adventure lifestyle people culture wildlife prototype issue, January 2010

Canadamagazine

www.gravitymagazines.com/canada wel come …to this ‘dummy’ edition of Canada magazine. This is not a magazine for dummies, but a realistic mock-up of a brand new and exciting magazine that’s going to appear for real in 2010.

who are gravity?

Gravity Magazines is a trading name of Gravity Consulting Ltd, a marketing communications consultancy in the historic city of Durham, in North East England. Gravity has a long record of producing W hat is Canada magazine? high quality magazines for both consumer and trade audiences. Canada Magazine is our first W ell, firstly, here’s what it’s not!C anada Magazine is NOT a travel subscription-led consumer magazine and it brochure, nor is it a publication issued on behalf of any particular will, we hope, be followed by other bespoke business or interest group. magazines devoted to revealing more about destinations that are popular without being the Canada Magazine is a consumer magazine that will bring victims of mass-market tourism. together the best writing and photography about Canada. We thank both UK Trade & Investment Why Canada? Because, although Canada is a land of many and regional development agency One North superlatives, people in the rest of the world often have only hazy East for the support that has made Canada notions about the detail of this vast Canadian canvas. Magazine possible. Our editorial policy reflects our emphasis Yes, Canada is a land of pine trees, lakes and Arctic tundra and, on responsible tourism and responsible yes, there is the odd lumberjack to be found. It is also a land of rich consumption, enabling host communities to cultural and ethnic diversity; of fine fresh food and single vineyard reap the greatest benefit from visitors. Travel wines; of hot summer days; of liberal democracy. It is a land that should broaden the mind and enrich the spirit enjoys some of the best North American qualities, of customer of both the visitor and the visited. Travel may shrink the world, but it should service and economic opportunity, of the sense of adventure, but do so in inverse proportion to the growth in without some of the downsides sometimes associated with aspects understanding between people and nations. of the USA. Canada Magazine won’t just present the country through rose- Publisher: Stan Abbott tinted spectacles: we are editorially independent and objective. But Designer: Barbara Allen Sales: Tom Boden our job is nonetheless to celebrate the positive. Website: Neil McLoram If you love Canada and go there often; if you would like to go Canadian in-country team: Martin Smith to Canada but never quite got round to it; if you’re interested in (corporate) and Bob Fisher (editorial) buying property in Canada or even emigrating; or indeed if you are Canadian and already living in Canada, Canada Magazine is for Head Office Gravity Magazines, Suite 14-16, you. Abbey Business Centre, Abbey Road, We hope you enjoy this prototype edition and will subscribe to Pity Me, Durham, DH1 5JZ, UK the real Canada Magazine! Tel: +44 (0) 191 383 2838 Stan Abbott Web: www.gravitymagazines.com/canada Email: see page 51 Publisher, Canada Magazine

F or subscription details, see page 51

www.gravitymagazines.com/canada c ontents 26

16

ADVENTURE LIFESTYLE PEOPLE CULTURE WILDLIFE

MAGAZINE regulars CANADA 6 Upfront news, reviews, letters 10 My home town Bob Fisher’s Toronto 14 Q & A with Senator Nancy Green 25 Time Traveller A lexander Graham Bell

26 Great Canadian journeys Montréal-Halifax by rail www.gravitymagazines.com/canada Cover canoes rest on the 31 24 hours in... S aint John, New Brunswick dock of Lake Moraine, Banff.

an Poulin / travel alberta travel / Poulin an 40 Profile with R ufus Wainwright h p e t S 44 Moving to Canada one family who’ve never looked back 47 Food and drink the Five Fishermen in Halifax ntréal, ntréal, o M 48 Events guide what’s going on around Canada urisme urisme o 50 L’Étranger an outsider’s view of Canada T

features 16 Siksika nation a new heritage centre for one of Canada’s First Nations old viger station courtesy courtesy station viger old 21 Cortes an island paradise for the young and young at heart 32 Skoki Trail a wild and wonderful trek through the Canadian Rockies 37 Business V iking Air reintroduces the Beaver and the Otter

Photo168/Fotolia / / Photo168/Fotolia 42 Property it’s a great time to buy a home in Canada 21 32

www.gravitymagazines.com/canada upfront news, b ook and product reviews jasper surfs to top on web

Users of the UK-based hotel comparison website, Trivago, have named Canada’s Jasper National Park, the world’s number three in their top ten most spectacular nature reserves. Trivago says of the largest national park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains: “The beauty of Jasper National Park speaks for itself. “With two million visitors per year it is one of the most popular national parks in Canada, where visitors can follow the trails of grizzly bears, coyotes and wolves. “The fissured mountain landscape in Athabasca Valley has sparkling seas and enormous glaciers. The impressive Columbia Icefields feed the eight large glaciers.” The complete list ranges from deserted islands and coral reefs close to mountain villages in Italy, to Irish moorlands. c

www.trivago.co.uk Iff ountry

Banff Springs A lberta’s tourists get a boost

Alberta’s tourism industry received a $71 million 2009 promotional boost, with the formation of Travel Alberta. Travel Alberta is the new tourism marketing agency of the Government of Alberta, with $57 million first-year budget to support domestic and international marketing. I ’m ready for my In addition, the 2009 budget allocated close up now… $14 million to tourism development, generating economic activity and This ground squirrel has become a supporting the expansion of tourism celebrity after popping up in the foreground attractions and destinations in the when Melissa Brandts and her husband province. set the timer on their camera for a picture Funding for tourism marketing and of themselves in Banff National Park, by development is based on collections under Lake Minnewanka. Says Mrs Brandts: “We a four per cent provincial Tourism Levy. had our camera set up on some rocks “With a new corporate structure, and and were getting ready when this curious with a sound business plan in place, little ground squirrel appeared, became I am confident that Travel Alberta will intrigued with the sound of the focusing use this funding to aggressively market camera and popped right into our shot. It our province as a must-see tourism was a once in a lifetime moment – we were destination, to travellers in Canada and laughing about this little guy for days!” around the world,” said Cindy Ady, Minister The image has appeared on various on i

of Tourism, Parks and Recreation. “That’s s s

i websites, national television and – now – in m

absolutely crucial at this point. We need m Canada Magazine! Co

to keep building on the successes Alberta m

s If you have a similarly engaging story has had over the past few years, and to communicate why not get in touch remain top-of-mind with travellers.” with Canada Magazine – see page 51 for contact details. Photo Melissa Brandts Canadian Touri Canadian

6 upfront Sun by Nikol Aghababyan c anadians know art stamp where the wild An initiative by a group of art-lovers in Montréal is bringing undiscovered art things are from forgotten corners of the world to public attention. Desert-like dunes in the middle of the All his life, Asbed Palakian had country. Volcanoes on the verge of the heard stories of his ancestors’ Pacific. Tropic-like waters within hours of homeland – stories of rapturous beauty, vibrant cities. Canada is full of surprises and stories of unspeakable suffering. Now, secrets and these surprises were at the heart at the midpoint of his life, he felt drawn of the Canadian Tourism Commission’s 2009 to see that homeland for himself, to find summer initiative to inspire Canadians to his roots in Armenia. explore their own country. Among his many discoveries was LOCALS KNOW was an eight-week a the richness and diversity of Armenia’s national integrated advertising campaign art. He had gone to Armenia on one (print, magazine, TV and online) made mission; he returned to Canada with possible by special stimulus funding from the another – to work with a group a Government of Canada. group of art-loving friends to establish The CTC is investing $10 million per year Passport Arts. for two years to support the tourism industry In its debut months Passport and stimulate Canada’s economy. Arts has focused on countries of the “The visitor economy makes a valuable Caucasus, primarily Armenia, but also contribution to the economic, social and Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and the environmental well-being of Canadians Black Sea region of Russia. across the country,” says the Honourable “These are countries that have Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State (Small endured centuries of pain,” says Business and Tourism). “Now, more than Palakian. “But out of torment and ever, we want to entice and encourage turbulence, great beauty has emerged. visitors – including Canadians themselves Art has sprung up like a flower growing – to explore our country. I applaud this from a rock. In the Caucasus, you are campaign as it will give Canadians a reason surrounded by three millennia of artistic to discover more about their own country creativity, from ancient khatchkars, the and keep tourism dollars at home.” stone crosses of Armenia, to the most The campaign focussed on the innovative and experimental work of the unexpected, encouraging Canadians to seek 21st century.” out new and exotic experiences in places Passport Arts currently displays they didn’t know existed. The source of more than 150 oil paintings,

this information? Canadians themselves… mmission watercolours, drawings, photographs o because LOCALS KNOW best. C and collages, with short, often Canadians were encouraged to upload fascinating biographies of the artists urism urism

photos of their favourite Canadian travel o T and analyses of their work. spots and great unknown experiences on the www.passportarts.com CTC campaign website. a www.localsknow.ca. C nadian

visitors still fall for niagara

Some of Canada’s leading tourist attractions have been posting modest increases in visitor numbers, according to the US travel website, forbestraveler.com. The site’s survey of Canada’s leading attractions, based on 2008 figures, shows numbers at Ottawa’s Canadian Museum of Civilisation and the Toronto Zoo each rose 100,000 to 1.3 million. Grouse Mountain resort, British Columbia, saw visitors up by a similar figure to reach 1.2 million. The Bay of Fundy, with the spectacle of its enormous tidal range, is another popular attraction. William Mbaho, public relations and Communications Manager at the resort, which boasts North America’s biggest aerial tram system, said: “Snow enthusiasm is not waning.” The year to date had also seen an increase in the number of

students at the resort’s ski and snowboarding schools, he added. Parks + urism o Among the country’s biggest pulls are its national parks, attracting a combined T total of 13 million visitors, with Banff, in the Alberta Rockies, the jewel in the crown.

Niagara Falls, with 12 million visitors, was the most visited single attraction, with unswick r Bay of Fundy Toronto’s Harbourfront centre, close behind. www.forbestraveler.com B w w e N

7 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada upfront book reviews upfront travel essentials

W hen British adventurer Ed Wardle fulfilled a lifetime’s ambition by being left to fend for himself for three months in wilds of Yukon, the resultant TV show on the UK’s Channel 4 and National Geographic channels (backed by Twitter and live blogs) proved something of a fiasco.W ardle cracked up, hitin nearly starved, and was brought k O home after 50 days… Some, i N however, get on better with the © kolay Canadian wilderness. We review land, they set the way for modern Canada to N orthern Wilderness evolve. a couple of examples… R ay Mears Ray explores the wonder of this special The book of survivalist Ray Mears’s journey environment, giving insight into how the eco- through Canada’s vast northern landscapes system works, forest survival and traditional tells the story of the fur trade, learns the ways crafts. He sees how different it is in late summer of the Inuit, and follows the paths of great early and winter, learns about the interdependence of northern explorers through the tundra and Rocky all things in the forest and unlocks the secrets of Mountains. this forgotten place. At the heart of northern Canada is the vast If you buy the book through Ray’s own site, boreal forest. Like the Amazon, the boreal forest Woodlore, it comes individually signed by Ray is of critical importance to all living things. Its himself at a cost of £20 (UK pounds). trees and peatlands comprise one of the world’s A DVD of the series – shown in the UK on BBC 2 – is due largest “carbon reservoirs”. Its wetlands filter for release shortly after the series. millions of gallons of water each day. It’s a vast www.raymears.com and intact forest ecosystem, home to moose and beaver, birch and spruce, insects and people. For centuries this forest was seen to have no J ourney to the Edge of commercial value. In fact, frozen for six months of the year, it was deemed impenetrable, but the World Billy Connolly ultimately when British pioneers, working with The brilliantly charismatic comedian and actor indigenous tribes, learned how to explore this Billy Connolly is back in the guise of tour guide as he travels through the legendary Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. His adventures were filmed for a TV series, just screened for the second time this year on the UK’s ITV network. The DVD release not only contains all four episodes in the series, but also includes footage exclusive to the DVD. In Journey to the Edge of the World, we follow the intrepid comedian on a once-in-a-lifetime trip across this fascinating landscape. The ever-engaging Billy Connolly invites you to escape from the humdrum of a busy and stressful lifestyle and take this journey with him to the edge of the world from the comfort of your own home. What’s it like to live on the edge on the world? Here’s your chance to find out and have your mind blown away by the scenery! Universal Pictures, £8.38 on Amazon. The book of the same title is available in hard cover for £19.95. The paperback, due out in 2010, is priced at £5.99 on Amazon.

8 upfront book reviews upfront travel essentials

I t used to be nice to have pockets full of funky gadgets that you could play with in the airport terminal, keeping yourself occupied and making other travellers jealous. Now, with the need to be “connected” and “enabled” on the move, it’s a necessity. Here we look at some of the best new gadgets on the market for the tech-savvy traveller.

