Traditional cuisine

As a melting pot of hugely diverse cultures, the food available is just as colourful, with Asian, French, German, Polish, Ukrainian, and Chinese influences being some of many styles of cuisine. Regardless of which part of Canada you are in, there are some old favourites that constitute as specialities. Poutine - a concoction of chips, cheese curds and gravy - is a cheap and cheerful staple that’s readily available. Chicken wings, steak and ribs are usually easy to find on a menu. Unusual Canadian game offerings include bison, boar, venison, elk and caribou, while fine fresh seafood choices include B.C. Pacific Salmon, oysters and Nova Scotia lobster. Venture out to special events like Ottawa’s Winterlude and you’ll likely come across beaver tails for sale – a flat, sweet pastry shaped like a beaver’s tail. Canadian desserts are very sweet and filling, with butter tarts, Nanaimo bars, maple cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, and all manner of cheesecakes, fruit pies and tarts keeping sugar-seekers happy. 

Traditional beverages

Popular alcoholic beverages include: ‘The Caesar’- tomato juice with clam broth and spices, vodka, tabasco and Worchester sauce; a whisky and honey liqueur named ‘Yukon Jack’; and a ‘caribou’, combining maple syrup with mulled wine, whisky or rum. If you’re offered ‘moose milk’ you can expect the equivalent to an alcoholic milkshake. Ice-cream, rum and kahlua are the key ingredients but butterscotch schnapps, strawberries and Irish liqueur are all possible additions. Icewine is a popular dessert wine, made from grapes that have been frozen on the vine. Labatt Blue, Molsen Canadian and a variety of Pilsner beers are common beverages to relax with. For non-drinkers, much-loved soft drinks include soy milk-based beverages, Kool-Aid (a concentrated fruit-flavoured drink diluted with water), ginger ale, and fruit juices. Much like desserts, most soft drinks taste very sweet.

Landscape and wildlife

Canada’s vast size brings with it varying climates, ranging from temperate to subarctic. Landscapes differ considerably, including mountain ranges, flat prairies, wetlands, lowlands, immense forests, and even volcanoes. Consequently, the fauna and flora is equally diverse. Aside from the familiar beavers and moose that are emblazoned on many a souvenir, bobcats, cougars, arctic foxes, wolves, coyotes, polar bears, brown bears, raccoons and badgers also reside here. With five marine ecozones, belugas, narwhals, humpback whales, blue whales, dolphins, porpoises and seals are some of the sea life you might be lucky enough to encounter. Look to the skies for Canadian geese, wood ducks, loons, albatrosses, blue jays, eagles, owls, hummingbirds and kingfishers.