Canada’s currency is the Canadian dollar (symbol: $, ISO currency code: CAD), commonly referred to as a “buck” (slang), “loonie” (nickname for the $1 coin, now also a slang term for the currency), or in Quebec, un piastre. The Canadian dollar is considered to be one of the world’s major currencies, and is widely available at banks and money changers throughout the world. You can assume that any “$” sign you see while in Canada (and in this article) refers to Canadian dollars unless it includes other initials (eg. “US$” for U.S. dollars).

One dollar consists of 100 cents (¢). Canadian coins are 5¢ (nickel), 10¢ (dime), 25¢ (quarter), $1 (loonie) and $2 (toonie). The 1¢ coin (penny) has been eliminated. The nickel, dime, and quarter are silver in colour; the loonie is gold-coloured, and the toonie has a bimetallic design that is gold-coloured in the centre and silver-coloured on the outer part making it look a bit like a two-euro coin. The dime is the smallest; the others increase in size in order of denomination. Canadian notes (or “bills”) come in $5 (blue), $10 (purple), $20 (green), $50 (red) and $100 (brown) denominations. New bills are made from a polymer; old paper notes (including the obsolete $1 [green/black] and $2 [terra-cotta] bills) no longer circulate but are still considered legal tender.

The nickel, dime, and quarter roughly match their US counterparts in size, shape, and colour, but not in metallic composition. Therefore American coins are often accepted at par in Canada, and vice-versa (at least by humans; machines are more discriminating).

Increases in oil prices tend to increase the value of the Canadian dollar relative to its US counterpart. During the 1970s Arab-US oil embargo, the Canadian dollar was worth more than the US dollar; it slipped to about 66 cents US by the mid-1990s, recovering as oil prices rose after the turn of the millennium. During the US sub-prime mortgage collapse, the US dollar again dropped below its Canadian counterpart. Since then, the Canadian dollar has been trading slightly to somewhat below the US dollar; as of mid-2018, it’s worth around 75 US cents.

Because of the historical strength of the US dollar compared to the Canadian dollar, goods have a higher dollar price in Canada than equivalent goods south of the border. When the Canadian dollar is high, Canadians living near the border flock to the US to make major purchases cheaply. The reverse effect when the US dollar is high is less pronounced and more focused on tourism than on retail.

BY PLANE:

The best way to get around the country is by air. Air Canada is the main national carrier, and has by far the largest network and most frequent schedules. For travel between major centres, WestJet offers competitive fares. Because of protectionism policies favouring Canadian carriers and high taxes, fares tend to be more expensive than flying similar distances in the United States, Australia or China, and sometimes, transiting in the US could be cheaper than a direct domestic flight. Most major airports are served by public transit. This consists of trains and feeder buses running at peak frequencies ranging from five to fifteen minutes or less (Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Ottawa). Service may be spotty or non-existent late at night or on weekends if you are outside the major centres. To travel to the city centre/downtown, one or more connections are required in all cities except Vancouver, Montreal, Winnipeg and Ottawa, making a taxi or shuttle a better idea for large groups or those with a lot of luggage.

Domestic flights in Canada are generally similar to those in the US in terms of service levels; airlines charge economy class passengers for meals and check-in baggage, and these are only included in the ticket price for business class passengers.

BY BUS:

Travel by intercity coach is available between most major cities in Canada. Service is best in the densely packed Windsor-Quebec corridor between Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa. Service in this corridor is provided by a number of companies:

• Megabus (Coach Canada): Toronto – Kingston – Montreal
  
• Greyhound: Toronto – Ottawa, Montreal – Ottawa, and routes between Toronto and southwestern Ontario
  
• Orleans Express: Montreal – Quebec City

DRL runs a daily Newfoundland service, and Maritime Bus operates in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick.

Since the discontinuation of Greyhound’s Western Canada service, a cross-Canada bus trip is essentially impossible.

There are bus services in the most populated parts of eastern Canada, but service through northern Ontario to Winnipeg is provided on daytime runs by Kasper Bus from White River, requiring an overnight layover Thunder Bay. There is no carrier offering westbound service from Winnipeg to Saskatchewan (as of January 2019). Rider Express offers a Regina-Saskatoon-Edmonton service, and a daily Calgary-Vancouver run.

BY CAR:

Many travellers to Canada rent a car. Although somewhat expensive if you are travelling alone, this can be an economically reasonable alternative if you are sharing the costs with others. However, there are many limitations and drawbacks on car rentals in Canada, including:

• There can be very high surcharges associated with dropping off the car at a different location than where it was picked up.
  
• Unlimited kilometres are usually offered for the province you rent it in only. As soon as you enter another province, even for a few kilometres, your entire trip gets limited (mostly to 200 km a day).
  