The TrackStick is a tiny GPS location recorder capable of continuously logging its location history for an extended period of time. The Trackstick records its own location, time, date, speed, heading and altitude at preset intervals. Travelled routes can then be viewed directly in Google Earth. Or you can use the GPX photo stamping feature for adding your photos to your own maps. It’s brilliant for showing exactly where you went on holiday, and never again forgetting where you took that great We really like this one, the Victorinox photo. If you’re a bit SwissFlash. It’s a mini Swiss Army Knife, more inclined to spy Toshiba has launched a 500GB hard disk drive updated for the 21st Century to dispose of tactics, you can hide that’s perfect for travellers who want to keep the thingy-ma-jig for getting stones out of it in the car and see their music, movies, photos and documents horses hooves and replace it with a 2GB or where the kids (or safe and secure while on the move. Nicely 4GB flash drive. It’s practical, a bit classy, and your employees) styled, and small enough to pop into your hand a little pricey too, but maybe worth treating have been driving luggage, the Frost retails at around £120, yourself. Remember though, if you’re flying, around! which for half a terabyte of storage (about this will definitely need to be packed in your www.trackstick. 131,000 mp3 files-orth) is a very competitive checked luggage rather than hand luggage to uk.com sells them price. The drive is available now from most online and get through security. £60-£70 from various online directly for £129. high-street retailers. retailers.

The Lingo Xplorer TTX-14 is a great You either love or hate this idea, but it’s bit of kit if you’re frequently visiting countries the Amazon Kindle 2. where communication can be a problem. This Amazon’s latest-generation e-reader, electronic dictionary translates – and speaks – with a crisper image, longer battery life, more than 840,000 words and 46,000 phrases and a new text-to-speech feature that lets in more than 14 you turn books, newspapers, magazines, different languages. or blogs into audiobooks, is either the Not only does finest invention of its kind or sacrilege it read out the against the traditional book. Advantages: phrase, but it spells well, you can take up to 1,500 books it phonetically as away with you without needing two extra well, to give you suitcases; it’ll read to you if you need to the best possible rest your eyes; and you never have to chance of getting worry about dog-eared pages or using it right. You might a bookmark. Disadvantages: it’ll set you be able to get by in back $259 (USD) or £201 including Paris with a distant shipping, and if you drop this in water recollection of on holiday you’ll have to do more O-Level French, but than just leave it in the sun for a how’s your Arabic couple of hours to dry out. and Hebrew? www.amazon.co.uk www.lingotravel.com has more information on the TTX-14, which retails at around £150.

9 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada my home town BOB fisher’s toronto TORONTO

“W hen you think Toronto, think Chicago. In many ways they are sister cities – different but similar: architecture, world-class cuisine, cities of distinct neighbourhoods, art, theatre, music, sport, museums; multicultural, worldly.”

ow does a travel journalist describe the city meeting place, or trees in the water. Less Hin which he has spent most of his life? flattering names for the city have been A Latin professor of mine at university many Hogtown and Muddy York. Whichever way years ago insisted that we speak certain rather you look at it, though, Toronto is a world- arcane sentences. I remember especially: class North American city. And although Strepitum odi urbium; rus est semper mihi comparisons can be misleading, let me gratissium (I hate the din of cities; the country is nonetheless be so bold as to make the most pleasing to me.) following one. There is the perennial love-hate relationship with cities and their cultures of “the rush”. As Co a mMErci l capital poor angst-ridden Woody Allen once said in W hen you think Toronto, think Chicago. In a documentary, “I like everywhere I go; I just many ways they are sister cities – different but don’t like where I am at the moment.” similar: architecture, world-class cuisine, cities In Toronto, you are smack dab in the middle of distinct neighbourhoods, art, theatre, music, of urbanity and gutsiness, and in many ways sport, museums; multicultural, worldly. everywhere at once. And both are major inland seaports on the In this multicultural megacity, life happens largest inland waterway in the world. By the as it does in other similar urban centres way, the filmC hicago was shot … wait for in North America – lickety split. It is a it … in Toronto! And I have been told that metropolitan and cosmopolitan environment in this occurred somewhat to the chagrin of the which your senses are fully engaged and your Windy City. And Toronto, like Chicago (and on i mind is always in overdrive. Montréal) is a major jazz capital, as its annual s s i

m And if from time to time your idea of a fun International Jazz Festival attests. At any time m Co

m getaway is to immerse yourself in someone of the year, the joint is jumpin’. s else’s urban culture, then Toronto is your kind Indeed, Toronto is a favourite film shoot of town. location. After LA and New York it is actually

Canadian Touri Canadian Toronto is a Huron name that suggests the largest film and television production

10 centre in North America. The exchange heels on the marble floors of downtown Canada. We Canadians tend to be a quiet rate, although subject to ebbs and flows, Toronto’s labyrinthine underground lot (or seem so from the point of view government tax credits, and highly shopping city. I hear the scalpers outside of outsiders) but we do have our family trained film and television production Toronto’s Dome flogging their last-chance squabbles. And Toronto comes in for its crews account for this. Toronto has also wares in provocative tones and ingenious fair share of criticism. Or is that envy? doubled for other cities, such as New York, phrasing; perfect ambiant clamour for a Speaking disparagingly of the financial and Boston, Vienna, and even Tokyo, Shanghai, movie’s soundtrack. Like all major cities, cultural dominance of Toronto has been de Teheran… and Siberia! Toronto’s urban cacophony can at times rigueur among many Canadians for a long Remember: Cinderella Man, X-Men, seem overwhelming, especially to those time, but it’s the most visited city The Hurricane, My Big Fat Greek who didn’t grow up here, or those who just in Canada. Wedding, Good Will Hunting, Finding visit… or those who move to its suburban For the first-time visitor toT oronto, Forester, Bollywood Hollywood, hinterland… but if you listen carefully you the best way of getting an overview of Serendipity, The In-Law? can hear the distinct patterns of Toronto this city is from the top of Toronto’s most With his colleagues in other major cities city life. famous landmark, the CN Tower. I have across Canada, David Miller – Toronto’s But most of all, I hear the voices of also found that if life is getting you down, dynamic, and mildly charismatic (in a many nations. Toronto is perhaps the a trip to the Tower is a quick and easy way low-key Canadian way mind you) mayor most representative city in multicultural to look out over it all and get things back – vigorously and continuously negotiated Canada – a mosaic as opposed to a melting into perspective. It can be a great place to a new economic deal for cities with the pot. And in this city of neighbourhoods, lighten up. Canadian federal government. many of them ethnically designated but Height: 1,815 feet … and five inches. As the economic engines of Canadian by no means ghettoised, I love to amble The publicity people tell me that for over society, our major cities are demanding an slowly and or just stand still and hear the 32 years it was the World’s Tallest Tower. It increasing share of federal tax revenues in sounds of many tongues: English, French, is essentially a major telecommunications order to continue to flourish.A nd as the Cantonese, Urdu, Spanish, Farsi, Greek, tower but also a vertical theme park. de facto commercial capital of Canada, Hindi, German … and the list goes on Two million people a year get high Toronto continues to be re-energised. As and on. at the CN Tower. It took 40 months to we say in French, “Ça boum!” build, opened in 1976 and today all major When I think of great cities I have fv i e into one Broadcast, AM, FM and DAB radio visited, I can actually hear specific sounds. W hen the megacity of Toronto was created stations as well as wireless service providers And as I write this, I am aware that I can in 1998 (previously it was five cities cheek use the CN Tower for transmission. In also hear Toronto. I hear the steel-on- by jowl), it became the fifth largest city in the peak tourist season it employs 550 steel sound of Toronto streetcars and the North America. people. It is one of Toronto’s premier insistent clanging of their bells advising At 2.4 million, it was bigger than all 12 entertainment destinations and its award- motorists or pedestrians that it might be provinces and territories in Canada, except winning 360 restaurant is frequently the a good idea if they moved a touch to the Ontario, Québec, British Columbia, and venue for major events. right or left. Alberta. And today its amoeba-like pods The views across the city and out over A Toronto streetcar after all has a reach far out into what we call the GTA Lake Ontario are spectacular. Dinner kind of divine right of way. I hear the (Greater Toronto Area). or lunch at the top of the tower (a descending three-toned sound in the At over 6 million, this former colonial “dissolving” restaurant as one friend prone subway cars of Toronto announcing that outpost on the shoreline of prehistoric to malapropisms called it) is an experience the doors are about to close. I hear the Lake Iroquois has now become the in itself. slightly muffled sound of thousands of financial and international focal point for While enjoying a cuisine of regional >>

11 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada my favourite town toronto

C anadian Tourism Commission

C lockwise from top: Toronto streetcar, Union Station interior, Distillery Quarter at night and Royal Ontario Museum. Right: Toronto Island home, Tilley hat, CN Tower.

12 my favourite town toronto

merchandising success stories. The days of beaver I have also found pelts are long gone. Examples include Roots, The “ Bay (the descendant of the original Hudson’s Bay that if life is Company), and then there’s Tilley’s Endurables getting you down, (http://tilley.com)… Alex Tilley’s story is a fun and fascinating one. And I can personally vouch for his a trip to the Tower hats. If you are somewhere in the world and you see is a quick and easy someone wearing the distinctive Tilley hat, they are probably Canadian or a wannabe. way to look out over it all and get art markets things back into T oronto is also a prime marketplace for art, antiques, and many speciality items. If shopping is perspective. It can on your agenda, Toronto.com’s shopping page will be a great place to direct to where you want to go. And don’t forget that in downtown Toronto, there is a subterranean lighten up. shopping centre of six interconnected passageways ” and 1,200 shops and services employing about 5,000 people. Or visit the new trendy, heritage Distillery district, with its craft shops and cafés. Toronto is a city of diverse architectural styles (at least 22). If you like architecture, be sure to see: The Gooderham Building (also known as the Flat Iron building); Union Station (my favourite); ingredients you get to watch the world (um … I The Royal York Hotel (one of the classic railway mean Toronto) go by every 72 minutes. However hotels in Canada); Old and New City Hall (I got don’t leave your purse or camera on the window married in the former); all the big bank buildings sill; it doesn’t rotate with you. The restaurant in the downtown core; Eaton’s Centre (an indoor revolves internally, kind of like Toronto. And if you multilevel retail mall that is at the heart of the city). go to the bathroom, pick an internal visual locator And if you haven’t seen Toronto’s new Four to find your way back because your friends will Seasons Opera House or the newly renovated have moved on while you were freshening up. Royal Ontario Museum (the very avant-garde new section, known as The Crystal), you are in for a sre t e t cred treat. Likewise at the Art Gallery of Ontario, T o a large degree, the city’s essential layout is due with its stunning new extension by Frank to the building of the streetcar system – initially Gehry, Toronto’s most famous architectural horse-drawn – in the 19th century. And Toronto’s son. safe, secure, and increasingly aesthetically pleasing The ethnic diversity of the city is subway system along with a myriad of other rapid reflected in the variety of restaurants. transit methods including two LRT (Light Rapid When you arrive, pick up copies of Transit) rail lines, will get you wherever you need Toronto’s annual Dining Guide, to go at one low price. WHERE magazine, or Toronto Toronto’s “Green Facts” are also quite Life magazine, and check out the impressive, especially the reference to Rouge dining on Toronto.com. n Park, the largest natural and cultural heritage park in an urban area in North America. And the sandy islands that are a 20-minute ferry ride from downtown take you back to a quiet carless world of clapboard houses and views to die for. I am not a shopper, but I have it on good authority that Toronto is one of the best shop-till- you-drop destinations on the continent. When I was growing up, Canadians who wanted to do some big time shopping went to the nearest US border city. If you were a Torontonian, you went to Buffalo. But the flow has reversed. We have our own home-grown and international

13 question & answer senator nancy green

W ith Whistler, British Columbia, poised to welcome the world’s greatest to the Winter Olympics in February 2010, how apt that the woman who effectively created Whistler and Canada’s greatest ever skier, is now a member of the country’s Parliament. BOB FISHER caught up with Senator Nancy Greene at Sun Peaks Resort, just north of Kamloops, British Columbia, where she is Director of Skiing…

