It was a tough night. A community and a nation came together last night as Humboldt gathered for their first game since last Spring’s tragedy to the Broncos when 16 were killed in a bus crash. In a game televised commercial-free in Canada and the United States, the Broncos faced the Nipawin Hawks, the team […]

As previously explained, we had been absent from these parts for an extended period tied to the passing of my Mom on May 5, 2017. The days and months preceding and after that day were not conducive to sharing the offbeat we offer. During these serious and challenging times, it did not seem appropriate to […]

It’s late Summer soon to be Fall – time to hit the road and explore. When heading on a journey of exploration in places previously unknown, I especially enjoy the opportunity to try get acquainted with my new surroundings and get a feeling for what makes a place distinctive. For me it all starts with […]

Leonard Cohen, the hugely influential Canadian singer and songwriter whose work spanned five decades, died at the age of 82. Wrote Rolling Stone of the Westmount, Quebec born Cohen: Cohen was the dark eminence among a small pantheon of extremely influential singer-songwriters to emerge in the Sixties and early Seventies. Only Bob Dylan exerted a […]

We’ve heard and read different accounts from different folks about the origins of the first Thanksgiving in North America. Here is the take courtesy of the Globe and Mail. No matter when, where or how you eat your turkey, we wish you well – now or later in November. This article was first published on […]

Where has the time gone ? Seems just liked yesterday that this magical combination of mass transit system and art gallery opened below Montreal. Once shiny and new, the Metro is now a routinely accepted part of urban life in Montreal – both negative and positive. But for a moment, and as a prelude for […]

It was an early Sunday morning. I was still half-alseep. the topic was the Super Bowl. I was only half listening. But then, suddenly, I strarted to have wake up and pay attention. A segment was addressing “Selling the Super Bowl”. The summary of the segment: Synopsis: The Super Bowl is the big game for […]

From the look of things it seems to be an anxious time. So we are told by the media, Presidential candiates and public opinion polls. Security is on the minds of many who believe that more has to be done at home and abroad to make us safe. It seems that no one and no […]

Santa and the North Pole always seemed to be safe heavens, off limits. But just as Global Warming has grown as a concern, so too is another controversy encroaching on the peace and good will near Santa’s Workshop. It seems that many nations have eyes for the North Pole. In tones that are started to […]

Have you ever found someone’s valuable and helped them reunite with it? Similarly, have you ever had someone please you by locating and reuniting you with a valuable you had feared lost ? Well, I’m here to tell you that there are valuables just lying there, and they are valuables, if attending to in a […]

The world is changing and so are the ways in which we interact and engage with one another. So also are changing the ways that we are entertained. Traditionally, messages and ways of mobilizing came from the top. Now there is a greater opportunity to be involved in the creation, the dissemination and the marketing […]

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, May 1915 In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved […]

Even with congestion, pollution and crumbling infrastructure, the network of highways we have assembled remains a monument to achievement. In the U.S., the Interstate System has been called the Greatest Public Works Project in History. The Trans-Canada (and its successor freeways/autoroutes), along with the railroads, hockey and the CBC is said to have played a […]

That was how Vincent Canby described the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire”, a British historical drama film tha told the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice.This quote by […]

Thanksgiving in Canada comes in October. It is tied to the harvest season, not the start of Christmas shopping. In fact, long before Plymouth and even before Jamestown there was Thanksgiving in what is now called Canada. The year was 1578 when English explorer Martin Frobisher gave thanks for a long journey (which failed in […]

It’s Thanksgiving in Canada – a time when folks not only give thanks, but also take stock of what it means to be Canadian. This article in Regina’s Post-Leader does both – describing eight Canadian destinations he is thankful for.Jim Byers writes:I have been privileged to live in what I think is the greatest country […]

Six goalies who left their stamp on the game can now be found in your mailbox. Canada Post unveiled their Great Canadian Goalie stamps on Thursday October 1. The limited edition stamps feature Bernie Parent, Johnny Bower, Lorne “Gump” Worsley, Tony Esposito, Ken Dryden, and Martin Brodeur. All living honourees were in attendance except for […]

The man who helped turned an empty farm field into one of the top fiddle festivals in Atlantic Canada has died. Peter Chaisson of nearby Bear River collapsed Sunday while doing what he loved – playing or listening to fiddle music, wrote the Guardian of PEI. He was 72. The heavy downpour on the final […]

Professional athletes receive many requests – from appearances to autographs, et. al. Demands are made upon them and their time. I was always impressed how generous Jean Beliveau always was with his time and spirit. We are told that pro athletes are not role models. The example Mr. Beliveau set was important to me and […]

Finally found some parade music for Canada Day. Here’s a playlist of 12 selections. Happy Canada Day and happy marching ! This article was first published on http://www.journeysinto.com.

