Best time to visit Canada

Visiting Canada in February

February is Canada’s coldest month. As well as competitive prices, you’ll also find February packed with fun winter festivals. 

Winterlude is held in Ottawa, taking place over the first three weekends in February. Activities include skating on the world’s largest ice skating rink, the Rideau Canal, as well as snow sculpture contests and concerts.

Head to Montreal when the days are at their shortest and darkest for the High Lights Festival, a celebration of light as an artistic medium. 

Also in February is the Yukon Quest, when husky handlers race over 1,600 kilometres through the northern wilderness.

Visiting Canada in March

March is a fantastic time to enjoy Canada’s natural treasures. Head to Yukon to sight polar bear cubs first emerging from their dens. You may also witness the aurora borealis. Further south, look out for the signs of spring. As well as the return journeys of migrant birds and the end of hibernation for mammals such as the black bear, the country’s remarkable floristic scenes are beginning to explode with colour. 

Visit Toronto to witness botanical events such as The Toronto Flower & Garden Show. Alternatively, head to Vancouver Cherry Festival or Festival du Bois.

Visiting Canada in April

In April, skiing trips in the Rockies are full of fine powder and crisp sunny days as spring sets in. The rates haven’t yet risen for seasonal tourists, but a diverse range of activities and experiences are available. Visit Fogo Island, midway along the Labrador Current, to view enormous icebergs drifting from the Arctic. While onboard a sturdy kayak with a knowledgeable guide at hand, you may be able to paddle closer.

Towards the end on the month, you can sample authentically Canadian alcoholic drinks at Edmonton’s International Beerfest, British Columbia Cider Week and the Annual Winnipeg Wine Festival.

Visiting Canada in May

May is one of Canada’s most beautiful seasons. Wildflowers take over the verges and brighten up the forest floors. Nature lovers are spoilt for choice. Enjoy great birdwatching before the foliage becomes too thick. Moose and caribou become more common, and young polar bear can be sighted in Nunavut. Along the western coastline, humpback, minke and beluga whales can be spotted offshore. 

May is a good month for golfing in the western provinces. Spring ski deals are still available in destinations such as Blackcomb Mountain. 

To celebrate spring in all its glory, witness the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa. 

Visiting Canada  in June

June is when British Columbia opens its doors to wildlife watchers and nature lovers of all descriptions. Head deep into the Great Bear Rainforest to track down grizzly, black and spirit bears as they emerge from hibernation. Even a casual countryside hike can bring any number of spectacular sightings. Visits to this stunning destination can also include helicopter hops to the remotest habitats for wildlife watching and the most secluded streams and lakes for fishing. You may also scan the rugged shoreline by kayak, exploring forgotten fjords and colossal cliff faces.

Visiting Canada in July

The incredible wildlife experiences continue throughout July. In Manitoba, you may have the fortune to spot two of the country’s most iconic creatures – polar bear and beluga whale. A close competitor, Victoria in British Colombia becomes a hotspot for orca, grey and minke whales. You may choose to ride the Rocky Mountaineer train to witness the enchanting beauty of this mountain range. 

July festivals include Canada Day, with lively celebrations in Ottawa, and the hugely popular Calgary Stampede. Meanwhile, Montreal hosts the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival and International Jazz Festival.

Visiting Canada in August

August is a fantastic time to witness the salmon run, an impressive natural phenomenon and a mouth-watering magnet for the grizzly bear. This is a fantastic opportunity for photographs of the fish hurtling up stream while grizzlies demonstrate their angling prowess with incredible patience and lightning-fast reactions. This exhilarating spectacle needs to be booked in advance. 

Get acquainted with the traditional side of Canada at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, offering four days of rural rhythms. Step further back in time at Bard on the Beach festival in Montreal, where you can watch nightly Shakespeare performances in Vanier Park.

Visiting Canada in September

During September, bears experience what’s known as hyperphagia, when the race is on for them to gain enough weight for hibernation. As they’re constantly hunting for food, sightings are at their highest throughout British Colombia. Humpback whale and orca also become more frequent as they scour the seas in search of returning salmon. 

The PEI International Shellfish Festival is a mecca for seafood lovers, featuring cooking competitions, kitchen parties and celebrity chef demonstrations. 

Toronto is where you can enjoy a fantastic Nuit Blanche, when many artistic and cultural projects are displayed until dawn. 

Visiting Canada in October

October is a great time to head north to destinations such as Churchill, where you can combine a search for the aurora borealis with polar bear tracking. You may choose to explore with an expert guide to increase the likelihood of sightings and to learn more about this mysterious landscape.   

Another key October experiences takes place further south, where it’s grape-harvesting season. Celebrate fall like a true Canadian in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, where a fantastic 10-day wine festival is held. Enjoy great tasting opportunities in one of the planet’s most striking destinations, full of azure lakes and snow-capped mountains.

Visiting Canada in November

As winter creeps closer, fewer tourists arrive in Canada. The major cities hold Santa Claus parades and cosy autumn markets. During this month, you can visit Calgary for their annual Winterfest at Ralph Klein Park to enjoy a huge range of fun and educational activities. 

Head to Ontario for the Niagara Falls Winter Festival of Lights. Watch concerts, children’s entertainment and impressive firework displays light up the sky over the waterfalls.

Ottawa hosts the brilliant Food and Wine Show in November. This two-day festival is hugely popular and, with hundreds of unique wines and spirits, it’s a great place to sample something new.

Visiting Canada in December

With lower prices and tourist numbers, and plenty of snow to go around, December is a great month for skiing in Canada. Christmas is another highlight to Decembers here, as the whole country celebrates with fervour, competing for the brightest and most elaborately decorated homes. As well as the familiar bustling shopping centres and serene carol-singing troupes, you may also note some quirky and unfamiliar customs. During this period, many Canadians eat sweets called chicken bones and barley candy, while in Quebec you can try la tourtiere, a wild-game pie traditionally eaten for Christmas dinner.