14 curriculum vitae senator nancy green

You’ve been the recipient of numerous awards, leave because I didn’t like it – it’s great, but I When she was three, Nancy Greene’s family including Canada’s highest civilian honour, the left and came to Sun Peak because it’s a new moved to Rossland, British Columbia, the site of the first ski competition ever held in Order of Canada. Your name is engraved in mountain, a new resort and a new challenge. Canada, in 1897. The child of avid skiers, Canada’s Walk of Fame, you are in Canadian They had developed Tod Mountain and they had Greene began at a young age and while in Sport’s Hall of Fame, the US National Ski Hall a new owner and were going to put in a lot of high school she competed in the Canadian of Fame and you were voted Canada’s female infrastructure and start development of a village Junior Championships. She would go on to athlete of the century in a survey of newspaper at the base of the mountain. Since then they have become Canada’s most decorated ski racer editors and broadcasters. added a second mountain and a third, and now in history with the most World Cup victories, You are Chancellor of Thompson Rivers we have three mountains surrounding a really male or female. University, and, in December of 2008, you beautiful urban village. And it’s a village, not a Because of her go-for-it attitude and were appointed to the Canadian Senate on city – you can walk from one end to the other her aggressive style of skiing, she won the the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. in five minutes.Y ou can put your skis on at your Canadian ski championship six times and the United States championship, three times. In The Senate is a very important part of how door and ski through the village to lifts. 1967, Nancy broke the European domination we operate constitutionally. What are the of the sport, becoming the first skier to win challenges? What about the conditions? the World Cup. That year she won seven of Senator Greene: There’s a big learning curve and Senator Greene: I think we have the best climate 16 events, taking the overall title with four I have to get a grip on how it actually works. The for skiing in the whole country! Our mountains giant slalom victories, plus two in slalom and Bills come through the House of Commons and are rounded so you don’t have avalanche dangers. one in downhill. Her accomplishment earned come through the Senate for a first and second And because our base elevation is 4,000ft and we her Canadian Athlete of the Year honours. reading and further debate. go up to 7,000ft, we have plenty of verticals and In 1968 she won the World Cup title But it is also an opportunity to raise issues we are high so we don’t get rain. again, while at the Winter Olympics, in that are important, but not necessarily to all We have been here for 15 seasons and there’s Grenoble, France, she captured a gold medal in the giant slalom by one of largest margins Canadians – maybe special interest groups – to been less than 20 days with no skiing at all. We ever and a silver medal in the slalom. For the attention of the Government, and make have 2,000 hours of snow and it’s just perfect for the second time, she was named Canada’s proposals. You can start legislation in the Senate skiing. We’ll have times when it’s warmer at the Athlete of the Year. as well as in the House of Commons. Right now top of the mountain, but our average January Following her retirement from competition, there is legislation being tabled on maternal rights temperature is -6 or 7C, February is -4 or 5 and she made a major contribution to Canadian for women in native reservations and that’s a very March is –3 or 4. sport by accepting an appointment to the important issue. The Senate is an important part federal Government’s Task Force on Sport for of government. And when the snow goes? Canadians. Married with twin boys, Nancy Senator Greene: We have a really beautiful and husband Al Raine were instrumental You’ll be able to influence so much policy in network of mature hiking trails. It’s really in the early development of the Whistler- Blackcomb Resort in Whistler, British this country… beautiful here all year round and this resort has Columbia, site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Senator Greene: I sure hope so! I didn’t plan to been developed and carefully planned and we’ve go down there and sit twiddling my thumbs. And put in things that make it special in terms of for me it was a big change because for the last 15 environmental protection. Indeed, we are the first years I have been skiing almost every day. And resort in North America to be ISO certified for every kind of skiing I have done has been a great environmental management. pleasure for me and allowed me to meet people from all over the world, and I think I have a Tell us about your philosophy of skiing. normal degree of common sense and I hope I can Senator Greene: The nice thing about skiing is apply that to the decisions I might have to take in you can express your personality as you go down the Senate. the slopes and if you are looking for a thrill and getting the adrenalin pumping it’s a socially You were a quarter of a century at Whistler, acceptable way of doing that. If you are looking which you helped to establish, and now you’re just to ski in your own free snow and enjoying here at Sun Peaks. Tell us about British being out in the fresh air with family and friends, Columbia and why you left Whistler. that’s a big part too. There’s something for Senator Greene: British Columbia is almost everyone in skiing. entirely mountainous, from the coast right through to the continental divide in the Rockies. Does it matter where you live? There are enormous mountain ranges and they Senator Greene: There are a lot of people who get are all a little bit different. The coast range, where their fitness by going cross-country skiing, and Whistler is located, is, naturally enough, near the in Canada that means stepping out of your back coast, and the resort of Whistler is lower than yard pretty much anywhere you live. here, with big elevations rising above. They get Or you can go out west to the resorts where more snow; they have glaciers at the top and lakes the mountains are bigger and snow is great and at the bottom. have a vacation and leave your cares behind, and I spent 25 years at Whistler and I didn’t have a fantastic time!

15 culture canada’s first nations a sense of

plabob fisher visits the newc heritagee Centre of the Siksika Nation

16 a sense of place

17 “Th e building is a living metaphor for the natural balance that is at the core of the Siksika belief system; it is also successful in leaving a soft footprint on the land.” visit to the Siksika Nation – the Blackfoot formed, reformed, and shifted across the vast prairie sky. of Alberta – is a journey that tells us much On this day, nature seemed to be cautioning us to take care, about the “sense of place” of the Aboriginal, and to be prepared to take shelter if necessary. or the First Nations, people of Canada. Turning south from the Transcanada Highway, we The event was a community affair; we had entered the Siksika Nation reservation and followed a road, Abeen invited to attend the unofficial inauguration of the along which there were few of the usual indicators that magnificentS iksika Nation-Blackfoot Crossing Historical mark the route being followed. And yet there was a subtle Park Interpretive Centre. In many respects it was like an sense of direction as if the slightly rolling landscape was enormous family picnic during which a great deal of inter- gently urging us onward. We went with the flow until up generational bonding was going on. ahead there appeared an apparition, at an indeterminate On another level, it was a soft-spoken but triumphant distance. Initially it looked like sailing ships about to celebration of thousands of years of Siksika history; a slip over the horizon. And then as we came closer, the validation and reconfirmation of the soul of a people.I t was lofty, tent-like structures defined themselves, and stood a day for reconnecting through low-key speeches, exhibits, out starkly against the moody sky. I was reminded of the various cultural demonstrations and displays, a focus on approach to the great Gothic cathedral of Chartres across eldership and storytelling, visits to the strategic moments in the pastoral countryside of rural France. time nearby, and a traditional feast. This was a day on which As we pulled into the parking lot, I was drawn to the the Siksika would quietly assume ownership once again of sight of three traditional tepees standing self-assured on a their heritage. low hill, somewhat of an anomaly itself in the flat prairie We had made our way to the Siksika Nation across very landscape we had just traversed. Behind them the Siksika windy and rather damp grasslands. Dark theatrical clouds had erected a long white dining tent of modern materials

18 and design but with a sculptured look that provided a celebrates. It is a highly integrated structure that “flows”, l-r: Close up of perfect contrasting background. This initial “visual” also following the patterns inherent in the landscape. the new Siksika established what would be a key theme for the day, the Not only does the new centre look over an important Nation Heritage artful blend of time past and time present. historic site, it is also a window onto a remarkable Centre at Blackfoot As we reached the top of the low-rising hill, we looked environmental site; the largest prairie riverbank ecosystem Crossing Historical out over a magnificent landscape, one small part of the still in existence on the planet. The centre is also a complex Park; how it sits ancestral lands of the Siksika. The panoramic view is of the iconic structure, a testament to the Aboriginal way of life in the landscape; Blackfoot Crossing, a low-lying valley and wooded area that in which the interconnectedness and interdependence of traditional and embraces the gently meandering Bow River. all things are understood on a profound (often non-verbal) contemporary This was also a transit area for Aboriginal hunters and level. Siksika tepees. their prey (primarily the great buffalo herds) for thousands In integrating the theme and metaphor of the tepee in of years. Later it was a crucial crossing point for explorers the design of the Centre, the architects (and the Siksika as they began to open the West to the European newcomers. elders who advised them and contributed their inherited Looking to our left we saw, for the first time, the new wisdom) did indeed risk creating an imitation of a cultural Interpretive Centre. Its design is a masterful combination and geographical heritage. However, because the process of structural configurations and architectural themes that was a truly shared experience, what they have produced embody the traditional and the futuristic. Facing westward is true to the Siksika consciousness, and at the same time over the valley, its prominence in the landscape is striking innovative. The building is a living metaphor for the natural but not overwhelming. The symmetry of the structure balance that is at the core of the Siksika belief system; and it creates a very successful blend with the natural environment is also successful in leaving a soft footprint on the land. of the prairie that surrounds it, and the valley over which it The approach to the Centre up an S-curved lane sets the presides. tone of following the landscape. To the left of the entrance are a series of Buffalo rub rocks, highly polished boulders Cla u tur l cELEbration that bison over the millennia have used to rub against in T he Interpretive Centre is an architectural tour de force an attempt to remove mosquitoes and other insects. These that personifies theS iksika culture and ethos. It is a rocks are in a way touchstones to the past when the great conceptual building that also embodies in its physical herds of bison roamed these grasslands, and were hunted structure the ancient stories and metaphors of the nation it by the forbears of the Siksika and other nations. The bison >>

19 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada “Th is new Centre is part of a visionary 21st-century dream of creating a place where travellers can come from all over the world to learn about the great stories this land has to tell. ”

that is part of the coat of arms of the Siksika is representative of this H istory of a nation animal which is sacred to them given that it sustained their ances- tors in many ways. The Siksika Nation has approximately 6,000 members and The overall spoke-like design of the building too is a link to the is part of the much larger Blackfoot Confederacy, whose past, and representative of the medicine wheels; large stone circles ancestral lands (approximately 113,000 square kilometres) still found throughout Alberta which confirm the existence of some once spread over most of southern Alberta and into what of the earliest peoples on the Great Plains of North America. today is Montana. Their history adds 10,000 years onto You enter the Centre under a feature that I particularly admired, what is usually considered the span of Canadian history. a luminous glass eagle feather fan. The eagle is sacred to the Treaty 7, signed by the Siksika Nation and the Crown, Siksika; and this luminosity is a central motif in the Centre. The is considered one of the most “defining” of the so-called seven sacred tepees on the roof are also skylights; and they are also “numbered treaties” under which the Aboriginal peoples connected to a central tepee, Sundance Arbour, which allows the surrendered parts of their land in return for direct payments prairie light to permeate the structure. The enormous windows that and other promises on the part of the Crown. It played a look out to the west are covered with an energy-efficient reflective crucial role in uniting Canada. Because of the country’s gold and blue glass curtain. In telescope-fashion, the great wall of diverse and challenging geography and the constant fears of glass brings the panorama to the viewer. If you were an eagle, this expansion northward on the part of the great new republic would be the place from which you would launch yourself and soar to the south, the newly formed government of Canada knew over the landscape, confident and free. it had to acquire full control over the vast lands to the west. The only way to do this was to build a transcontinental Busn l i eSS p an railroad – a political unification strategy that took into W hen a member of the Siksika creates his or her own tepee, it is account the great inland waterway of the St Lawrence River painted with symbols and images that come to the individual in the and the Great Lakes, which stops of course at the western form of a vision or a dream. This new Centre is part of a visionary end of Lake Superior. 21st-century dream of creating a place where travellers can come A railroad across the prairies and then through the from all over the world to learn about the great stories this land has largest obstacle of all – the Rocky Mountains – became to tell. It is also, of course, a new and dramatic focal point for the therefore the “national dream” of Canada’s first prime members of the Siksika Nation. minister, Sir John A Macdonald. Such a railroad, however, But the Centre and the Blackfoot Historical Crossing Heritage was also crucial because it was the key “bargaining chip” for Park are also part of a strategic business plan on the part of the bringing British Columbia into the Canadian Confederation, Siksika. This is a travel and tourism initiative that will attract those which it did in 1870. who value the kind of historical-cultural travel that informs and Because “Indian lands” were under control of the federal enlightens. government – as stipulated in the Royal Proclamation of And this Centre will be the entry point, for non-Aboriginal 1763 – the government in Ottawa had to deal with the people especially, into a history that pre-dates that on which people Aboriginal people whose land stood between the onward of European descent often base their frame of reference. thrust of the railroad: over 80,000 square kilometres. And Like most indigenous people, the Siksika have invested a great a large part of this land was the ancestral homeland of the deal of trust in their oral history, a record that has been passed Siksika Nation. The treaty that allowed the transcontinental down from generation to generation for thousands of years. railroad to go ahead was Treaty 7. And as you stand looking The Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park Interpretive Centre is a out the windows of the Interpretive Centre, you can see collection of stories. And while there is much tangible evidence of Blackfoot Crossing, the exact spot on which that treaty was the long-term shared knowledge, wisdom, and art of these people signed. to be found in the Centre, the non-Aboriginal visitor would do Were these just real estate deals? What was the well to bear in mind the intricate narrative that the Centre and the spirit and the intent of each party in the negotiations? In Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park communicates on many levels, one document I was shown by the Siksika, there is the through many layers, and in many ancient forms of “media”. This statement: “Siksika has a rich culture that has been eroded is grand theatre with all that such historic dramas imply: impressive and overrun by a Eurocentric view of the Aboriginal role in settings, dynamic characters and characterisation, complex plot the development of Canada. Blackfoot Crossing Historical lines, crises, and a dénouement. Park will help revive our noble heritage and will add a new I am confident that what theS iksika Nation’s new Heritage dimension to Canadian history. This is our gift to you, Centre achieves is a new level of dialogue between the Siksika and an expression of the partnership understood when our the visitors they welcome to this wonderful site. ancestors signed Treaty 7.” www.blackfootcrossing.ca

20 on location cortes treasure

islandWh ile other 20-year-olds head for the med, Hannah Abbott travelled west to Cortes Mecca for east-coast Canadian travellers partial to a bit of peace and love, the islands off the coast of British Columbia would have remained undiscovered for me were it not for a friend of a friend of a friend. Well, one island in particular: Cortes. AI spent a month there, variously staying with old friends, crashing at new friends’, sleeping under the stars, and living in a refurbished 1955 school bus. It’s just that kind of place. We certainly got there in style. Bleary-eyed on arrival at Vancouver Airport, the nearby Flying Beaver Bar proved our salvation – overlooking a stretch of river, we enjoyed steaks in the blazing sunshine against a backdrop of seaplanes taking off and landing. Revived, the sunset flight toC ampbell River, Vancouver Island, was a delight, as we took in magnificent golden-hued views of the island-dotted straits. It was getting late, and though we were lucky to make the last ferry to Quadra island, how we would get beyond there to the considerably more remote Cortes was another matter. Fortune prevailed by throwing us an amphibious taxi driver! Crossing Quadra by car, we were then ushered into his speedboat and concluded our journey bouncing across the water at a thrilling pace, wind in our hair and spray in our faces beneath a burning orange full moon. After the intensity of the journey, days spent relaxing on the shores of Hague Lake at Manson’s Landing felt well-deserved. Staying with local friends, and adhering closely to the adage “when in Rome…”, much of this time was spent soaking up the sun on the large rocky outcrop that is the nudist area of the beach, occasionally launching off to cool down in the crisp water. If it weren’t for the friendly and generous locals, to go much further afield than this without a vehicle would have been a challenge – I certainly didn’t see any buses! But as it happened, many an exciting distance was covered whizzing around in the back of pick-up trucks in a community where hitch-hiking is the norm. A trip by boat will take you past seals sunning themselves lazily on rocky islets. At the destination of one charmed walk, Nta a ur l paradise we emerged onto the beach to the sight of a Bald Eagle, I f you are a nature lover, Cortes has it in abundance. The while playing nearby was a family of otters. There are also mountainous landscape, pebble beaches and sapphire waters are bear, wolf and cougar sightings. Perhaps the most magical reminiscent of the west coast of Scotland and its loch-speckled encounter though was a night swim in phosphorescent Highlands, though on a much vaster scale. But trekking through algae. More pleasant than they sound, these tiny organisms steamy forests of ancient trees, pushing past enormous ferns, I become visible as bluish glowing dots when they detect would barely have raised an eyebrow had a dinosaur lumbered by. motion, so that your movement in the water creates beautiful

