The Current - Vacation inspiration? Canadians share their favourite spots

Episode Date: April 14, 2025

Four more listeners make the case for their favourite vacation spots, hoping to win a place on The Current’s list of great Canadian travel destinations. Alexandra Esposito tells us why she loves Quebec City; Greer Kelley takes us on a drive from Amherst to Masstown in Nova Scotia; Stef MacDiarmid shares her memories of the Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories; and Dianne Wilson shares what’s so special about Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan. You can see the full shortlist and vote for your favorite on cbc.ca/thecurrent.

When they predict we'll fall, we rise to the challenge. When they say we're not a country, we stand on guard. This land taught us to be brave and caring, to protect our values, to leave no one behind. Canada is on the line, and it's time to vote as though our country depends on it, because like never before, it does. I'm Jonathan Pedneau, co-leader of the Green Party of Canada.

This election, each vote makes a difference. Authorized by the Registeredleader of the Green Party of Canada, this election, each vote makes a difference. Authorized by the registered agent of the Green Party of Canada. This is a CBC podcast. Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is The Current Podcast. Over the last few weeks on this program, we have been creating the ultimate Canadian travel guide. People are avoiding traveling to the United States

for any number of reasons. We thought, you know what, this is a great country. It's a huge country. There might be places that you have never visited before. We should try to figure out how to tell people about that, how to build a list so that everybody knows of some of the great places in this country to visit. And of the thousands of submissions we received,

we have narrowed it down to 20 finalists. We've heard from Canadians championing about half of those locations over the past few weeks. You can see the full list and cast your vote for the must visit destinations on our website. Go to cbc.ca slash the current. This morning, four more people representing a real cross-section of this country. Alexandra Esposito is in Aurora, Ontario. Greer Kelly is in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Steph McDermid is in Golden, British Columbia. And Diane Wilson is on Pender Island in British Columbia. Good morning, everyone. Good morning.

Good morning, Matt. Steph, we're going to start with you. What is your pick for this thing that we are building, our Canadian travel guide? Great question. Thanks for having me, Matt. I'm excited to speak about the Nahanni river. And I chose the Nahanni because it is an incredible space, an

incredible river and an incredible wilderness. And I think that people should take the time and effort to get up to this place. It's in the Northwest Territories and it has so many incredible features to it from towering canyons, the highest canyons in Canada, to a magnificent waterfall twice the height of Niagara Falls, to Dene culture, the people up there who have been using this river and this land since time immemorial and really beautiful opportunities to interact with the wilderness and the wildlife and the geology, you can kind of see time passing

as you move down this river and go from canyon to canyon to canyon. And it is an incredible place that I wanted to share with more people. For people down south, and Hanny, as you've hinted at this, it's not an easy or an inexpensive place to get to. And yet in the note that you wrote to us, you described it as majestic.

Why is it worth the effort? Yeah, it isn't the easiest place to get to. But for me, I have been five times and I want to go back at least another five times before the end of my opportunity to do that because every time I go back there's something different that I experience and when I say majestic I think about every turn that I would make on this river whether sitting in a raft whether flying over it to get there whether in a canoe and you think about picture and postcard worthy images,

and it seems like every turn that you'd make on any other river in any other place, you would stop and you'd take a picture and then you turn another corner and it's the same. And but it's different and every place it touches you in a wonderful way. And I think that the people who get to experience this place come out of it with a real appreciation of some of what Canada has to offer that they don't get to see in other places. Okay, so just really quickly, what's the one thing being on the Nahanni that you'll never forget? Oh, gosh, I think flying over Nile Cho, which is the Dene word for this beautiful waterfall, also called Virginia Falls, and landing right above it to be able to begin the river trip the first time that I saw that waterfall. I couldn't believe my eyes. Fantastic. All right, Alexandra, follow us up on that.

