Manitoba, Saskatchewan,
North Canada Guide

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When to Travel to North Canada:
Best: May-Sept, or June- Aug for the north. Worst: Oct-March.

Polar bears near Churchill, Manitoba.

Churchill, Manitoba:
The best place on earth to see polar bears, whether out on the icy tundra in a Tundra buggy, or rooting around Churchill's garbage cans lit only by the northern lights.
Also around are red and white foxes, arctic hares, lemmings, owls, falcons...
Winter in Churchill lasts from October to June, and the short summer sees a flurry of wildlife activity as hundreds of species of birds, beluga whales [picture top left] and fur seals stop by en route for their breeding grounds.
Needless to say, whale, seal, bird and polar bear watching are the main attractions in this bizarre and isolated town, with the northern lights [aurora borealis, picture top right] as colourful backing.
There is more information on the Arctic Circle page.

Best season in Churchill:
Wildlife watching: October for polar bear migration, Sept-Nov OK.
July-August for beluga whales, seals in the bay and migrating birds.

A hideous but practical and secure mobile lodge for overnighting while on polar bear watch.

Winnipeg, Manitoba:
A small oasis in a prairie desert, Manitoba's capital is ethnically diverse and culturally very much alive, in spite of, or perhaps because of, the long white winters. Architecture is Canada's usual mix of Victorian, restrained modern and dull.
A few kilometres out of town is Oak Hammock Marsh wildlife park which is a transit point for hundreds of species of migratory birds - best in spring and autumn - as well as the usual mammals, deer, moose, coyotes, minks and more.
Local activities range from skating, curling, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter to golf, biking, fishing and jogging in the summer.

An Arctic Fox on the snowy tundra near Hudson Bay, Manitoba.

The Northwest Territories is Canada's largest chunk of land with perhaps the smallest population - mostly Inuit and Native Americans, living by hunting and fishing and often coming into conflict with oil and mineral exploration concerns. The area around Great Slave Lake is home to many native people and a classic wilderness activity destination.

An Inuit village behind a rock inukshuk, normally built to help Inuit navigate around bleak open spaces, Nunavut.

Nunavut [which means Our Land in Inuit], Canada's newest province was finally created from the eastern part of the Northwest Territories in 1999 and is home to the Inuit people [aka Eskimos]. A cold, barren and impressively rugged land with a fascinating culture enjoying their new land.
Eskimo is considered to be a pejorative term in Canada and Greenland, though not in other Inuit communities of Alaska and Siberia.

An heroic loooong bike ride on the Top of the World Highway, Yukon.

The Yukon, in north-west Canada, offers the largest non-polar icefield in the world in the Kluane National Park, complete with fresh icebergs plopping into Lowell Lake, and heavenly light shows [aka aurora borealis] most winter nights. So if you like tough landscapes, isolation, hiking, biking, sketching and ice, this could be your kind of place.

Only ghosts still haunt this Saskatchewan town.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba are vast provinces, sparsely populated and little travelled by non-residents of Canada. Saskatchewan is primarily prairie grassland, farmland and trees, while Manitoba is more diverse with numerous lakes, rivers, waterfalls, hills and, of course, trees.
Both provinces attract lovers of remote wilderness activities such as camping, hiking, hunting and fishing, and both have practically impenetrable northern areas during the long, dark, icy winter.

Saskatchewan Festival:
Aug, Saskatoon International Fringe Festival, lively mixed theatre offerings.

Summer Bugs off:
Some parts of North Canada have a dramatic number of insects, especially mosquitoes and blackflies, in July and August. Be prepared. Check tent netting and zippers, bring DEET based repellent, anti-bug hats, anti-sting medication and read Bugbog's mosquito page.

Arctic Circle | BC & Alberta Guide | Ontario Guide

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