22 Clockwise from top: sailboats at streaks of light. Emerging from the sea, you are momentarily Manson’s Landing; View shot; drenched in a luminous waterfall. Hannah Abbott; Smelt Bay garden; As far as nightlife goes, this was mostly located on the beach signs at Manson’s Landing. Page 17: Smelt Bay. at Smelt Bay, where we witnessed night after night of ever more Overleaf: book store at fantastic sunsets and watched the stars far from the glow of light Manson’s Landing pollution. Should we feel peckish, an entrepreneurial local came C ortes images courtesy of laden each night with delicious freshly baked pie at $1.50 a slice. Deanna Collins. To draw a comparison: less sipping cocktails on the golden sands of a Greek island, this was more swigging wine from the bottle on the shores of Loch Lomond – though on Cortes you don’t need to worry about your ipod being stolen while you go for a skinny-dip! Cortes is home to Hollyhock, a health and educational tourist retreat offering yoga, meditation and spiritual exploration to its affluent guests.O ur experience of it was largely from the other side of the fence; that is until a raucous night at the Tak, pizza restaurant-cum-occasional nightclub, ended in a group of us clambering over it to sneak in a late-night hot tub. Of course the abiding memory of the evening is being frog-marched out, heads hung in affected shame while trying not to snigger. Other night-time events included fantastic live music and dancing in the community halls. If clubbing’s your thing, try to time a visit around August to catch the annual open-air Carrington Bay Party, and Shambhala Music Festival on the mainland. >>

“W hat really sets Cortes apart is the strong sense of community and friendship. Don’t just be a tourist, and you will be welcomed into the fold.”

23 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada I t is possible for non-residents to attend events at Hollyhock; we joined an evening of tabla drumming and meditative chanting. Not really my cup of tea, but then I’m more of a milk and two sugars girl than a lover of weird and wonderful herbal infusions.

ge re n market S hopping highlights include the market at Manson’s Landing – packed with local produce, art and beautiful imports from India. And the saying “one man’s rags are another man’s riches” is never more true that in Squirrel Cove’s Free Store, a sort-of jumble sale run on trust, where islanders swap their unwanted clothes, appliances… anything reusable really. Don’t worry about taking a bag full of books – swap the one you’ve finished with a well-thumbed edition from one of the “help-yourself” bookshelves. A place sure to tickle one’s sense of novelty is Wolf Bluff, known locally as Karl’s Castle. On an island where everyone seems to build their own houses, it is a five-storey castle lovingly constructed by owner Karl. Out of breezeblocks. In exchange for a donation we were able to explore its towers and dungeons, indulge in some historical fancy dress and photograph Karl with his tiara-adorned pet dog. Dramatic and beautiful, Cortes is a breathtaking holiday destination. But what really sets it apart is the strong sense of community and friendship. Don’t just be a tourist, and you will be welcomed into the fold. It is hippie values and spirituality with a bit of hedonism thrown into the mix. Be warned, if you go there you might not want to leave. n

24 the time traveller goes back in history to interview famous figures from Canada’s past

TT : So what set you on the invention trail? of my former deaf pupils, Mabel S Hubbard. AGB: Well, perhaps it was in the blood. My It was while we were sailing up the Canadian father, Alexander Melville, was a pioneer in the coast on vacation that Mabel and I fell in love field of elocution, developing a phonetic system with Baddeck. It reminded me of places from that helped in teaching deaf students to speak. my childhood in Scotland. And my mother was a gifted pianist, so perhaps that’s why my first experiments involved sound. TT: You taught Mohawk Indians to speak English using your father’s methods; you helped TT: Tell me more! deaf people to engage fully in society; you even AGB: When I was 14 my brother and I made married a deaf woman; yet you are an advocate a speaking apparatus using the voice box of a of not permitting deaf people to marry each dead sheep. other, lest they in turn have deaf children. You even subscribe to the eugenics movement, TT: Delightful! which – I have to warn you – will come to be AGB: Some respect, please… Both my brothers Ale xander Graham Bell, reviled by future generations for having helped died of tuberculosis and I also contracted the inventor of the telephone, shrugged to fuel one of the most destructive political disease, so it was decided we should move to off the twin hindrances of having philosophies civilisation has ever known… a “more equitable” climate, and we sailed to AGB (looks hurt and shocked): My only wish Québec and then settled in Brantford, Ontario, neither been born in Canada nor is to improve the collective sum of human where I fully recovered. even having spent all his adult life happiness. It is always easy for history, with in the country, to be voted Number the benefit of perfect hindsight, to make glib TT: You didn’t stay in Canada for long, Nine in a poll of Canadians, by judgements on the motives of honest, decent though… broadcaster CBC, to identify the people. AGB: Indeed, I left for Boston to publicise my father’s Visible Speech system and top 100 Canadians of all time. A TT: Indeed, and I have to say that you will be founded a school for deaf-mutes. Then I was dedicated inventor, Bell was born remembered first for other things, not least, appointed Professor of Vocal Physiology at in 1847 in Edinburgh, but many of as the ninth most important national hero of Boston University, but I would often retreat his greatest scientific discoveries Canada. to Brantford. I had my own “dreaming place” AGB: Well, of that I could feel both flattered where I would reflect on the “harmonic were made on Canadian soil and and proud: this special place in Nova Scotia telegraph” device I was working on. I reasoned Parks Canada is today responsible has given me the space to turn my mind to true that if I could make an electric current for a museum to his work and invention – the photophone, to transmit speech undulate the same way air does when sound is ten acres of grounds at Baddeck, using a ray of light; an induction balance used produced, then I could surely transmit speech to locate pieces of metal, such as bullets, in the telegraphically. close to Bell’s country estate human body; a machine to help injured people overlooking the Bras d’Or “inland to breathe… TT: When was your big breakthrough? sea” in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. AGB: On June 2, 1875, in Boston. My assistant, Professor When interviews him TT: And, of course, you are very interested in Thomas Watson worked to loosen a reed that the future of transport. was wound around an electromagnet, I heard a there in autumn 1912, when he was AGB: Indeed, I have worked with my estate noticeable twang, and realised this effect could 65, shortly before departure to his manager, Casey Baldwin, to produce a be recreated with the human voice. I tinkered winter home in Washington… hydrofoil that skims across the water at 45 around somewhat and then, a few days later, I mph, and then there’s the Aerial Experiment transmitted a message to Watson. “Mr Watson, Association, supported by my wife, Mabel. Her come here, I need you,” I said. I was so excited indeed, the money I have made from my backing enabled Douglas McCurdy, Casey I spilled battery acid down my clothes. I confess invention since I founded the company has Baldwin, Thomas Selfridge, Glenn Curtiss and I was a rather clumsy young man… enabled me to buy Beinn Breagh, where we myself to build the Silver Dart, which was the sit now. And it is here that I have been able first powered aircraft to fly inC anada. TT: That moment made you a lot of money to return to my true vocations: invention and and one or two enemies, didn’t it?! helping those less fortunate through being TT: Where was that? AGB (sighs): You’re talking about the patent unable to hear. I am much prouder of my AGB: Just over there, on the frozen surface of dispute with Elisha Grey… You know, accomplishments as a teacher of deaf mutes Lake Bras d’Or. But it’s a small beginning: one Americans love a duel, whether it be with than of the invention of the telephone. I have day people will harness the immense power revolvers or in a court of law. I filed my patent worked closely with the American Association from explosives to propel aircraft at immense two hours before Mr Grey and if you want my for the Promotion of the Teaching of Speech speed through the atmosphere. view, Mr Grey had bad legal advice. But I do to ensure deaf people are not marginalised or regret that so much energy and so many dollars excluded from everyday life. TT: You may well be right, sir, but what is the have been wasted by him in challenging my secret of such invention? patent to no end other than to enrich lawyers. TT: Indeed: your passion in this regard fuelled AGB: Leave the beaten track behind another passion, did it not? occasionally and dive into the woods. Every TT: Well, it has served you rather well, hasn’t it. AGB: Yes, in the same year that I established time you do you will be certain to find AGB: The Bell Telephone Company? Well, the Bell Telephone Company, I married one something you have never seen before.

25 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada great canadian journeys by rail from montréal to halifax east side story

26 east sideL iz Bestic catches a train outstory east in search of her father

www.gravitymagazines.com/canada t was the film,T he Shipping News, that did it. All those rolling mists and moody lakes reminded me of every story my dad ever read me as a child in his familiar Canadian accent. That accent remained untainted by the English culture he embraced in his early 20s. Dad was born into a strict Catholic family, in which at least one child was expected to go into the Church. However, dad broke the mould and won a place at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, to study Engineering. II n the early 20th century there was precious little landscape. Normally nothing can rouse me from my bed transport, so every day my father would row across the lake, before seven in the morning but I found myself staggering tie up his canoe and walk the rest of the way to university. through the carriages at six just to watch the sun rising over He craved adventure and paid out of his own pocket for Previous page: Montréal a lake as we rattled through New Brunswick’s Matapedia skyline from the Old Port. flying lessons before signing up to theC anadian Air Force. valley. Above l-r: Verses But it was a prestigious scholarship into the UK’s RAF Restaurant; Complexe les which finally gave him his passport to that country, where he Fir m st im igrants Ailes, Montréal; Peggy’s met my mother and settled down. Cove; Georges A t last we reached our final destination and a frisson of Island, Halifax. A two-centre holiday in Montréal and Nova Scotia excitement hit me. I had read up on a bit of the history and seemed the perfect opportunity to return to my father’s discovered that Halifax was first settled by theE nglish in homeland. Strangely enough, Montréal also holds a family 1749 when in true British style they threw out the French. connection as, during the 1930s, my mother’s sister had Today it is the world’s second largest natural harbour been secretary at McGill University – I immediately and Canada’s busiest working port. Halifax was also the understood what had drawn her here. The combination of stepping-off point for the very first immigrants toC anada. North American and European architecture is striking: one There is an amazing exhibition called Pier 21 – definitely minute all you can see is huge skyscrapers, big taxis and worth a visit – which illustrates exactly what it was like for steam coming out of the pavements. The next minute you those first immigrants, many of them fleeing persecution turn a corner to find yourself walking along cobbled streets during the war. past tiny French bars straight out of a Toulouse Lautrec As a major port, Halifax has seen more than its fair share painting.

ritage of tragedy – it was the nearest port to the point at which the e Shopping is a fabulous experience in Montréal, H Titanic went down and the graves of many of the victims partly because the city has a virtual parallel universe of

lture lture are here. And in 1918 an enormous explosion, caused by u underground shops, bars and cafés, which operate in tandem C with those at ground level. Everything from food to clothing the collision of a liner and a munitions ship, ripped through the town, killing more than 2,000 people and injuring many urism, urism, seems cheap for us Brits – in fact the only thing which is o T relatively expensive is alcohol. A two-course meal in a cosy more. The local paper described the city that day as “two

otia otia square miles a burning ruin”. It shocked me to learn that my c restaurant in Old Montréal, complete with pretty reasonable S dad was just eight years old and on his way to school when va va live jazz band, will set you back around £30 (€35). Montréal o N is also an extremely safe city to walk around – in fact it has the explosion occurred. The blast blew the windows out one of the lowest crime rates in the whole of Canada. of his house and he was hit by flying glass. He watched as After two days it was time to catch the overnight train the house collapsed and he and his family had to survive in an Poulin / / Poulin an h tents on the city common until they were found alternative p to Halifax. I was slightly apprehensive about the 21-hour e t S journey, but our little couchette was more than adequate, housing. with en suite loo and shower and really comfy beds. Steve, I am not sure what my father would have made of Halifax ntréal, ntréal, today, with its vibrant dockland development, lively bars o the onboard “tutor” was entertaining and full of useful M information, from how to make a lobster trap to recognising and restaurants and excellent selection of live music – many a good Nova Scotian wine. The highlight of the trip was the bands still keep the Celtic connections alive by playing o

T urisme observation car, from which we could watch the unfolding traditional music. Halifax is a major fishing centre and