I write to you from the State side of the border. It will be July 4th on Saturday – parade, town fair, hot dogs, baseball, Louis Armstrong music, Sousa, fireworks. An All-American day. We write asking Canadians to share with us something distinctively “Canadian” you do to mark Canada. Clearly, it is a day off. […]

A Q and A on the origins of what is now la Fete Nationale (“National Holiday”) of Quebec This article was first published on http://www.journeysinto.com.

In 1977, an Order in Council by Lieutenant Governor Hugues Lapointe, on the advice of René Lévesque, declaring June 24 the national holiday in Quebec.Prior to that designation the holiday celebrated annually on June 24 was to mark the feast day of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The feast day of Saint John […]

Perhaps it’s inevitable, a sign of “progress and change”, but we read this morning with disappointment of a report that Canadian towns could see a number of bank branch closures as customers shift away from entering local branches for everyday banking. “As all the banks look at their retail banking footprint in small town Canada, […]

So much has been written and said about the rise , fall and reboot of the industrial world of Detroit and Michigan. Much less has been seen about the story from the perspective on the other side of the river in Windsor, Ontario. Now, however, a fabulous narrative is just a click away. The Windsor […]

That is what some folks visiting the Calgary Stampede might be asking if they got a look at one of the menus at the event. The Stampede has introduced a number of more upscale items to its menu. For example, there is a foot-long bratwurst infused with cognac (Remy Martin Louis XIII that sells for […]

I have enjoyed listening to reports from Eric Weiner for years on National Public Radio and elsewhere. Recently I stumbled upon this essay fo his posted at bbcnews.com. Personally, I have always been drawn to Canada, things Canadian and the peoples of Canada. But, as an old-time hockey fan, I must think that there are […]

A new logo has just been announced for Canada’s 150 th anniversary. And, already there is controversy surrounding it. Selected from 300 entries in a contest aimed at students, the winning design is a stylized maple leaf made up of multi-coloured diamond shapes. It will be featured in all Government of Canada products and events […]

Jim Fanning, a longtime Montreal Expos general manager who spent over 60 years in a variety of roles in professional baseball, has died. He was 87. Fanning was named the Expos’ first GM in August 1968 and spent 25 years with the club. He served as vice-president, scout and had two stints as manager (1981-’82, […]

http://i.cbc.ca/1.3047125.1429877808!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/robert-cohen-rcmp-being-canadian-movie.jpg Los Angeles-based comedy writer and displaced Canadian Rob Cohen was sick of battling the usual stereotypes of Canadians(but, sadly, sometimes true) stereotypes. And he hated that no one (besides his fellow “California Canadians”) knew anything—or even cared—about Canada. So he decided to make a movie. In Being Canadian, Cohen travels across the country, seeing […]

Jonathan Crombie, who played Gilbert Blythe in the Anne of Green Gables movies, has died at the age of 48. He was also the son of David Crombie, who was mayor of Toronto from 1972 to 1978 and served as a federal Progressive Conservative cabinet minister in the 1980s. More from CBC News. This article […]

The Ottawa Valley is the valley of the Ottawa, along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. More than half wilderness, the is home to over 900 lakes and four major river systems. Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, itself is at the confluence of three rivers, the Ottawa, Gatineau and Rideau. Samuel de Champlain traveling […]

Folks in the know say it’s been a decent season for backyard rinks. But these folks are also concerned because the season is getting shorter. Real life environmental issues seem to be intruding on the idyllic ice surface built to be a refuge. This feature courtesy of PRI highlights the passion of those who create […]

Tisdale is a business centre for the rich agricultural area of northeastern Saskatchewan. Located at the junction of Highways 35 and 3, and serviced by both the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways, Tisdale is the grain handling centre of the region with five inland grain terminals, and is the centre of local industry. That […]

There is Bonhomme, there are the parades, sports, pageants and music. But what about the foods of the Carnival in Quebec. What we have found speaks of Beavertails and Poutine, but one does not have to go to the Carnival or even Quebec to find those foods. This week was Poutine Week in Montreal and […]

One of Canada’s most distinguished literary figures, she died in Paris early on Tuesday at age 91. A celebrated short-story writer in The New Yorker, she published two novels and nearly 10 volumes of short fiction, winning the Governor-General’s Award for her 1981 Home Truths: Selected Canadian Stories. A Canadian by birth, she first enjoyed […]

Who is the top hockey analyst of all time ? Here are some of the names that come to this mind: Howie Meeker, Brian McFarlane, Red Fisher, Bill Clement, Gary Dornhoefer, John Davidson, Barclay Plager, Ed Westfall, Mickey Redmond, Bill Mazer and Bill Chadwick. But at the top of my list is the incomparable Dick […]