Your pick, I mean, it's a big change from the seclusion of that river. Tell us about your pick. It's a big change from the seclusion of that river. Tell us about your pick. It certainly is. It's Quebec City in Quebec. And as the previous guest was mentioning, the vista and what have you, I can only imagine. But I think I go back and reckon to the explorers that would have come into Quebec City

back 500 years ago, Champlain and the others in landing at Place Royale. And going into the, you know, you go down to the old city, the fortified part of Quebec City, and then you go down further to the water, to the St. Lawrence, to the Place Royale. Very vibrant. And it takes you back to another world, as I said, for at least 400 years ago. You feel that you're in Europe for many reasons. One, the language, two, the food and the culture is different from English-speaking Canada. It's so unique and it's such a vibrant, vibrant city.

It would appeal to so many people. It would appeal to history buffs, it appeals to foodies, it appeals to culturally enriched people that want to enrich their culture even more. And it's just a fun, fun city to be in. It's got its claws into you, right? You've been a few times. I have been a few times. My husband and I went there for our honeymoon and so that was our first foray. We got married in the fall so we decided that we wouldn't go down south because of hurricanes and that sort of thing. So we went to Quebec City and then our children,

we put them into French immersion and so we thought okay they need to see French being practiced practically. So they've been a few times as well with us and on their own. I've been to conferences. My husband and I have stopped in Quebec City on our way out east. So it's a city that there's something new every time I go there. And even if it's not new, it's familiar. Like we love going into the Chateau Frontenac and having a drink in the library bar that overlooks the river. We love walking along, as they say, the streets, going down to the Place Royale, the boutiques, the restaurants. It's just a city that you can meander.

There's so much to see, there's so much to hear. And as I mentioned to your producer last time, we actually got to see a reenactment of the battle of the plains of Abraham. And I studied history in university, and as I said to my kids, you don't see it any better than this. It was just fabulous, fabulous. And you know, you go to the St. Ursuline convent, you go, there's so much history, so much history. And it's also, you know, it's a part of our Canadian history. You know, we are French and English and I think that Canadians do themselves, would do themselves a huge service in visiting this community. That's a great pitch.

Thank you very much. Greer Kelly, you're going to roll on a little bit further east from Quebec City. Make your case. Where are we going? Well, we're going to go on a road trip in keeping with your theme, Matt. In the Maritimes, we call that a Sunday drive. We're going to head along the Glooscap Trail through Cumberland and Colchester counties. So.

Put that on the map for people. If they don't know where we're talking about, where would we be? So you're going to start very close to the New Brunswick border in Amherst, and then you're going to drop down from Amherst after you check out the bird sanctuary there. You're going to drop down to Joggins.

And I can tell you that's on Highway 209. Joggins, of course, is famous for its fossils cliffs. It is a UNESCO heritage site. It's often referred to as the Galapagos of the coal age. If you go to the Joggins beach and the fossil cliff interpretive center, you will see fossils on the beach yourself. Pete Slauson Amazing. I mean, the will see fossils on the beach yourself. Amazing. This is, I mean, the Bay of Fundy is so interesting. This is along the Bay of Fundy, right? It is.

You start first in Chignecto Bay, then you go further along. You go through places that no longer exist, some old towns after Joggins, two rivers through to Shuli. Then you head down through Apple River and across to Advocate Harbor. Now you're on the Bay of Fundy as well.

Just after that, you get the Age of Sail Museum in Port Creville. If you're interested about the history of this area and the lumbering and sailing, it's a fascinating place to go. But more importantly, you've got vistas coming all the way in along the Bay of Fundy into the Minas Basin. So for people who love lighthouses, you've got lighthouses at Cape Door and Advocate Harbor, Cape Sharp and Parsborough.

You can look across to Cape Split and see the lighthouse there. You can stop in Cape Schenecto Provincial Park. You can also look across to Ilhout and its lighthouse. So of course, with all the, all the shoreline, you've got beaches. Make sure you check the tidal schedules because

it is on the Bay of Fundy, known for its tides. Through there, you're going to go into Parsboro where you can check out the Fundy Geological Museum or maybe take in a show at the Ship Company Theatre. Then you can stop at Five Island Provincial Park. This is a beautiful spot to look at. You can also learn about who the trail is named after, Glusekapp. He was the Mi'kmaq giant who transformed much of the area. And it's said that he created many of the natural features of the region.