28 “Hali fax has seen more than its fair share of tragedy – it was the nearest port to the point at which the Titanic went down and the graves of many of the victims are here. ”

lobster is a particular local speciality and there are many all we needed were shorts and T-shirts. Mile after mile we excellent fish restaurants.I f you are after culture, there is also drove past the most exquisite lakes and beaches fringed with plenty to see and do here. The Maritime Museum is a must pine trees. We soon arrived at Chester, a sailing retreat for the for history fiends and there is a massive art gallery, which rich and famous. Some ridiculously large yachts were moored houses really interesting folk art as well as some more familiar in the harbour. The Rope Loft serves as the main watering European painters. Whatever you choose to do in Halifax you hole and was the best vantage point to watch the action on will find the Haligonians (that’s people from Halifax to you the water while sipping a cold beer. and me) incredibly inquisitive and friendly. Lunenberg was our final stop before heading home.N ow I was bursting to see the house where my dad lived, on designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, the town was the shores of the lake known as the Northwest Arm. Sadly, originally settled in 1753 by German, Swiss and French the original place had been demolished to make way for protestants and we were fascinated by the extraordinary expensive condominiums. We took a walk to an old hangout architecture of the region – the dockside buildings are painted of my dad’s known as Dead Man’s Island – a spooky place red and are given a fresh coat of paint every couple of years. of around 2.5 acres of forlorn bogland. Here the bodies of The town itself is a fishing and shipbuilding port, where the 188 anonymous American soldiers and sailors were buried famous fishing schooner Bluenose was built in 1921 and you after the 1812 war. It made me shiver and I was glad when can now sail around the harbour on the original ship. we moved on to see Dalhousie, dad’s old university. The I had mixed feelings leaving Nova Scotia. I understand incredibly efficient alumni office managed to trace his entry now how the culture and landscape formed my dad’s in the university year book which read “Bill is a good egg and character. I can also see how the city in the early 1900s will always share his last sandwich with you!” which made might have seemed stifling to someone with ambition and a me laugh out loud. Family legend has it that he gave up the yearning for adventure. I feel I have laid many ghosts to rest last seat on the last plane out of Singapore before it fell to and feel somehow closer to my dad for having done this trip the Japanese, to an injured soldier. That decision cost him his and with direct flights from theU K to Halifax taking only freedom for four years – he was just 31 when he was taken five hours,I will most definitely go back. prisoner of war. n Liz Bestic travelled with VIA Rail Canada, between Montréal and Halifax St unning coastline on The Ocean. Easterly Class costs approximately £230 (€250), including T he following two days were spent exploring the stunning a bedroom and all meals; seats in Comfort Class from £70 ((€85). The Atlantic coastline, surely one of Canada’s best kept secrets. journey takes 21 hours. First stop was Peggy’s Cove, a famous beauty spot, actually www.viarail.ca / www.tourisme-montréal.org / www.novascotia.com little more than a lighthouse on top of the most amazing smooth rock formations. The rocks overlook a tiny scattering of little fishing shacks and whitewashed cottages – a little like Cornwall but without the traffic!T he weather was so warm

29 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada Ask About Additional Children Stay FREE Specials!

Just 90 minutes North of Toronto 1-800-461-0243 30 www.bayviewwildwood.com 24 hours in… S aint John, New Brunswick

ur arrival at the joint largest On its north shore are Bay of Fundy tidal range. So city (with Moncton) in the ramshackle but picturesque enormous is the volume of water Oprovince of New Brunswick boathouses. These are the survivors pouring in and out of the Saint was the unscheduled result of of those built to service the netting John River with each tide that it trying to outsmart a hurricane. of migratory salmon. The licences, can not simply flow gently in and Due to fly from Halifax to however, die with their owners as out. Instead, it forms a great wall Toronto, we’d driven north on the authorities move to conserve of water that swirls and boils and cancellation of our flight to catch stocks. tumbles its way back and forth. an alternative one from Saint John. the world, and their legacy is some The city hinterland spreads Only for an hour or so at each Then that too had been cancelled. of finest urban architecture of the upstream on either side of the vast slack tide can the waters be safely The coastal road east of Saint period to be seen anywhere in the flooded valley of theS aint John and navigated, at least in an ordinary John is a newly recognised scenic Maritimes, or indeed Canada. we spend time admiring the huge boat. drive, punctuated at intervals by art Of particular note are the Old Victorian villas that crest the high An enterprising man from galleries and craft shops. However, City Market, New Brunswick promontory that forms the east Québec has built a business for for all its attributes, it does lack in Museum and the Loyalist House, shore of the river. Further upstream people who want to get up close one essential area: it’s hellish hard with its extraordinary collection of are idyllic suburbs, with sandy bays and intimate with the awesome to get a cup of coffee. antique furniture from a family who overlooking the dramatic river, the power of the water. The reason for this bizarre fledN ew York for Saint John. wide expanse of Rockwood Park We wimp out this time as we anomaly becomes apparent when and the city zoo. need to be unsoaked ahead of our we chat with the lady running bayu of f ndy The harbour and huge flooded departure from Saint John, bound Moore’s gallery and ice cream C heek-by-jowl with the old centre valley are divided by narrows, for the very different delights of parlour. “It would cost me $50,000 is the new harbourfront, including whose two rocky promontories are Toronto. SA to upgrade to sell hot drinks,” the Hilton hotel, with its superb joined at high level by a cast iron she says. “They insist you have a waterside location. Close by is the girder railway bridge. fully compliant restaurant kitchen, new cruise ship terminal, built to with full separation of cooked and cope with the extraordinary tidal rneversi g falls uncooked foods and everything.” range. I t is just upstream of this Saint John itself, let’s be brutally The harbour itself is the wide constriction that Saint John’s honest, does not present its prettiest fjord-like junction of the Saint John proudest attraction can be visited: face to the world. Heavy industries River with the Bay of Fundy, of the Reversing Falls. These are river are visibly evident. But we are by which more later. rapids as awesome as those you can no means the first visitors to urge The harbour is crossed by two see downstream of Niagara Falls, Saint John airport, south east of the city, has regular flights to Montréal,T oronto strongly: see what lies beneath. For great bridges: the older one is free and yet there’s not a rock to be starters, there’s the elegant 19th found in the river for miles. Indeed, and Halifax. to use, while the newer one, which Stay at: Hilton Saint John, century colonial city centre. This the riverbed is far below the boiling carries the Highway, bears a toll; www.hiltonsaintjohn.com is where earlier industrialists and something, we are told, the good surface of the water. Eat at Beatty and the Beastro, traders built a proud statement to citizens of Saint John despise! What’s going on? Well, it’s the tel (506) 652-3888

31 31 www.gravitymagazines.com/ adventure the skoki trail

32 roS tan ABBott’s bcear essentialsky for walking road in the Rockies

33 anadians have a tip about how to distinguish grizzly bear droppings from those of the less aggressive black bear – the grizzly’s are the ones with bells in. Bear bells are supposed to be worn by humans hiking in grizzly country, the idea being that a grizzly hearing the bells will make itself scarce, because it would rather avoid an encounter with people than eat them. Parks Canada publishes Bears and People, a helpful little guide for backpackers, C which makes the casual understatement that “some research shows that bear bells are not enough”. Our problem is that we face a three to five-hour eight-mile always seems to come back to bears, so singing it is. A medley hike across bear country to reach our accommodation for the of all the songs we know with the word bear in the lyrics, plus next four nights – Skoki Lodge, the oldest, and among the suitably oursified old Beatles numbers andN orthumbrian folk highest and most remote of the Canadian Rockies’ backwoods songs seem to provide the bear deterrent. For some strange log cabin lodges. reason, we don’t see any people either. The portents are not great: the grizzly killing earlier that The biggest threat proves to be to our lunch, and comes month of a jogger – just outside the nearby town of Canmore from a hopeful ground squirrel. In a surely hopelessly – seems to have prompted a run on bear spray in the shops incorrect move, we recorded his chirping call on a mobile of Banff, the nearest major centre to the Lake Louise ski phone, which we would later use to make bemused area, which will be our last contact with civilisation. Bear conversation with other ground squirrels we encountered. spray is supposed to offer a last ditch defence – the optimistic blasting of a jet of pepper gas into the face of the onrushing Decep tion Pass grizzly, though we hear tales of perhaps apocryphal European T he trail rises through mixed forest, giving way to conifers, tourists trying to use it as a deterrent, applied to the body like then dwarf birch and alder as we cross the treeline. Cresting mosquito repellent or underarm deodorant. the recently glaciated Boulder Pass, where deeply scoured Then, as we are taken by van to the start of the Skoki trail, frost-shattered rocks lie in crazy piles like the aftermath of an adolescent female grizzly and a youngster are browsing some titanic struggle between the gods, Ptarmigan Lake hoves in a meadow not more than 30 metres from us. We hurriedly into view. re-check the Parks Canada advice, which suggests clapping We are at 7,694ft (2,345m), it’s late June and it is not hands, talking loudly and singing. warm. The vegetation is now high alpine, with purple The lightly-loaded American couple who’ve been with us saxifrage raising a timid head above the residual snow. The in the van shun the advice that bears don’t often attack groups cold, thinning air makes for slow going as we toil to the head of four and forge ahead without us. If I try talking, the subject of Deception Pass (8,200ft, 2,485m), from where a quite

34 Previous page: Ptarmigan fantastic vista opens northwards before us. Ski Club of the Canadian Rockies. Lake on the ascent of On our left are the Skoki Lakes of Zigadenus and Although more rooms were added in the 30s, Skoki Boulder Pass en route to Myosotis, owing their deep luxuriant turquoise hue to remains essentially unchanged – extensive recent renovations Skoki suspended silts from the surrounding glaciers. More careful have seen the insertion of a solid foundation, but each Left: lovely Lake Louise Above: Stan outside Skoki inspection reveals that the foot of the glaciers is not ice at plank of the floor and every stone from the chimney breast Lodge all, but a fine scree of light-coloured alluvial material.L ater, has been carefully numbered and returned to its original at the Lodge, we’ll see comparative photographs that bear location. The lodge has no electric lighting and running graphic witness to the retreat of the ice over the last half- water only in the kitchen. Solar panels help run a few century. kitchen gadgets and the log-fired sauna proves a great substitute for a hot bath. It’s a 40-metre dash to the earth wre a m gre tings closets. Beyond the lakes, as we negotiate deep snow drifts to The communal sitting room soon has a buzz as the jokes descend 1,100ft to Skoki Lodge, the vast Wall of Jericho and story-telling begin. Fellow guests Maggie and Paul, guards the left flank of the valley, whose name derives from a from BC, are mountain lodge aficionados and sayS koki’s native word meaning swamp or marsh. Good call – the trail reputation for its fine food places it beside the best – that’s is fast becoming a river as first rain, then sleet, then snow borne out by the arrival of a spread that belies the basic assault us. kitchen and strictures on menu-planning imposed by a By the time we squelch into Skoki Lodge – in time for weekly helicopter drop (we’re still a week short of the date marshmallow crispy cakes and tea from the ubiquitous pot at which Parks Canada permits packhorses to return to the – we’ve been on the trail fully five hours. But we have not trails). An immense soufflé stands proud even when cut – been eaten by bears and a watery sunlight illuminates bare, perhaps it’s the altitude. castellated peaks filling all points of the compass.I admire the linguistic thrift of the guy who called these the Rocky M erlin Lake Mountains. O n our first full day we opt for a round trip to MerlinL ake, We are greeted by Leo and Katie Mitzel, proud managers graded “easy”. The trail quickly becomes a pencil line etched of the lodge, which was opened in 1931 by the Banff-based across steep and loose scree, where delightfully named >>

“C resting the recently glaciated Boulder Pass...deeply scoured frost- shattered rocks lie in crazy piles like the aftermath of some titanic struGgle between the gods”

35 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada hoary marmots sit on rocks, like sentries. A missed cairn sees me showering rocks down a precarious gully. Then we are S entry Mountain Lodge “on Skoki faced by a rock wall, tantalisingly too high to clamber up. The mountain alternative is to edge along a narrow ledge on the face of the cliff to a point where the climb is lower. itself ... The reward is another stunning turquoise lake, ringed there is a by dramatic peaks. The descent through the forest, for us hardened bear-song singers, is easier until we are faced with quite mind- fording the cold and raging Skoki River. Later, Katie tells us boggling the bridge was washed away two winters ago but Parks Canada won’t permit anyone else to replace it (using plentiful local panaroma of materials), pending the arrival of their own team with pressure- y h

p jagged peaks treated timber from British Columbia. “We’ve guys with chain and yet more saws here just itching to use them,” she says, ominously. otogra Back at the lodge after another five-hour hike, long- h p turquoise standing staff member Walter insists he can do Merlin Lake

a in half an hour. This seems like bravado until we catch sight M lakes. of him through binoculars, scrambling up and back down l A an udie ” seemingly vertical sections of the Walls of Jericho in the blink of an eye. Skoki Lodge requires the longest Katie tells how, a few years ago, Walter broke half the bones mandatory walk-in of the Canadian in his body when he fell 40ft while free-climbing. He crawled three miles to the nearest road and had to squeeze beneath a Rockies lodges, though there are others bear fence before he managed to flag down a passing motorist. that are more remote… “He doesn’t like to talk about it,” she says. The following day we circumnavigate Skoki Mountain and P urcELL Mountain Lodge and Deer Lakes and a day, which was cold enough for gloves at one Fortress Lake point, ends with a strong hint of summer. By our final day it’s Both these “eco lodges” in the British warm and clear enough for an assault on Skoki Mountain itself Columbia Rockies normally require access (8,845ft, 2,696m), from where there is a quite mind-boggling by helicopter. Purcell Lodge stands at over panorama of jagged peaks and yet more turquoise lakes. 7,000ft, on an alpine meadow on the border Any sense of achievement is diminished by coming across of Glacier National Park, near Golden, and Katie on our descent, eight months pregnant but still nimbly is open winter and summer. It boasts hot leaping from rock to rock. Her confinement will begin with a water and electricity, courtesy of power (planned) helicopter exit from Skoki the following day. generated from a mountain stream. Fortress Lake Wilderness Cabins are in Hamber Our heavy-hearted return from Skoki to Lake Louise takes Provincial Park, adjacent to Jasper National us a more respectable three hours, but brings us close to Park, on the shores of an 11kms lake. grizzly encounter. Two young Parks Canada rangers advise Not open in winter. Three-day packages, against taking the Hidden Lake trail as they’ve just seen a including helicopter transfer from Golden, cub, and the mother must be nearby. range from $1,188 at Purcell Lodge and A few score metres further and we spot a large, from $1,644 at Fortress Lake. For both fresh bear dropping. There are no bells in it. n lodges, telephone +1 250 344 2639; wwwplaceslesstravelled.com.

