I usually fly on WestJet. I live in Calgary, WestJet's home base. I like the simplicity of WestJet: I pay them, they take me where I want to go. I'm very comfortable with them, even in spite of the ongoing pain their big software changeover has caused. But, I am going to make an effort to fly...

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I'm not sure a warm-weather person will pick Canada as a top destination spot from now until April, but every city does have some good indoor attractions. However, the beauty of Canada is largely in the scenery. This is off-peak travel time, great for road trips, a little hiking, a little Niagara ...

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Just weeks ago, this non-descript Columbian ground squirrel was a nobody, passed over time and again by Simon Cowell and the judges on Squirrel Idol. Fortunately, Melissa Brandt and her husband looked past the beady eyes and whiskers, and heard the beauty of the squeak. Within hours, Squirrel B. w...

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Photo Credit: CanmoreCanadaDay by Mike the Mountain on Flickr.com. Welcome to Canada, eh? You've heard us say it, but surprisingly, you don't recognize it in print. It's our national word, eh? Rhymes with lei, or even Tina Fey. It's pronounced "eh". Glad we sorted that out....

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Opening in early June, 2009 at The Military Museums in Calgary, "For You, the War is Over". This exhibit compares the experiences of German prisoners of war held in Alberta, Canada during the Second World War, and prisoners from Alberta held in Germany at the same time. Photo of Mt. Baldy co...

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In August I met a young lady recently arrived from India. She was curious and very eager to experience snow. I said to her, on that hot summer day, "Make sure you have boots to keep your feet warm." Well, I stand by that advice. This beautiful photo of a young lady walking in Canada's nati...

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When I was a little kid my teachers used to like to talk about how Canada gave Princess (now Queen) Beatrix of the Netherlands a place to stay during the Second World War. Queen Juliana, her mother, and her young children stayed in Stornoway, now the official residence of the leader of the oppositi...

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"I am Canadian" is part beer marketing slogan, part national manifesto. The "I am Polar Bear" label on this man plays on that. In Vancouver, B.C., on New Year's Day, and elsewhere in Canada, there is a piece of folly called the Polar Bear Swim. It's exactly what it sounds like, a really col...

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Thanks to Flickr.com user abmaac for sharing this photo of the American side of Niagara Falls in winter. Beautiful lights on the ice, abmaac. Licensed under CC Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License. I'm sorry to be a rabble rouser but this photo was the first hit on a search I did...

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Many people in Canada celebrate Hallowe'en, by dressing up their children in costumes, or going out partying, or staying home and giving candy to the kids who knock at the door. It's also traditional to carve a pumpkin, stick a candle in it, and set it in your window during candy-giving-out hours. ...

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The muskrat is a furry little water-loving animal, smaller than a beaver but also trapped for its pelt. Unlike the beaver, who gets to be on our nickel (5 cent piece), has been on postage stamps in the past, and recently featured in some TV ads for telephones, the muskrat has never achieved i...

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Seen from the air during the summer, southern Ontario is a green patchwork of fields and woodlots. Rapid urbanization is eating the family farms. Here we can see a golf course in the centre. The farms are laid out on a rectangular grid and were historically the property of one family per fa...

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The three Canadian prairie provinces, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, grow a lot of grain. In the days of local train services, spur rail lines serviced even the small communities, and farmers could take their grain to the local elevator. We still grow lots of wheat, still ship it by tra...

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Anne of Green Gables was not a real person. However, in a strange po-mo way, she has left as much of a trace of her non-existent time here on Earth as any mere mortal. Here's her barn, for example. Let's not fight the trend. The Anne of Green Gables stories by Lucy Maud Montgomery in...

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In honour of Calgary's ranching heritage, a few years ago when fibreglass animals were springing up across North America, a herd of painted plastic cows invaded Calgary. Painted by different groups and individuals, eventually they were auctioned off, or so the story goes, for charity. (I've ...

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