Also that he used to use PEI as his pillow when he was traipsing across the land. That's kind of cute. As you go past through five islands, you're going to hit some other little small places. And one place in particular, economy economy is kind of well-known for the Dutchman's cheese farm. Oh, amazing cheeses. And I've got to say this year, I'm going to get their advent calendar.

Cause it looks remarkable. An advent, a cheese advent calendar. A cheese advent calendar. And I recommend you get the one with the dragon's breath cheese. When they predict we'll fall, we rise to the challenge. When they say we're not a country, we stand on guard. This land taught us to be brave and caring, to protect our values, to leave no one behind.

Canada is on the line, and it's time to vote as though our country depends on it, because like never before, it does. I'm Jonathan Pedneau, co-leader of the Green Party of Canada. This election, each vote makes a difference. Authorized by the Registered Agent of the Green Party of Canada. This message comes from Viking, committed to exploring the world in comfort. Journey through the heart of Europe on a Viking longship with thoughtful service, destination-focused dining and cultural enrichment on board and on shore. With a variety of voyages and sailing dates to choose from, now is the time to explore

Europe's waterways. Learn more at Viking.com. Dianne, you've been listening. You're on the other side of the country from Nova Scotia. You're on Pender Island in British Columbia. It's a beautiful place. You could just pick your backyard as one of the places that we should, I mean, not specifically your backyard, but you know what I mean.

Um, but you have not picked Pender Island, British Columbia. Where are you sending us instead? Well, you know, you're right. When I decided to enter this, I don't know if you want to call it a contest, but I thought, Oh, I thought of all the places I've know, you're right. When I decided to enter this, I don't know if you want to call it a contest, but I thought, oh, I thought of all the places I've been and you're right, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands have so many beautiful places. And I almost picked one of

them. But honestly, I said to my husband, it's been almost 10 years since we've been there. But the most unforgettable place for me was Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan. So what was unforgettable about it? Everything. It's, first of all, it's remote. Um, I must admit we, we didn't even know about it

before we went there, but we'd been visiting friends in the far east of Saskatchewan. We wanted to camp on the way back home. So I got out a trusty BCAA map and here's this grasslands national park and it's way down in the bottom of Saskatchewan. It literally is in the middle of nowhere and it just sounded so fascinating. So we just thought we have to go there. We never heard of it as a national park. We all hear of Banff and Jasper and Long Beach

and so many other places, but it was really new to us and now we can hardly wait to go back. What did you see when you were there? Well, you, first of all, you, you start from a little village called Valmarie and you drive 30 kilometers on a gravel road, no facilities. If you don't have gas and things ahead of time, you're out of luck.

And you drive and drive, and you just drive through vastness of prairie. And then you arrive at Frenchman Valley Campground, which is sort of in the middle of that area. There's actually two parts to the park, and this is the West part. And it is the only park in Canada with natural prairie grasslands. It's also apparently there are several dark sky locations in Canada and it is considered the premier dark sky location

because there is no light pollution. Great for seeing stars and what have you. Oh yeah, it's amazing. Yes, it goes on forever. And you camped out there, right? Is that right? We did. We had our little two-person tent. So this was mid-September. There were only about four tents, one small trailer, and I think they had a few teepees that a few people were in. It was windy. We thought our little tent might blow away at one time. And yeah, so we camped in our little tent. Because it was September, there was a fairly high fire hazard,

so you couldn't use the fire pit or your camp stove. But they have a beautiful, the fire pit or your camp stove, but they have a beautiful, it's called the Cooley Center, this beautiful, quite new building where you could do your cooking. You didn't have to eat in it. You could if you wanted to. They had sinks. They had a beautiful outdoor barbecue there, but they didn't want you doing any kind of fire at your little campsite, which is, it's pretty barren. I mean, you don't see too many trees. You do see the bison and you see beautiful skies, the amazing

rolling prairies and the grasses waving. It's just, it's so spectacular and so serene. And you can't wait to get back. Exactly. Well, it's funny because getting ready for this interview, I was looking at the pictures I'd taken and we're talking and my husband the other day said, we need to get back there. And he's not the camper of the family. I am.