S entry Mountain Lodge R elatively new winter and summer lodge, at just under 7,000ft, in the Selkirk Mountains W ay to gO of British Columbia. Helicopter transfer from Golden. Three nights from $595 Getn t i g there: it’s an easy two-hour drive into the Rockies from (self-catered and self-guided) or $1,095, Calgary Airport, via Highway One. Rocky Mountains Sky Shuttle also offers a bus all-inclusive. link from Calgary. Tel +1 250 344 7227; + 1 403 762 520; www.rockymountainskyshuttle.com www.sentrymountainlodge.com. Where to stay: Skoki Lodge (+1 877 687 7669; www.skoki.com) is open through winter for cross-country skiers, and Morain e Lake Lodge through summer for walkers, with short closures in spring and autumn. It For those disinclined to walk in or take has 22 beds, some in the main building and some in cabins. Overnight a helicopter, or who simply prefer their rates (per person, full board with packed lunch) from $110 in April, creature comforts, Moraine Lake Lodge $159 June to August (plus local taxes). is accessible by road from Lake Louise, Alberta, with individual cabins opening Check-in for Skoki Lodge is at Lake Louise ski centre at 0930, so local accommodation in the vil- onto the archetypal turquoise lake. Open lage may be advisable. Lake Louise Inn offers comfortable rooms from $90.50 per person per night. +1 June to September, from $275 for a 403 522 3791; www.lakelouiseinn.com double room. +1 403 522 3733; www.morainelake.com. For every night spent in the Banff National Park, a fee of $8 per person is payable to Parks Canada. www.pc.gc.ca.

T ravel Alberta 36 Twin Otter Series 400

business viking air

F lying back to the rescue i conic out of production aircraft – the Beaver and otter – make a comeback

nce upon a time, de Havilland was one of back into production, alongside the supply of a the most famous names in aviation, as the revamped Beaver. Ocreator of the world’s first jet airliner, the Operating everywhere from the remotest parts Comet. of the Canadian north to the South Pole, the The name lived on longer in Canada than in its Twin Otter was the world’s biggest selling 19-seat native UK, evolving eventually into what is now the aircraft. massive multi-national aerospace and rail transport Viking’s new Series 400 is available with manufacturer, Bombardier. floats, skis or amphibious landing gear, as well as The original de Havilland plant, which began ordinary wheels. Besides the standard commuter life in 1928 manufacturing British designs for configuration it can be kitted out withC lub VIP training Canadian airmen, is now the Toronto seats and even in “RV” format, with bunks and a Aerospace Museum. However, some of the hugely galley for touring those faraway places! successful designs created by de Havilland Canada Viktoria, the company’s technical demonstrator, since the Second World War are set to acquire a began final certification flights fromV ictoria, BC, in new lease of life, following the sale by Bombardier October and the Calgary production plant already of the rights to all its out-of-production aircraft has orders from as far afield asR ussian and Libya. (DHC-1 to DHC-7) to Viking Air, based at Sidney, With a workforce of about 450 also busy British Columbia. ensuring continuity for the other “legacy” aircraft Now Viking Air – part of Westerkirk Capital, a types bought from Bombardier, Viking recruitment Canadian private investment firm with substantial is ongoing and looks set to maintain a great name holdings in the hospitality, aviation and real estate and a great aviation tradition. sectors – is offering a new lease of life to two of the www.vikingair.com most iconic aircraft in the family. The Otter and Beaver, with their rugged back- Versatilitywoods Canadian and names, havereliability long been synonymous on water, snow, tundra or tarmac. with providing lifelines to remote settlements. not just Th e Otter and Beaver have long been in Canada, but across the globe. synonymous with providing lifelines to Now, in addition to providing full product support to the entire aircraft range, Viking is remote settlements across the globe bringing the remarkable Twin Otter aircraft

37 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada GO westernnl.cOm west By nature

Day 5 - Excursion to Gros Morne National Park today to Back Country ski – and I thought Gros Morne was just a summer trip. My Trip to Drove up Great Northern Western Newfoundland Peninsula – arrived at beautiful Tuckamore Lodge just in time for a sumptuous home cooked meal! Day 1 - Arrived in Deer Lake. WOW! What a lot of snow! Checked in at Day 6 - Enjoyed a backcountry Visit Humber Valley... these chalets snowmobiling trip of a lifetime are fantastic! What a stunning view on the Northern Peninsula. Those of Humber Valley from our hot tub. groomed trails were fantastic! Day 7 - Experienced nature at its finest while trekking through the wilderness on snowshoes then enjoyed a traditional Newfoundland Day 2 - Skied the boil up! Corkscrew and Twister runs at Marble Mountain today, 1700 ft of vertical pure powder!!! Tonight experienced an awesome snowshoeing and caving expedition. Day 8 - Reluctantly drove back to Deer Lake airport for my Ask them about flight back home. winter packages P.O. Box 359, Pasadena, NL Canada A0L 1K0 Toll Free: 1-877-847-4660 Day 3 - Let the adventure Tel: (709) 686-1395 Fax: (709) 686-1397 begin! Dog Sledding in Gros Email: [email protected] Morne National Park — a Awesome Adventure www.visionatlanticvacations.com once in a lifetime event! I will definitely be back!

Day 4 - Experienced the thrill of a Zipline adventure soaring high over Steady Brook Falls in the spectacular Humber Valley!

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Day 5 - Excursion to Gros Morne National Park today to Back Country ski – and I thought Gros Morne was just a summer trip. My Trip to Drove up Great Northern Western Newfoundland Peninsula – arrived at beautiful Tuckamore Lodge just in time for a sumptuous home cooked meal! Day 1 - Arrived in Deer Lake. WOW! What a lot of snow! Checked in at Day 6 - Enjoyed a backcountry Visit Humber Valley... these chalets snowmobiling trip of a lifetime are fantastic! What a stunning view on the Northern Peninsula. Those of Humber Valley from our hot tub. groomed trails were fantastic! Day 7 - Experienced nature at its finest while trekking through the wilderness on snowshoes then enjoyed a traditional Newfoundland Day 2 - Skied the boil up! Corkscrew and Twister runs at Marble Mountain today, 1700 ft of vertical pure powder!!! Tonight experienced an awesome snowshoeing and caving expedition. Day 8 - Reluctantly drove back to Deer Lake airport for my Ask them about flight back home. winter packages P.O. Box 359, Pasadena, NL Canada A0L 1K0 Toll Free: 1-877-847-4660 Day 3 - Let the adventure Tel: (709) 686-1395 Fax: (709) 686-1397 begin! Dog Sledding in Gros Email: [email protected] Morne National Park — a Awesome Adventure www.visionatlanticvacations.com once in a lifetime event! I will definitely be back!

Day 4 - Experienced the thrill of a Zipline adventure soaring high over Steady Brook Falls in the spectacular Humber Valley!

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M an with a mission interview By Tony Clayton-Lea icago h C ti, ti, a p na a G h S arat

“O f my generation, there were artists ­– Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, Kurt Cobain ­– where, in retrospect, you listen to their music and hear or feel an intense darkness, which they were enveloped in. I don’t think I have that. ”

40 profile rufus wainwright uch as we¹re loathe to appeal to the baser instincts of people who like to stereotype their pop and rock stars, it behoves us to report that we are talking to Montréal-raised Rufus Wainwright in a pink tent. He is dressed in a suit that defines the word dapper. He is one of rock’s smartest and classiest, openly gay, the owner of a knowing wink and the creator of some of the most operatically inclined pop music of the past ten years. He is firm in the belief that his Mmusic must be of some purpose, that it should form the basis of change, that it should engage, inspire and influence. “ That’s the object of this silly game,” he says, relaxing quite impressive in a way, but I’m for impressing people in a into an easy chair, moving his sunglasses over his forehead, different way. I’m out to impress people when I’m old and fat and making eye contact. “You want to transcend, transform. and have a beard.” Transfer funds, even! What happened with me is that – Family remains an important issue in his life. Although because my parents were both in the business and there was he started off his career under the shadow of being the son always a stage nearby – I immediately became aware of the fact of Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III, he has Man with a that when I did have an audience, be it in front of a mirror, steadfastly refused to hitch his wagon onto their coat-tails. or propped up on the piano singing Somewhere Over the Where initially people might have wanted to talk to him about Rainbow, there was this immediate effect where I did, in a way, his parents, now the conversation revolves around him and his transform the audience in the room. I was conscious of that at sister Martha. mission a very young age… and of the power of that. “I’m still very close to both my parents and my sisters (he “Humans find where their power is and go with it.I was has a half-sister, Lucy). I have, though, quite recently walked lucky because I was young. It’s a long road, because you really out of an interview because the guy just continued to ask do have to come to terms with whatever power you have over about my family life. I don’t mind if people touch on it, but for many years. It’s totally sensible and forgivable in your early half an hour that’s all he wanted to talk about. So I went to the 20s to tell the world to go away and be a rock star and abuse bathroom and never came back. And yet I can’t deny that the your surroundings; revel in the excess of it all. But there is a connection has served me well. I certainly got a lot of coverage time limit to that, and then you have to realise that there is a when I first started, and whatever it takes to get your foot in distinction between life and art. They may mirror each other, the door is whatever it takes. Now, though, I think I’ve proved but they are two separate entities, and no matter how many myself enough.” songs you write or how many records you sell, it’s not going to fix any of your personal problems.S o you have to separate A bove and beyond, some might say those two, and wait to see what happens.” N ot only does Wainwright have a substantial body of work Wainwright has been through this waiting period and to his name ­– five original, distinctive albums of it ­ – but he come out the other side relatively intact. There was a time in also has a cute if cathartic sideline of love for Judy Garland the early Noughties when it looked as if he wouldn’t. These to guide him through the dark nights of the soul. In 2006, he were the times of nights spent partying in a wild and reckless staged a facsimile of Garland’s 1961 valedictory album, Live manner. He has been behaving himself for quite a few years at Carnegie Hall, at the New York venue and at the London now (“my behaviour started to disgust me,” he admits) and Palladium (which also hosted Garland in her heyday). The now regards his imaginary glass as being half full of life’s little reasoning behind such a show was threefold: one, he regards joys. the songs (a number of which were written in the Depression “I definitely enjoy moroseness and revel in sad, romantic era and around the two world wars) as sacred texts; two, sensibilities,” he admits, “but that said, I do think there is it gives him the excuse to don stockings, high heels and a always a silver lining in my work and attitude. It’s always about dinner jacket; and three, he defines his love of the songs as an hope, I think. Most of my songs exhibit that.” appeasement to his voice. The silver lining, he adds half-joking, is not just his “In this whole story of my career I’ve always felt my voice creativity but also his destiny. “I’m a bit of a hippie, or was maligned by certain critics and fans, who come up with something,” he laughs. “I think that music and art are lines such as ‘the nasal quality’ or the ‘acquired taste’. So somewhat prophetic – even books you read or movies you see the Garland shows came about, among other things, to put have something to do with your future. There does seem to be these people at ease. I consider the creative aspects of myself a kind of survival mechanism I have that keeps me going. The as a three-pronged fork: the singer, the songwriter and the reason I say that is that, of my generation, there were artists ­– composer-arranger. So I had to appease those elements and Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, Kurt Cobain ­– where, in retrospect, bring them together on one project.” you listen to their music and hear or feel an intense darkness, Opera is another abiding passion: Wainwright has said that which they were enveloped in. I don’t think I have that – the to sit through a Wagner opera is one of the greatest experiences darkness, that is – as much as them. So I go with that theory, humanity has to offer. He has just completed writing Prima just to stay bright. Donna, a Day in the Life of an Opera Singer, and views the art “It’s something in the past that I was quite jealous of ­– oh, form as very much a religion or haven from life in general. why can’t I be more kind of self-destructive, or damned? But “Opera has served me well : going to it, writing it, thinking now I thank my lucky stars I wasn’t; I went in for a bit of it, but about it. I think it’s because of the way in which the medium there is so much more than falling into the abyss. I do think it’s has chosen me. I never intended to be an opera fanatic; it the fault of rock ’n’ roll, artistically – there are so many stages wasn’t something I tried to do, it just happened one night. that a human being can experience, with the imagination and One day I hated it, the next it was all I could listen to. It’s like creation, if you put yourself into it. But sometimes rock ’n’ a calling, a vocation, and whether it’s drama or just meditation “Of my generation, there were artists ­– Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, Kurt roll can steal that from the artist because it can become more or intensity I don’t know, but it’s got it all. It’s all in there.” about youth, excess and the fleeting moment.A nd I just didn’t Cobain ­– where, in retrospect, you listen to their music and hear or feel an The story of his life? “My life, your life, everybody’s life. and don’t want to fall for that. When you see it happening, it’s The world, the Ring cycle, here we go!” n intense darkness, which they were enveloped in. I don’t think I have that. ”

