O Canada! My Favorite Photos of the Country Known as “The Great White North”

In honor of Canada Day, today I am sharing some of my favorite photos taken in the country known as “The Great White North.”  My travels to Canada have so far brought me to the provinces of Québec, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta, and British Columbia.  The varying cultures and landscapes of Canada make it a fascinating country to photograph.  It was hard to whittle it down, but in this post, I have gathered my 25 favorite photos of the country.  I hope you enjoy them!

I took this photo of a double rainbow over Moraine Lake in Alberta in 2015.  As if serendipitously, on my first visit to this beautiful alpine lake, I had just missed the sunrise but this rainbow made the trip worthwhile.

Back in 2015, I had the opportunity to take this portrait of Lewis Pederson, the saddle repairman and leather maker at the Bar U Ranch National Historic Site in Alberta.  This incredibly interesting ranch is located on the Cowboy Trail near Calgary.

Lake Louise in Alberta at night has the nice side effect of being illuminated by the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.  I wasn’t really trying to get the milky way in this shot, but it makes a nice little detail (on the left).

In this photo, female grizzly munches on wildflowers at the Lake Louise Ski Resort in Banff National Park.  Going to Banff National Park doesn’t guarantee a grizzly sighting, which makes getting one all that much sweeter.

A trip to Lake Louise is not complete without a canoe ride!

Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park reminds me of a scene in the Wizard of Oz.

A pleasant walk around Lake Louise yielded this photo of the boat house through the trees.

In this photo, huskies can be seen pulling a dog sled at l’Érablière du Cap in Lévis, Québec, just outside Québec City.

This photo of Lac Beauvert in Jasper National Park in Alberta is one of my favorite photos.

The beautiful Château Frontenac in Québec City at sunrise, photographed from the Hilton Québec.

I love the look of the icicles hanging off the roofs of the buildings of Québec City in winter.

After waiting and waiting and waiting at the puffin viewing site in Elliston, Newfoundland, a puffin finally flew up close enough for me to get this shot.

I gave a framed print of this photo of a sunrise in Trinity, Newfoundland, to my parents for Christmas last year.

I just love the rugged scenery of Fort Point in Trinity, Newfoundland.

A British flag inside St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Trinity, Newfoundland, shows the country’s continued ties to the United Kingdom.

I used a telephoto lens to capture this view of the Basilica of St. John the Baptist and the Battery in the city of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

The inside of Ottawa’s Notre Dame Cathedral is simply stunning.

The lobby of the Fairmont le Château Montebello in Québec is best viewed from the second level to get the full effect.  This hotel has the distinction of being the world’d largest log cabin.

Ottawa’s Parliament is lit up at night with a stunning projection show in the summer.  This photo was actually taken prior to the start of the show.

Ottawa’s West Block of Parliament can be seen at sunset in this photo, photographed from the Fairmont le Château Laurier.

Did you know Québec City is home to North America’s only true Ice Hotel?  Yes, you can actually stay in this place, but it doesn’t sound like it would be a pleasant experience if you ask me.  That being said, it is a neat thing to see and it is open to the public for tours.

I took this photo of Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde in Montreal back in 2011.

I took this photo looking through the trees at Spirit Island on Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park in Alberta.  Spirit Island is very sacred to the indigenous people who used to hunt and gather there, so no one is allowed on the island.

I photographed the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta from a distance.  As it borders Glacier National Park in Montana, the two parks together are known as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

I couldn’t share a series of photos I took in Canada without sharing something from the Glengarry area.  This is the Big Beaver School House located at the Glengarry Pioneer Museum in Dunvegan, Ontario.  The British flag reminds visitors that when this schoolhouse was being used, in the early 20th century, Canada was still a British territory.  The reason for my visit to Glengarry last summer was because I have ancestors who emigrated from Scotland around the turn of the 19th century and settled in Glengarry.  Eventually, over the generations, they ended up in upstate New York, which is where I am from.  It was cool to visit an area where my ancestors lived.

This is a bonus photo, but it doesn’t count, because it wasn’t taken in Canada!  I felt, though, that I would be remiss if I shared my favorite photos of Canada without also sharing this photo.  This is a corn field near the site where my great grandmother was born on the border of New York and Québec.  All that separated the US and Canada was a wire (not pictured).  The photo is geotagged as being taken in Québec, but it was actually taken in New York State.  We have old family photos of the house (which straddled the international border) but today nothing remains.

To see more of my photos of Canada and my other travels, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

All photos in this post © Samantha Decker and may not be reused without permission.