• Driving is usually permitted on paved roads only.
  
• There are no manual transmission rental cars available in Canada.

In some cases, frugal travellers may be able to “earn” budget automobile travel by delivering a car across Canada. The option is not common. Nor does it offer the opportunity to spend much time stopping along the way. However, it can be a cheap way to cross Canada while seeing the interior. Canada Drive Away and Hit the Road are options.

Traffic moves on the right in Canada with most cars being left-hand-drive (as in the USA and France).

Driving within Montreal, Vancouver or Toronto is not always practical; these cities are densely populated and parking can be difficult to find and/or expensive. All three cities provide extensive public transit, so it may be better to park in a central location, or at your hotel or lodging, then use public transit. You can usually obtain maps of the public transit systems at airports, subway kiosks, and train stations. Outside those cities, public transport tends to be unreliable or non-existent, so a car is almost essential just to get around at all.

Gasoline in 2016 was $1.00-1.40 per litre in most Canadian cities. Debit and credit cards without the “chip and PIN” are not recognized at the pumps, although most companies accept the cards if they are brought inside to the cashier.

In general, foreign visitors are allowed to drive using their foreign licence for up to 90 days if their licence is in English or French, after which they have to obtain a Canadian licence from the province or territory they are residing in. Foreign licences in other languages must be accompanied by an International Driving Permit (IDP). Most foreigners are required to take a written and practical test before they can get a Canadian licence, though individual provinces may have reciprocal agreements that exempt some foreigners from testing requirements; check with the relevant provincial government to be sure. Licensing laws and road rules vary slightly from province to province.

Many jurisdictions also have red light and speed cameras that issue fines via mail to the car’s registered owner, again via licence plate when the car is automatically photographed running (disobeying) a red traffic light or going above the speed limit. The above warning regarding rental agency policies applies to these as well. As the ticket is sent to the vehicle owner (not the driver) long after the alleged offence, it is difficult or impossible to obtain due process or a fair trial, making these traps a lucrative source of revenue for local and provincial governments.

BY TRAIN:

Passenger rail service in Canada, although safe and comfortable, is often an expensive, slow and inconvenient alternative to other types of transport. The corridor between Windsor and Quebec City is an exception to this generalization. The routes outside of this corridor are either the single day trains in Ontario and Quebec or the four multi day trains outside of the Central provinces. The approximately three-day train ride between Toronto and Vancouver called The Canadian is the most famous, and VIA’s flagship train, which passes through the splendour of the Canadian prairies and the Rocky Mountains, with domed observation cars to allow passengers to take in the magnificent views. The Ocean, a two day train trip that passes from Montreal to Halifax, passes through the Canadian Maritimes and provides excellent ocean views in its journey in Northern New Brunswick. The Winnipeg-Churchill route takes two days to travel to the shores of Hudson Bay and is the only passenger train service to Northern Canada. In British Columbia, The Skeena travels from Jasper to Prince Rupert over the course of 2 days and provides some of the best scenery aboard any VIA train. However, this train overnights in Prince George and a ticket does not include accommodation in the town. Additionally, the route travels along a heavily trafficked rail route, so expect multiple delays along the way. Unlike in Europe or East Asia, Canada does not have high-speed rail lines, and the Canadian railway network is primarily used for freight transport. Although passenger trains legally have right of way on the rails, VIA trains are significantly smaller than freight trains and as such will always yield to passing freight trains. VIA travels on Canadian National owned trackage exclusively: As a result, VIA trains do not travel through Regina-Calgary-Banff as this track is owned by Canadian Pacific Rail.

Make arrangements ahead of time to get lower fares. Via Rail is the main Canadian passenger rail company and often has 50% off sales or last minute discounts. Tickets in coach are often reasonably priced and competitive with equivalent plane tickets, however these tickets do not include food and drink on board, requiring coach passengers to pay in the service cars. Sleeper tickets, though significantly more expensive, include food in the prices and allow other privileges exclusive to such passengers.

Some tourist trains can also get you from A to B but their focus is mostly on sightseeing, not transportation and they are usually much more expensive than a plane, car or bus trip would be. The Rocky Mountaineer is the most well known and travels from Calgary to Vancouver along the historic Canadian Pacific Railway. However, this train is not a viable inter-city train as tickets are very expensive and oriented towards sight seeing tourists exclusively.

