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If distance makes the heart grow fonder, Canadians are about to get a big bear hug from their southern neighbors. The 5,525-mile border between the U.S. and Canada closed to non-essential travel in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. But on August 9, the Canadian government’s phased tourism reopening starts with vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents. (Other countries are expected to gain access beginning September 7.)
To enter, Americans must be fully vaccinated for at least 14 days prior to crossing the border. They must also use the ArriveCAN app to upload their passport, proof of vaccination records, and PCR test results taken within 72 hours of flight departure or arrival at a land crossing. An arrival test will also be administered, and some provinces and territories have additional requirements for travel.
Though its vaccine program got off to a slow start, Canada has emerged as a global leader in inoculation: About 70 percent of Canadians have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine and more than 50 percent are fully vaccinated. And while reopening the border has not been without controversy, many who work in tourism and hospitality are eager to welcome travelers.
Here’s a coast-to-coast breakdown of all the new things to do in Canada, just in time for its reopening.
Alberta
Elk Island Retreat, located next to Elk Island National Park near Edmonton, introduced two stylish Geo Domes in summer 2020. Bookable from March through November, they have everything a glamper needs for a comfortable night of stargazing—right down to the Nespresso coffee maker. (Elk Island National Park is part of the Beaver Hills Dark Sky Preserve.)
The Indigenous Peoples Experience at Fort Edmonton Park, the largest living history museum in Canada, reopened this year following a $165 million dollar reboot. The two-month-old Métis Crossing interpretive center in Smoky Lane, 90 minutes northeast of Edmonton, offers traditional workshops, historical exhibitions, and Indigenous-led canoe tours along the North Saskatchewan River. A 40-room boutique lodge is currently under construction on the 512-acre property; it’s slated to open in late fall.
Climbers en route to Banff National Park should be stoked about the summer launch of two new Via Ferrata routes, the Mountaineer and the Alpinist, while adventurers headed to Jasper National Park have a fresh new camping experience to look forward to. Whistlers Campground reopened in July following a $60 million dollar facelift—its first major refurb since the 1960s. With nearly 800 campsites, it’s the largest campground in the Canadian parks system; upgraded amenities include a shiny new registration center, 18 shower facilities, and restored roads.
British Columbia
A new Indigenous tour company, Coastal Rainforest Safaris, is leading sea-otter and whale watching expeditions out of Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. Co-founder Mike Willie is a member of the Musgamakw Dzawada’enuxw First Nations and brings important historical and cultural knowledge to the tours.
South Okanagan’s newly opened District Wine Village touts itself as ‘the first true wine village in Canada,’ featuring 13 local vintners, a brewery and restaurant (Trading Post Brewing), an on-site vineyard, and a multi-purpose amphitheater for hosting live music and other events.
Thrill seekers will love wobbling through the Golden Skybridge adventure park in the Columbia Valley. Slung 426 feet above a gaping canyon, it now features Canada’s highest suspension bridges—with unforgettable views of the Purcell and Rocky Mountains. The new Malahat Sky Walk on Vancouver Island, meanwhile, is a 1,968-foot treewalk tour and spiral ramp that grants visitors a bird’s eye view of Finlayson Arm and Saanich Peninsula.
Manitoba
When the Qaumajuq museum in downtown Winnipeg opened in May, it was the world’s first purpose-built contemporary Inuit art center. The collection features an impressive array of Inuit carvings, drawings, prints, and textiles. The opening exhibition, “INUA,” runs through March 2022 and was put together by an all-Inuit curatorial team.
New Brunswick
Can you say road trip? Under construction for a quarter of a century, the final stretch of the long-awaited Fundy Trail Parkway will wrap up in late summer or early fall. Once complete, it’ll connect the dots between St. Andrews, Saint John, and St. Martins in the lower Bay of Fundy with Fundy National Park in Alma, tempting visitors with plenty of scenic lookouts, beaches, and other points of interest along the way.
New to the Elsipopgtog Mi’kmaq Cultural Center in Elsipogtog is an authentically constructed wigwam, longhouse, and sweat lodge built by a local elder and knowledge keeper. Travelers with time to spare can sign up for a one-on-one basket weaving session with a Mi’kmaq master.
Newfoundland and Labrador
When the elegant boutique hotel Hew & Draw landed in Corner Brook, it was the city’s first new property in decades. The family-owned inn has 36 suites, a craft brewery and restaurant, and an inviting rooftop patio. It’s also 90 minutes from Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site with beaches, bogs, and phenomenal hiking.
Northwest Territories
The First Nation-owned Frontier Fishing Lodge—situated at the gateway to Thaidene Nëné, Canada’s newest National Park Reserve—recently added cultural tourism packages that showcase the customs and heritage of the Dënesųłıné people. Already known for its trophy lake trout and northern pike fishing, the fly-in wilderness lodge also has newly refurbished cabins.
