park and PEI, perhaps spooning lessons there as well. Quebec City in Quebec, Stratford, Ontario, and driving. We talk, heard a lot about road trips, driving from Amherst to Mass

Town, Nova Scotia, along the Bay of Fundy. Rick, any of those pop out to you as, as places that you love? Well, Quebec City, you could just walk your feet to stumps in Quebec City. It is just so beautiful. The fact that you're in North America, you really feel transported. You feel like you're in Europe. You're in France. Old Quebec City is just a beautiful, beautiful way to spend some time and it's so close.

It is just so accessible. It's in terms of – well, you feel like you're in Europe. I mean it's amazing. Absolutely. Everyone should do that, 100 percent. Matthew Feeney The final four spots in the current Canadian travel bucket list, Grossmoor National Park in Newfoundland, Manitoulin Island in Ontario, St. Andrews in New Brunswick.

And this is interesting, with nearly a quarter of all of the votes we received, Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. Are you surprised that people love Cape Breton in the way they do, Rick? Absolutely not. And I'm absolutely not surprised that they work the phones because that is, they clearly work the phones and God love them. Cape Bretonon I talked the last time about doing that drive around Cape Breton it's incredible this list I tell you this is going to be a very contentious list everyone deserves to be on this list so many people deserve to

be on this list that aren't on the list I mean once again we're looking at a contentious election result in Canada this This is – you're going to get mail. You might get 50,000 letters about the 50,000 short list. But Cape Breton Island – and you know, one of the very first times I went to the mainland is a young man. I got a job on a TV show. I was 17 years old. I was alone in Halifax. I didn't know anyone.

And I walked down and I went to the Cape Breton Summer Time Review, which is an annual show. They tour and then they move around to Halifax, et cetera. It blew my mind. The music, the comedy, the comedy stylings of Bette MacDonald, the funniest woman on earth. When I think of Cape Breton, I think of natural beauty, but I also think – I just think of the people and the humor that's come out of there, the music that's come out of there, the music that's come out of there, the culture.

There were a couple of spots that just missed the cut by just a few hundred votes. Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. This is the time of the year, it's the beginning of May, and people might be thinking about where they should travel this summer. And one of the things we've heard already from people

is that this list has got people thinking and got people booking. So if you're thinking about booking one of these places, arrive early as they say to avoid disappointment. But Rick, what would you say to people who are debating whether to take a trip here in Canada this summer or maybe travel abroad? They're trying to figure out how they're going to spend their time and their money. What's the pitch to stay here?

I think they absolutely should travel inside of Canada. And I think sometimes it's a bit overwhelming like as beautiful as Tofino Sounds if you're in Nova Scotia that's a long trip and you mightn't have the resources to pull that off but no matter where you live in this country you can go within a couple of hundred kilometers and explore a new world. I mean I am sure there are people in St. John's where I am right now listening to the radio and going you know what I've never been up to Bonavista. And they could be in Bonavista by three o'clock this afternoon.

So I would scale down. Yes, by all means, if you have the resources to go to the Rockies across the country, but if you have to just go in your own neighborhood, that's great too. And you will have an incredible vacation. I can't think of anybody better to help us sift through this list than you. You've been very generous in doing this and a lot of fun as well.

Rick, thank you. Thank you. Rick Mercer, author, comedian, great Canadian. If you want to see The Current's ultimate Canadian travel bucket list, as determined by you, go to our website, cbc.ca slash The Current.