EAT:

English Canadians may be mystified if you ask where you can get Canadian food. English Canadian cuisine varies radically from region to region. Some specialties include maple syrup, Nanaimo bars (chocolate-topped no-bake squares with custard or vanilla butter filling and crumb base), butter tarts (tarts made with butter, sugar, and eggs), beaver tails (fried dough topped with icing sugar), fiddleheads (curled heads of young ferns), peameal bacon (a type of back bacon made from lean boneless pork loin, trimmed fine, wet cured, and rolled in cornmeal; eaten at breakfast with eggs or for lunch as a sandwich), and Halifax donairs (sliced beef meatloaf wrapped in pitas and garnished with onions, tomatoes, and a sweet condensed milk sauce). They are an important, if somewhat humble, part of the Canadian culinary landscape. In other respects, English Canadian cuisine is similar to that of the northern United States. Canadians may be unaware that they even have national dishes, especially in the more urbanized areas; that said, there is a rising trend among Canadian chefs and restaurateurs to offer locally produced ingredients, and most major cities have bistros that specialize in local and national cuisine. These specialties may even include game meat dishes, such as caribou, grouse, moose, venison, or wild turkey prepared in a variety of European styles.

French Canadian cuisine is distinctive and includes such specialties as tourtière, a meat pie dish that dates back to the founding of Quebec in the 1600s, cipaille (meat and vegetable pie), cretons (mince of pork drippings), ragoût de pattes (pigs’ feet stew), plorine (pork pie), oreilles de Christ (fried larding bacon), poutine, a dish consisting of French fries, cheese curds and gravy (its popularity has spread across the country and can be found from coast to coast), croquignoles (home-made doughnuts cooked in shortening), tarte à la farlouche (pie made of raisins, flour and molasses), tarte au sucre (sugar pie), and numerous cheeses and maple syrup products. In Acadian regions, available dishes will differ, and include poulet tricot, and poutine râpée (a potato dumpling with meat inside). Staples include baked beans, peas and ham. French-Canadian cuisine also incorporates elements of the cuisines of English-speaking North America, and, unsurprisingly, France.

The indigenous peoples of Canada have their own distinctive cuisines, though these have not caught on with the majority of Canadians due to the use of exotic ingredients (eg. bannock, bison, deer, muktuk), and you will often have to travel to their respective areas in order to sample these. Nevertheless, indigenous restaurants are also becoming more common in the cities.

One peculiar tradition that you may notice in nearly every small town is the Chinese-Canadian restaurant. A lot of the reason for this is the role Chinese immigration played historically in the early settlement of Canada, particularly in the building of the trans-continental railway. These establishments sell the usual fast food Chinese cuisine. American visitors will find this cuisine familiar, as it developed in parallel with a virtually identical version in the States. In Toronto and Vancouver, two large centres of Chinese immigration, one can find authentic Chinese cuisine that rivals that of Hong Kong and Shanghai. In Toronto, visit the Chinatown area of Spadina-Dundas; if north of the city, consider a visit to the Markham area, which has had seen an influx of newer Chinese immigrants. Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver is regarded as one of the best places in the world for Cantonese food due to the large number of immigrants from Hong Kong.

Montreal is well known for its Central and Eastern European Jewish specialties, including local varieties of bagels and smoked meat. In the prairie provinces, you can find great Ukrainian food, such as perogies, due to large numbers of Ukrainian immigrants.

If you are more adventurous, in the larger cities especially, you will find a great variety of ethnic tastes from all over Europe, Asia and elsewhere. You can find just about any taste and style of food in Canada, from a 20-oz T-Bone with all the trimmings to Japanese sushi (indeed, much of the salmon used in sushi in Japan comes from Canada). Consult local travel brochures upon arrival. They can be found at almost any hotel and are free at any provincial or municipal tourist information centre.

Americans will find many of their types of cuisine and brands with subtle differences, and many products unique to Canada, such as brands of chocolate bars and the wide availability of authentic maple syrup.

DRINK:

The drinking age in Canada varies from province to province. In Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec the age is 18, while in the rest of the provinces and territories it is 19. Acceptable forms of ID include a Canadian driver’s licence, a passport or a non-driver provincial identification card. Foreign driver’s licences may not be accepted, the main exceptions being U.S. licences, so bring your passport with you if you want to drink. A peculiarity of many Canadian provinces is that liquor and beer can only be sold in licensed stores. In some provinces, supermarkets may sell only beer and wine, and many will not sell alcohol at all. Supermarkets in some provinces may have their own liquor store nearby. Prices may seem high to Americans from certain states; bringing alcohol into Canada (up to 1L of hard liquor, 1.5L of wine, or a 24 pack of beer), is advisable. American cigarettes are also quite popular to bring in as they are not sold in Canada.