So this was. It says something if he wants to get back in the tent. Well, actually now we sleep in the back of our truck. Talk about weird, you know, we're late seventies. We don't care. Steph, I mean, this really interesting in doing this. We've had like 11, 12 conversations with people about really different places in this country and, and in putting this guide together, one of the things I said

at the beginning of this is, is this is a big country. It's filled with amazing places that people perhaps don't know about. Why do you personally want to keep exploring this country? What is it about this country that makes you want to get out and see something new? I think having traveled east and west, you know, I live in the west. I visited my sister in Nova Scotia when she was at university there. I've spent time up north. You know, each place that I get the opportunity to experience makes me realize that I have more to learn and I have more to experience.

And I think particularly in the north, there's so much culture and history and our country has so many people who live in the south and don't know about the people and the ways of the land and the rhythms of the 24 hour sun and 24 hour darkness if you go in the winter. And I love experiencing these new places and I think that we're so lucky to live in Canada that is so vast, that is so diverse and that we have the privilege to call it home along with our neighbors. Alexander, did you want to pick up on that? You hinted at that in talking about Quebec City,

that all Canadians would be well-served and going and learning more about an integral part of our culture as a bilingual country. And I feel that it really is an integral part, but going on about traveling across this country, I've been coast to coast. I haven't been up to the Arctic, unfortunately. But every part of the country has such interesting pockets.

You go to Newfoundland and you talk to friends here and they say, well, are Newfoundlanders really as friendly as people say they are? Oh my God, they are so friendly! You know, you go down into the Cabot Trail, you know, New Brunswick, PEI, go into Quebec, you know, there's rural Quebec, and then you go into Quebec City and you move on to, you know, west to Montreal. Again, Quebec City is so, so different than Montreal. It's so different than any other part of Canada, because of, I think, because of its history. And that is what I think is so fascinating about it,

is that this, you know, it's almost like time has stood still for part of it, for part of it. You know, when you see the buildings that were built 400 years ago, when you read books like, you know, Le Roi, The Field, Le The Raw, and you realize that these people have come to Canada from Europe, and what they must have seen when they came here, and they built it up.

You don't see that anywhere else in Canada, that buildup of a city. Because you go across the prairies, it's rural, then you go out to Calgary, you go out to Vancouver, they're all built up, but they're more modern. Whereas Quebec is so old, and it reminds my husband, we both think of Europe, our kids think of it as Europe, and when you walk around in the old part, it's think of it as Europe. And you know, when you walk or you will part, it's just, it's transformative. I'm on my way there this afternoon.

I can't wait to get back. It's going to be great. Greer, last word to you, and this is about the Sunday drive, as you said, we got a lot of letters from people saying, you know, just get in the car and drive and explore. How does that make, it's expensive to travel in this country and it's expensive, particularly to get to the north, but to get coast to coast is costly. How does just driving

and exploring make traveling in this country more accessible, do you think? Well you know, I've had the great privilege of driving from Terrace in Kitwenga, BC to Halifax for five summers. I used to commute. Um, and I. That's a long commute. It's a long commute. That's 6,500 kilometers, but I know my country well. And you know, I don't think that people could

afford to do that trip as much anymore, but you know, a day trip or the Sunday drive that I'm proposing, you could, you could spread that out over a couple of days. And I've heard from a lot of friends who are saying, yeah, you know what, this year I want to explore around my own backyard. And this is a part of the province that just has so much.

And I think every province can attest to that. As you said, you've got thousands of entries. We do, and so many votes, people making the case for the places that they want to be in and the places that they want to go to. I really appreciate all of you making your pitches. You have put pins on the maps for people across this country of places perhaps that they don't know anything about that they now want to go to. Thank you very much for being here.

Thanks. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Greer Kelly made the case for driving the Nova Scotia coast on the Bay of Fundy. Steph McDermott says you have to visit the Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories. Alexandra Esposito, as you heard, voting for Quebec City. And Diane Wilson says every Canadian should visit Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan. Which locations need to be on the final list?

You can cast your vote and look at the big map that we have built on our website cbc.ca slash the current. You can vote once a day for the next couple of weeks and then we will announce the top 10 the ultimate Canadian travel destinations. Again the website cbc.ca slash the current. Voting runs through the 30th of April. For more CBC podcasts go to cbc.ca slash podcasts