41 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada property canadian hotspots

it pays to go west M artin Smith assesses the lure for Europeans of buying a second home in Canada

here is no doubt that the number of Brits Spectacular and diverse scenery, a laid-back I n Québec, Mont Tremblant, just 75 miles north buying and moving abroad has been lifestyle, an attractive cost of living, year-round of Montréal, is fast gaining a reputation as a Tincreasing markedly. It is estimated that sports, and political and social stability are first class winter sports resort with the benefit of more than 2.2 million currently own property just some of the factors that make Canada an four-season facilities. abroad and that, in the past six years, more than attractive proposition. With travel also becoming a million have emigrated permanently. Between easier, and the rise of long-haul holiday breaks wr l o ld c ass 2000 and 2004, there was a 250 per cent in- making it seem like just a short hop over British Columbia, in the west, is arguably crease in the number of British residents buying the pond, Canada is becoming a refreshing among the most beautiful areas in the world, property abroad solely for investment purposes, alternative to any number of European countries. with glorious mountains, lakes, rivers and and more than one and a quarter million Brits And, in the most of the country, there’s no beaches, and it also boasts Canada’s most own second homes in Spain and France already. language barrier – always a potential sticking temperate climate. Transport links with the UK While near neighbours Spain, France, point for the language-shy Brits. are improving, with direct daily services from Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Portugal seem Another important factor is that residential London to Vancouver (flight time approximately obvious locations for second homes, Canada is property is also generally cheaper than in the 9.5 hours). Vancouver, though, is the most increasingly moving into the frame for Brits and UK, which, along with historically healthy ap- expensive area of Canada for residential other buyers in the global homes market. preciation, makes it a potentially good invest- property. The city, with the neighbouring ski With Canada ranked in the world’s top 15 ment. In fact, some of Canada’s provinces boast resort of Whistler, is to host the 2010 Winter most popular tourist destinations, it must have property prices that rank among the lowest in Olympics, which is expected to increase its something to offer. the western world. attraction while leading to higher prices. A major There is a strong belief that Canada has lure for winter sports enthusiasts, Whistler, and weathered the global recession better than most nearby Blackcomb Mountains, are regarded developed economies, thanks to a number years by many as some of the best slopes in North of budget surplus. As a result, property in America. They have also combined this with Canada has a chance of surviving the recession high-quality sports, such as mountain biking, well and, although prices have fallen, the slide hiking and golf for the non-winter seasons. seems to have stabilised and there are now signs Also in British Columbia, Kelowna, on the that they have started to rise. Okanagan Lake in Okanagan Valley, draws homeowners from around the world because of Bu t wHEre in Canada? its skiing, hiking, boating, watersports, vineyards Historically, every part of Canada has been and wineries and its hot, dry summers and cold, home to British immigrants, but with travel time snowy winters. and cost probably being key criteria for those The spectacular Rocky Mountains are just contemplating a second home, eastern Canada a romance waiting to happen, but property has usually been top of the list. Lower cost tends to be expensive. As much of it is situated transatlantic flights, however, are opening-up the within national parks, it is out of bounds to rest of Canada and the development of purpose- most purchasers. Canmore, in Alberta, is built year-round resorts is proving popular. becoming popular though. It is close to the Res o ort pr perties Generally cheaper than the west, eastern Banff and Kananaskis national parks, only an B rits and other Europeans are increasingly Canada boasts beautiful countryside and hour’s drive from Calgary’s international airport appreciating the benefits of buying resort excellent sporting facilities, including winter (flight time toL ondon nine hours) and in a properties. Many are skiers frustrated by the sports. Flights into the UK and Europe are temperate climate zone. No surprise then that higher costs and larger crowds associated frequent and not too long. One of the most its population has doubled since it hosted the with skiing in Europe. Most resorts, though, popular locations in the east is Muskoka’s Winter Olympics in 1988. are now year-round facilities, with family- “Cottage Country”, just two hours north of In other parts of Canada, the west coast of orientated attractions. These help to Toronto. It is so beautiful and accessible, yet Newfoundland and coastal New Brunswick are extend the rental season and attract a wider range of purchasers. As a bonus, build remote, that it has even proved popular with experiencing increasing traffic from theU K and quality is generally higher, maintenance is Hollywood’s elite, including Steven Spielberg, Ireland. These areas are attracting attention from arranged by a management company, and Tom Hanks and Goldie Hawn, who all own European investors who recognise the genuine capital appreciation tends to be very good, property there. Lakefront properties with value for money that can be achieved here, as particularly in eastern Canada. a genuine sense of tranquility, only a short most homes are right on the water and travel distance from busy city life, are the attraction. times are shorter. n

42 property canadian hotspots

R esidential Complex, South Whistler. Image Tourism BC/Albert Normandin 43 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada moving to canada one family’s story

MORE J Than UST A NUMBER A s Canada aims to attract more immigrants, one family has already made the move

anada encourages immigration and It was clear, I had to change jobs – the long together, as a family. expects its population to rise from about hours with little or no reward were just getting While our thinking was fuelled by what C33 million to between 36 and 42 million me down. we wanted out of life as a family, the ultimate by 2031. Behind every immigrant’s statistics, I seriously started to think about my options. decision was about our son. He hated being however, is a personal tale. Martin Smith tells What did the region offer in terms of job an only child and the brother or sister he his… prospects? Very little. Another move within the wished for every Christmas would have been It was autumn 2004 and, after three years UK? Not if I could help it. I was in my late 40s, yet another medical miracle. We wanted him in North East England, the marketing job, married with a young son, what was I to do? to have the support of his extended family – Number Two to the managing director, just Yes, change job, but what else was directing cousins of a similar age – with whom he could wasn’t working out. And, it wasn’t the first our thinking? Simple – the desire for a better grow up, get to know and who could be there time. standard of living and to spend more time for him (and he for them) in the future. We also

“O ur son is getting involved in sports and activities that we never would have thought of in the UK – ice hockey, snow-boarding, sailing, kayaking and water skiing to mention a few”

T ravel Alberta

44 moving to canada one family’s story

wanted to give him better opportunities than it actually happened really fast – in just three until we closed on our house purchase. we believed were possible in the UK. months. This was probably because my wife Frustratingly, we then had to wait another We only had one option – we had to move and son were Canadian citizens and possibly month for our possessions to arrive, as they got to Canada, or more specificallyA urora, because I’d had an application accepted in caught by a strike at Vancouver, even though Ontario, hometown to my wife’s brother who 1994 which I had turned down to take an they were coming via Montréal. That was was married with two girls a little younger than “amazing” opportunity in the UK. We were probably our only bit of bad luck in the ten our son. Also, with my wife’s cousins only an now in a position to move and decided summer months since we decided to move. hour away, there would be a huge extended was an ideal time, so that our son could start family that we could get to know. the new school year in his new country. Ha lb s it al een worthwhile? Yes. But, what would our families in the UK Now, of course, we had to sell our house A lthough it took our son a little longer to settle and, specifically, my elderly parents, think? and cars, and resign from our jobs. The than we expected, it has all worked out well. It was going to be difficult to tell them that challenge was to accomplish all this in five He is doing well in school and getting involved we were taking their only grandson a few months. We also had to find somewhere to live in sports and activities that we never would thousand miles away, especially as they in Canada and find a school for our son.O h, have thought of in the UK – ice hockey, snow- would ever make the trip. To say they took it and what was I going to do for a living once we boarding, sailing, kayaking and water skiing badly is an understatement but, as ever, they arrived in Canada ? to mention a few. Oh, and he is still playing understood the reasons, supported us 100 per After some nervy opening weeks, the house football (or, soccer as it is called in Canada). cent and sincerely wished us all the happiness sold fairly quickly although, having agreed to During his long summer vacation, he spends in the world while being silently heartbroken. a price, the purchaser did try some underhand time at sports camps (day and residential) Having made the decision to move, we tactics to reduce the price further, knowing we where he has great fun and meets new friends. were actually very lucky. My wife had lived were moving to Canada and had to sell. In fact, While not inexpensive, different sports are in Canada from age 18 to 30 and had taken we didn’t know if we were going to close on much more accessible than in the UK as, Canadian citizenship, so our son was Canadian the house until the day of closing, which was being active outdoors, is very much a way of too. And, what about me? Having fallen in quite stressful. The cars also went fairly quickly. life – whatever the season. love with the country during several visits Resigning, of course, was delightful and I can He gets on well with his cousins and we see in the 1980s, I had to apply for Permanent still see the look on my MD’s face when I told family as regularly as we want; they are always Residency. Having a Canadian wife and son him. there for us if we need them. was obviously going to help, but we were As for work, I advised my long-standing As for my wife and me, well she hasn’t unsure how long it would take. clients based in Belgium and the United States, stopped smiling, having wanted to move back who had followed me through thick and thin, from the day we got married. My consultancy m te aking h move that I was once again moving, but this time is going well despite the economic downturn, T o be honest, the form filling was something to Canada. They were delighted for us and, and I am earning more now than ever. Long of a nightmare. Obviously we had to provide importantly, wanted to maintain our working may it continue. the expected documents – proof of citizenship, relationship. So, my job was settled. I would be In our opinion, the cost of living and passports, birth certificates and wedding a freelance marketing consultant, working from quality of life in Canada is much better than certificate. But we also had to supply address an office in the house.O h, and the company is in the UK. For the first time, we have been details of everywhere we had lived since the named after my son who inspired me to make able to save and put some money into pension age of 18 and, if you knew us, you’d know the bravest decision of my life. plans. We have a more relaxed attitude to how difficult that would be.O ur friends have We travelled to Canada for a week in May buying what we need, either for the house an address book just for us! And, we had to with the intention of finding somewhere to or ourselves, without having to think hard if provide photographs of friends who knew us live and to check out the schools. The fact we can afford it, and our credit cards aren’t before we were married, were at our wedding that we achieved both still amazes us to this anywhere near their max. and after the wedding. We had to provide day – especially buying the house! I guess a Do we miss living in the UK ? No, and details of family members in Canada and decent deposit helped, but the bank couldn’t annual visits confirm our opinions.D o we proof of how much money we were going to have been more helpful. For days afterwards, miss our friends and family? Of course. Do we be bringing into the country. I had to visit the we kept pinching ourselves to see if it was all regret moving? Absolutely not, as we are now Canadian High Commission in London twice. real. Having seen a new build that we liked, the living the life we always wanted to. n Once to submit all the papers, and again to purchase had taken just three hours. collect my permanent residency card. We arrived in Canada on July 28, 2005, Having heard it could take up to a year, staying with my wife’s brother for a week

45 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada Deanna Collins - Your Cortes Island Realty Specialist since

“ I love Cortes Island and after travelling to many places in this world I still rank it as one of the most spectacular places on earth! ”

Deanna Collins Royal LePAGE - Advance Realty Box 188 - 972 Shoppers Row, Campbell River, BC V9W 5A9 [email protected] / www.cortesisland.bc.ca food and drink the five fishermen, halifax

c ooking up a storm

There was a nervous sense of anticipation in the air in band playing on in the ballroom of the Titanic, with disaster downtown Halifax the night we ate at the Five Fishermen. I’m already unavoidable. tempted to say the famous Five Fishermen, because anyone We declined the $40 all-in selection to venture à la carte. who has visited Nova Scotia’s boisterous port and capital city Dinner at the Five Fishermen begins with the complimentary seems to ask, “did you eat there?”. salad and mussel bar, with a choice of sauces for the The anticipation, though, was not just about the promise mussels and dressings for the salads. A lovely touch, but of fine food. This was the eve of the predicted landfall of it did seem to render my starter of fresh oysters slightly Hurricane Bill, an interloper from the Caribbean that had superfluous. For my main course I chose the haddock, raged up North America’s eastern seaboard for a week. blackened, in Créole sauce, “N’awlins” style. Yet right now the evening air was warm and still and My partner began with an “exquisite” lobster salad, shirtsleeved citizens were in street cafés, listening to music: followed by a medley of seafoods. the décor of the Five Fishermen was like a captain’s cabin All were perfectly prepared and professionally presented and, as we were shown to our window table, overlooking a by a waiter who was polite and helpful without being The Five Fishermen pretty square lined with maples, I reflected fleetingly on the intrusive. Argyll Street The wine list was solid and dependable, combining a few Halifax Canadian wines with a varied world selection. We chose a Nova Scotia South African Viognier, always a good bet with fish. I was able to shoehorn in a delicate desert of rhubarb and www.fivefishermen.com semolina bouchot, which proved delicious. +1 902.422.4421 A peppermint tea was the perfect digestif, if the offer of cream to put in it was rather alarming. The bill came to an acceptable $167.24 before tip, which we reckoned good value for one of the year’s most enjoyable meals on either side of the Atlantic. Having booked prior to leaving the UK through the excellent Opentable website, our positive feedback will no doubt already have added to the legend of he Five Fishermen. SA

Footnote: Hurricane Bill duly arrived the following morning, striking Halifax a “glancing blow”. There were no reported deaths or injuries.