Beer:

Canadian mass-market beers (e.g., Molson’s, Labatt’s) are generally a pale gold lager, with an alcohol content of 4% to 6%. This alcohol level may be higher than popular beers in the US or Great Britain. Like most mass-market beers, they are not very distinctive (although Americans will notice that some beers made by these companies are not sold in the States), however, Canadian beer drinkers do support local brewers. There has been a major increase in the number and the quality of beers from micro-breweries. Although many of these beers are only available near where they are produced, many mid-scale to top-end bars carry locally brewed beers. Many cities have brew pubs, which brew and serve their own beers, often with a full kitchen backing the bar. These spots offer a great chance to sample different beers and to enjoy food selected to complement the beers.

Wine:

The two largest wine-producing regions in Canada are the Niagara Region in Ontario and the Okanagan in British Columbia. Other wine-producing areas include the shores of Lake Erie, Georgian Bay (Beaver River Valley) and Prince Edward County in Ontario, and the Similkameen valley, southern Fraser River valley, southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands in British Columbia. There are also small scale productions of wine in southern Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan.

Ice wine, a (very) sweet dessert wine made from frozen grapes is a Canadian specialty, with products made by Inniskillin vinery in particular found at airport duty-free stores around the world. In contrast to most other wine-producing regions in the world, Canada, particularly the Niagara Region, consistently undergoes freezing in winter and has become the world’s largest ice wine producer. However, due to the tiny yields (5-10% compared to normal wine), it’s relatively expensive, with half-bottles (375 mL/13 fl oz) starting at $50. Canadian ice wine is somewhat sweeter than German varieties.

Distilled spirits:

Canada is famous in other countries for its distinctive rye whiskey, a beverage commonly appreciated by Canadians. Popular brands include Canadian Club, Wisers, and Crown Royal. In addition to the plentiful selection of inexpensive blended ryes, you may find it worth exploring the premium blended and unblended ryes available at most liquor stores. One of the most-recognized unblended ryes is Alberta Premium, which has been recognized as the “Canadian Whiskey of the Year” by famed whiskey writer Jim Murray.

Canada also makes a small number of distinctive liqueurs. One of the most well-known, and a fine beverage for winter drinking, is Yukon Jack, a whiskey-based liqueur with citrus overtones. It’s the Canadian equivalent of the USA’s Southern Comfort, which has a similar flavour but is based on corn whiskey (bourbon) rather than rye.

Cape Breton Island is home to North America’s first (and Canada’s only) single malt whiskey.

Accommodations in Canada vary substantially in price depending on time and place. In most cities and many tourist areas, expect to pay upwards of $100 or more for a good hotel room. If inquiring always ask if taxes are included; they most often are not, and can often add 15% to the cost once local, provincial and federal levies are taken into account.

Hotels play an integral part in Canadian history, with some of the country’s most well-known landmarks being hotels. The Canadian Railway Hotels are a series of grand hotels that were constructed in major cities (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Windsor, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, St. John’s and Halifax) in the early 1900s. Most of these are still standing and owned by corporations such as Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. The Grand Railway Hotels are all four star franchises, with prices ranging from $150–400 a night depending on the city and the size of the room. These hotels are architecturally stunning and sumptuously decorated, and in addition to being exceptional places to stay, are tourist attractions in their own right. Even if you are not staying in a Grand Railway hotel, it would be more than worthwhile to explore the main lobby or dine at the hotel restaurant.

In rural areas, motels (short for “motor hotel”) are small, simple hotels where you might pay as little as $40–60 for a night’s accommodation (especially in the offseason). These are diminishing in number as international chains have largely saturated the low-end of the market with economy, limited service hotels along major freeways. Most villages have B&B (bed and breakfast), people’s homes with suites for guests which are as distinctive in personality as their owners. Prices vary widely – anywhere from $45 a night to $140 a night – including a breakfast of some kind in the morning. Try bbcanada.com for listings.

Other options include cottage rentals on the lakes and in the countryside and apartment rentals in the cities. Prices compare to hotels and motels and this type of lodging provides some comfort of home while you are travelling.

Youth hostels are a good choice, offering lodging in shared dorms ($20–40) or private rooms ($45–80). Some useful resources are Hostelling International Canada/, Backpackers Hostels Canada ands SameSun Backpacker Lodge. Most hostels in Canada meet very high standards.

Some universities will rent their dormitory ( more commonly called “residence” or “res”) rooms in the academic off-season – May-August. Check university websites for more information.

A few hunting or fishing outfitters rent cabins or lodges, primitive rooms which provide access to some out of the way, off the grid lakeside rural location.

Finally, there is a large number of campgrounds in Canada. These range from privately owned R.V. parks to the publicly operated campgrounds in national and provincial parks, and are almost always well-kept and generally very beautiful. Almost every town and city will have at least one campground but, given Canada’s climate, these operations are inherently seasonal.