Nova Scotia
The Cliffs of Fundy, the soaring sea cliffs near Minas Basin in the Bay of Fundy, was designated a UNESCO Global Geopark in summer 2020—the province’s sixth UNESCO nod to date. The cliffs were created by the highest tides on earth, which can crest taller than a five-story building, and tell the 300-million-year-old story of Pangea better than any spot on earth. The area is particularly attractive to fossil hunters and holds great significance for the Mi’kmaq people. A cultural center helmed by the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq is under development.
The Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site, home to Nova Scotia’s only Dark Sky Preserve, has added five treetop-gracing Ôasis units at Jim Charles Point. Each teardrop-shaped “duplex” has a table that converts into a bed and a lofted hammock.
Ontario
Big hotel news coming out of Toronto—starting with Park Hyatt reopening on September 15 after a multi-year restoration project, the newly expanded Drake Hotel Toronto opening October 1, and the introduction of the city’s first Ace and W hotels before year end. The luxe 1 Hotel opened on August 4 after taking over the West Village space vacated by Thompson Hotel, while The St. Regis Toronto debuted redesigned guest rooms and its new Iridium Spa in the Financial District last August. And just in time for the Toronto International Film Festival (September 9-18), the Ritz-Carlton will unveil a swanky new outdoor space named Epoch Bar + Kitchen Terrace.
The June Motel, a millennial-minded motel three hours from Toronto, made a splash when it opened last September on Sauble Beach. Founded by April Brown and Sarah Sklash, it is the subject of the forthcoming Netflix docuseries Motel Makeover. The seventies-chic vibes of the flipped property are highly Instagrammable, but Sauble Beach has many draws in and of itself, including surfing, SUPing, and its day-tripping proximity to Flowerpot Island.
For art appreciators, the Art Gallery of Ontario has come back swinging with two blockbuster shows: an Andy Warhol retrospective running through October 24 and “Picasso: Painting the Blue Period” from October 6 through January 16, 2022.
And notable for kids of all ages, the world’s first interprovincial zipline, Interzip Rogers, opened in June. The 1,400-foot zipline runs 120 feet over the Ottawa River, linking Ottawa, Ontario to Gatineau, Québec, giving zippers a whoosh-by view of stately Parliament Hill.
Prince Edward Island
The Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation opens this fall in St. Peter’s Bay. The $14.5 million dollar research facility includes the University of Prince Edward Island Climate Research Lab and access to a “living laboratory”—i.e., nearby forest, wetlands, and coastal habitats directly impacted by global warming. Visitors will be able to take part in summer seminars when the campus’ 50-bed residence hall empties out.
Quebéc
It’s easier than ever to explore Québec City on two wheels, thanks to the July 9 launch of the Rental City Bike initiative. When the four-year project is fully up and running, a thousand electric bicycles will be rentable from 100 stations.
Where should travelers cruise first? Start with the new promenades and pathways at the Parc de la Chute-Montmorency heritage site. Opened in June, the naturally integrated footbridges offer a unique vantage point for taking in the falls, which just happens to be 98 feet taller than Niagara. Or maybe visit Le Diamant, a new cultural venue whose even newer rooftop terrace boasts knockout views of the city.
Several Quebecois hotels — including the five-star Le Capitole Hôtel in Québec City — seized upon pandemic closures as a chance to renovate. But if it’s the newest of the new you’re after, check into the sophisticated Humaniti Hotel Montréal, Autograph Collection, opened in June.
Saskatchewan
Dakota Dunes Resort, 20 minutes south of Saskatoon, opened last October. Owned and developed by the Whitecap Dakota Nation, the 155-room property pays tribute to Indigenous designs. Other draws include a sprawling casino and top-ranked 18-hole public golf course.
Remai Modern, a contemporary art museum in Saskatoon, recently commissioned its first outdoor installation: Va-et-Vient (Coming and Going), by artist José Luis Torres. Look for it on the museum’s western grounds—the future site of a sculpture garden.
Yukon
Whitehorse welcomed its first new hotel in decades, the 50-room Raven Inn, in March 2020. It has a sheltered hot tub overlooking the Yukon River and a railroad-themed bar and lounge. For more boutique-y digs, look no further than the recently opened Black Spruce, a self-catering landscape hotel with Shou Sugi Ban-style cabins and a new sauna for summer.
2021 also marks the 125th anniversary of the discovery of gold in the territory—and no town celebrates the Klondike Gold Rush with as much frontier flair as Dawson City. To experience its old-timey facades and wooden boardwalks, lock in one of 10 rooms at the newly renovated Dawson Lodge, opened in spring 2020.