47 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada what’s going on all prov-

E ach issue of Canada Magazine will include pages highlighting some of the events coming up across the breadth of Canada. These will comprise a combination of features on upcoming events, alongside province-by-province and territory-by-territory listings, comprising selected highlighted events. This is a “prototype” issue of Canada Magazine and so features a sample of events, rather than the comprehensive countrywide listings that future complete issues will… all provinces and territories

Yukon Nunavut A pril 17-25 J une 21-July 1 Yukon’s premiere bird festival, The Alianait Arts Festival, at Iqaluit, J une 30 and July 4 Celebration of Swans, brings is in its sixth year and this year Great Lakes United Tall Ships residents and visitors alike out to promises to be the most diverse and Challenge The American Sail Training Association has partnered with great swan viewing areas to welcome exciting yet with ten days and nights Great Lakes to bring a fleet of international tall ships to the Great spring to the north, arriving on the of art, music, film, storytelling, circus Lakes, the world’s largest body of fresh water, as part of the Great arts, dance and theatre. Alianait is an wings of the Trumpeter Swans. Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge 2010 race series. Inuit expression of joy and celebration environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca The tall ships will race through all five Great Lakes, making port and the theme for Alianait 2010 is appearances in cities throughout the US and Canada. Two important Cultural Fusions, with musicians, initiatives sail along with the tall ships: water conservation education artists and performers from across and youth sail training. Northwest Nunavut and the world. For more than 27 years, Great Lakes United has been a unifying Territories www.alianait.ca voice for ensuring a healthy and vibrant future for the Great Lakes and Mr a ch 2010 St Lawrence River ecosystem. A diverse coalition of organisations Held since 1955, Yellowknife’s and individuals, Great Lakes United is comprised of citizens, Caribou Carnival has become a British Columbia environmentalists, conservationists, labour unions, First Nations, tribes, hunters, anglers, academics, and progressive businesses tradition that defines life in Canada’s A pril 19-25 working together to clean up toxic pollution, stop invasive species, Far North. To acknowledge the great Vancouver Playhouse International and protect the waters of the Great Lakes and St Lawrence River history of the men and women who Wine Festival marks its 32nd year from damage and irresponsible use. lived in the bush, and recognise with a celebration of the wines of The American Sail Training Association is a non-profit organisation those who still possess the survival Argentina and New Zealand and a focused on youth education, leadership development and the skills needed to live in the wilderness, global focus on rosé. A record 197 preservation of the maritime heritage of North America. The mission the honour of declaring a Master of wineries will take part at the new of the American Sail Training Association is to encourage character the land has been reintroduced and Vancouver Convention Centre and building through sail training, promote sail training to the North is know as the Arctic GrandMaster top Vancouver restaurants and hotels American public, and support education under sail. Competition. for seven days of tastings, seminars, The tall ships visit Toronto between June 30 and July 4. www.cariboucarnival.com and wine-focused events. www.tallshipsraces.com

48 Cylla von Tiedemann © VANOC/COVAN

Alberta Michael Dufays in Raven Stole the Sun, a play by Drew Hayden New Brunswick F ebruary 12-13 Taylor based on a traditional Tlingit story – playing at venues in J uly 29-August 1 The Canadian Birkebeiner Cross Granville Island, Vancouver and Whistler in February as part of The Lamèque International the Cultural Olympiad Country Ski Festival, Edmonton. Baroque Music Festival grew from A family-orientated, friendly cross- the seed of a harpsichord recital country ski loppet (recreational event) in 1971 and is unique in Canada honouring the spirit of the Norwegian for its dedication to music from Birkebeiner legend. the period 1600-1760, presenting www.canadianbirkie.com outstanding performances on period instruments or replicas. Its programmes include vocal and Saskatchewan instrumental selections, featuring F ebruary 10-14 choral works, chamber music and solo pieces. The 13th Annual Canadian www.festivalbaroque.com Challenge Sled Dog Race will run from Prince Albert to La Ronge and brings together teams from across Prince Edward Canada to promote traditional sled dog racing in Saskatchewan. Island www.canadianchallenge.com A ugust 12-22 Old Home Week is the time when Prince Edward Island embraces Manitoba and celebrates itself and it has F ebruary 12-21 been running since 1888. From Winnipeg’s Festival du Voyageur was musical performances to animal founded in 1969 by a group of Saint- acts to some of Canada’s most Boniface entrepreneurs in the city’s popular buskers and performers, French Quarter. Now it is a ten-day each year brings something new to province-wide celebration of sights, the line-up. sounds, snow and spirit, dubbed www.oldhomeweekpei.com The World’s Largest Kitchen Party. It celebrates the ever-growing French- Nova Scotia Canadian community in Western Canada and its emphasis is on the J uly 17 beauty of winter. When you hear the sound of festivalvoyageur.mb.ca bagpipes you immediately think – not so fast… the Halifax Highland Games and Scottish Festival Ontario until march 21 is one of the first in a summer round of pipe, drum and band J uly 8-18 Cultural Olympiad trials providing opportunity for The Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest The Cultural Olympiad, built around the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, solo players and bands to display showcases local, regional, national their skills. Points earned by the and international musicians, with the will bring not only the best artists from across Canada and around the world to Vancouver, but will also see that opportunity extended across the competitors will go toward Atlantic aim of supporting and sustaining Canada Pipe Band Association the growth of emerging and diverse whole country. In Vancouver, the Cultural Olympiad will include The Blue Dragon, certified award recognition at the musical genres, from Québec’s celebrated Robert Lepage’s brilliant The Dragons’ Trilogy. end of the season. www.ottawabluesfest.ca It marks the return of that play’s central figure, an artist who resurfaces in www.halifaxhighlandgames.com Shanghai 20 years later. Set in the effervescent paradox that is modern Québec China, his encounters with a former art school classmate and a young Chinese artist open unexpected doors and bring about fundamental Newfoundland A ugust 14-22 changes for each of them. and Labrador The International Balloon Festival, Beyond Eden is a new musical telling the story of two long-time at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, is F ebruary 19-28 friends who set out to rescue cherished totem poles in an abandoned The Corner Brook Winter Carnival, the biggest gathering of balloons Haida village and encounter unexpected struggles, joys and ultimately, in Western Newfoundland is a in Canada and a major event for transformations along the way. This world premiere is based on true events celebration of winter and runs for all the family. With an average of the historical 1957 expedition led by anthropologist-archaeologist Wilson ten days. It celebrates its 39th year of 350,000 visitors per year, the Duff and his Haida friend, world acclaimed artist Bill Reid. in 2010 and features include a event’s popularity has risen steadily Rain, from Montréal’s Cirque Éloize is about the magic of nostalgia – Leifling competition, to be the best- throughout the years. There are 115 moments snatched from time and forever frozen. Combining acrobatic dressed Viking and the popular hot air balloons, including many feats with physical poetry, Cirque Éloize brings the wonder of childhood snow sculpture contest. special shapes, major shows, and to vivid life in this amazing circus arts performance. Full of hope, joy and www.cornerbrookwintercarnival.ca a huge site that hosts an incredible sweet longing, Rain reminds us that not only rain falls from the sky – signs, variety of activities. promises and unexpected surprises pour down as well. www.montgolfieres.com www.vancouver2010.com

49 www.gravitymagazines.com/canada L ’étranger An outsider’s view of Canada and things Canadian…

t was my geography teacher, rest to fumble along somehow. when I was 17, who gave me “The grunting elephant as bed- Imy first inkling of what it must mate” is a phrase commonly used be like to be Canadian, when he in Canada, which refers to an im- suggested that Australians had a portant and obvious topic, which stronger sense of national identity everyone is aware of, but isn’t dis- because they were an island conti- cussed because it is uncomfortable nent. Canadians, on the other hand, or unpleasant. It usually means the have been separated from the most big scary neighbour to the south. powerful nation on Earth by only a very long, often invisible line. g runting eLEPHant Forty years and numerous visits R ecently, however, the editor to different parts of Canada later, I of www.canadianimmigtant.ca, think he was both right and wrong. Naeem “Nick” Noorani, used a On the one hand, no-one can deny similar phrase to open a debate on that Canadians do share many racist attitudes among both “estab- cultural values, social principles lished” and new Canadians. and lifestyle features with their He wrote: “I was speaking to a dominant neighbour – Canadi- group of immigrants when one per- ans even have their own distinct son of Indian origin came up to me version of that uniquely American Political cartoon ca 1910 and said, ‘What I don’t like about “world” sport known as American Canada is the huge number of football, though hockey remains Chinese people here.’ Obviously he the national passion. thought that since I was of Indian But on the other hand, the “Cana da may be a melting pot of origin, I would agree with him. perpetual need to differentiate migrants from many parts of the “Instead I replied, ‘I have many themselves from the USA seems to Chinese friends and I don’t think have bred in Canadians a patriotic world…but those big spaces seem like you do. This is Canada. We all need for differentiation. to me the greatest leveller. live in a multicultural society, and that’s something you should get lbadmi er l e ocracies ” used to’.” S o while American consumer how important is that in a country breakfast on blueberry muffins and It cast my mind back to that ge- and cultural “imperialism” has with such vast open spaces in pancakes smothered with maple ography classroom all those years made strong advances north of which to play and reconnect with syrup. ago. Then, if you said Canada, the border, Canada’s institutions nature? Canadians seem lured by a people thought of Mounties and and ethos of fair-mindedness have Canadians still pride themselves sense of adventure spawned by lumberjacks. Even when Ben John- always seemed to have more in on being a “vertical mosaic”, as their distinct sense of place and son won, and was then stripped of, common with Europe’s liberal opposed to the American melt- that’s as true of the vast wilderness his Olympic Gold, I don’t think my democracies. ing pot, of immigrants from many of northern Québec as it is of pris- generation had grasped the multi- After all, Canada has banned parts of the world, especially the tine territories such as the Yukon. cultural nature of Canada society. the death penalty, has, unlike the Commonwealth, to the extent Yet, for all the fierce sense of The road is never easy, but rio a USA, grassroots universal health t that historical tensions between independence, Canadians aren’t al- Canada has much to be proud of n O

f care and other social services, o

its Anglophone and Francophone ways as confident as they might be in the way it has welcomed diverse s ve i doesn’t have its neighbour’s levels h communities now seem to be more that national identity and cultural ethnic groups and cultures. Indeed, c r A

, of gun crime, and doesn’t indulge sovereignty will prevail – the federal perhaps the most telling statistic of l about language rights than cultural l in “born again” Christian funda- origin. But those big spaces seem system and historic regionalism the 2001 census is that more than onne C c mentalism. Nor does it start wars. to me the greatest leveller. mean that provincial governments 11 million people chose to describe n M n o t Indeed, one British national news- Visit a campground in Québec, often jostle for economic parity their ethnic origin as Canadian – w e N paper commentator suggested not Ontario, or anywhere in this vast within Canada. And so, in more more than double the number who ’ ” . . ” ’ y t long ago that Canada should join land and you’ll struggle to see lugubrious moments Canadians, selected English, French, Scot- nori i the EU before Turkey, and the no- m the difference. Similar people will may fear the incursion of American tish or Irish – rather than the fact e h t

tion, if wacky, remains the currency

t emerge from the same Winnebagos; mega-corporations in Alberta, the that there were 30 ethnic groups i u s of more than a few blogs. o they’ll play volleyball in camp and Texas of the north, while BC could of 150,000 people, including a t g a l For me, Canada actually take the same sort of hikes through assimilate with the US West Coast, million First Nations People and f

A combines some American positives bear country. They’ll gather round Yukon with Alaska, while Ontario 300,000 Métis. vor. ‘ vor. a f – a sense of can-do and ambition would defiantly stand alone, leav- Long live the Canadian national t the same barbecues and in all prob- – with the European notion that

e ability drink the same beer and eat ing Québec to finally go its own dream! h “T nex work is not everything in life. And the same burgers and wings. And way as a sovereign nation and the L’Étranger

50 Canadamagazine Thank you for reading this prototype issue of Canada Magazine. We hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve seen and will jump on board with us when the magazine itself goes live in 2010. Forthcoming issues will follow a similar format to this issue, with regular features on a wide variety of Canadian destinations, plus real-life stories about the people that make this vast country such a very special place – or indeed many places! The Canada Magazine website will be going live soon and that’ll be the place for updates on the countdown to our launch in early summer 2010. So just visit www.gravitymagazines.com/canada to keep right up to date with progress! Canada Magazine will be published three times in our first year, in spring, early summer and autumn. That frequency will rise to bi-monthly in our second year.

Sci ubs r ptions UK – five issues £25 Europe – five issues @€35 Rest of world – $70 (USD) You can pay by sterling (GBP) cheque on a UK bank account, by international money order or online at www.gravitymagazines/canada Please note that all subscriptions paid to Gravity Magazines are securely held in our client bank account and only drawn down as each issue is published.

Oe th r salES W atch out for Canada Magazine on newstands in due course.

Av nd ertisi g Canada Magazine promises the best route to the discerning visitor to Canada – our readership of 50,000* will comprise both family and adventure travellers, as well as people aspiring to begin a new life in Canada. Although we expect a strong focus on readers in the UK and Ireland, our subscription sales will reflect interest in Canada across the whole world.

Av nd ertisi g rates 2010

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