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The Arctic Ocean is a body of water centered approximately on the north pole. It is the smallest of Earth’s five oceans. Its boundaries are defined by the International Hydrographic Organization, although some other authorities draw them differently. Depending on which definition is used, waters of Canada’s Arctic Archipelago are included as part of the ocean, as are major Canadian bodies of water such as  Baffin Bay, Hudson Bay and the Beaufort Sea.

Qalipu (pronounced: ha-lee-boo) is a Mi’kmaq First Nation based in Newfoundland and Labrador. The nation was established in 2011 under the Indian Act. According to the federal government, Qalipu has 23,435 registered members, making it the second-largest First Nation by population in Canada. The nation’s members hail from 67 different communities across Newfoundland. As of 2020, roughly 95 per cent of Qalipu members live in Newfoundland and Labrador; the other 5 per cent live throughout Canada. The Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation currently controls no reserve land. (See also Reserves in Newfoundland and Labrador.)

Longueuil, Quebec, population 239,700 (2016 census), 231,409 (2011 census). Longueuil’s history dates to the 17th century with the settling of French colonists. It is today an important suburb of Montreal and is connected to the island of Montreal by the Jacques Cartier bridge and the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel-bridge. Longueuil is criss-crossed by major expressways linking metropolitan Montreal to Québec city, the Eastern Townships and northern New York State. The municipality of Longueuil is its own entity within the Longueuil agglomeration which includes other nearby cities.

Cardston, Alberta, incorporated as a town in 1901, population 3,585 (2016 census), 3,580 (2011 census). The town of Cardston is located 75 km southwest of Lethbridge. It was named for Charles Ora Card (1839─1906), a son-in-law of Brigham Young. Young was a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (see Mormon Church) in the United States.

Invermere, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1983, population 3,391 (2016 census), 2,955 (2011 census). The District of Invermere is located on the northwestern shore of Windermere Lake in the Rocky Mountain Trench. Invermere is 130 km north of Cranbrook and 120 km southeast of Golden.

Elkford, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1981, population 2,499 (2016 census), 2,523 (2011 census). The District of Elkford is situated on the west side of the Elk River. The Elk River is a tributary to the Kootenay River, in the East Kootenay district of southeastern British Columbia. The district is 35 km north of Sparwood. It’s located among the Rocky Mountains, near the old coal-mining communities of Crowsnest Pass, and on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa people. At 1,300 m elevation, Elkford is the highest community in British Columbia.

Fernie, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 1904, population 5,249 (2016 census), 4,448 (2011 census). The city of Fernie lies in the narrow valley of the Elk River, amidst the Rocky Mountains. It is located on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa people.

Sparwood, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1966, population 3,784 (2016 census), 3,667 (2011 census). The District of Sparwood is located 32 km northeast of Fernie in the Elk River Valley, and on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa people.

Val-des-Sources (formerly Asbestos), Quebec, incorporated as a village in 1899 and as a town in 1937, population 6,786 (2016 census), 7,096 (2011 census). The town of Val-des-Sources is located in the Eastern Townships region, 53 km north of Sherbrooke and 58 km southeast of Drummondville. Originally called Asbestos, the town was named after the mineral mined there from 1881 to 2011. During that time, Asbestos produced much of the world’s supply of the asbestos mineral, which is now banned in many countries because of its negative health effects. Asbestos was renamed Val-des-Sources in December 2020. Val-des-Sources is located on ancestral Abenaki lands. The land is unceded and is considered Indigenous territory.

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, incorporated as a city in 1903, population 32,724 (2016 census), 32,546 (2011 census). The city of Moose Jaw is located 160 km north of the US border and 65 km west of Regina in a sheltered valley at the confluence of the Moose Jaw River and Thunder Creek. It is governed by a mayor and six councillors who are elected to represent the city as a whole. The city’s evocative name is likely based on Indigenous sources and was perhaps first applied to a local creek that supposedly resembled the outline of a moose’s jawbone; another explanation is that it comes from a Cree word for “warm breezes.”

Golden, British Columbia, incorporated as a town in 1957, population 3,708 (2016 census), 3,701 (2011 census). The town of Golden is located on the Columbia River at its confluence with the Kicking Horse River. It is situated 260 km west of Calgary, Alberta, between the Purcell Mountain Range and Glacier National Park to the west, and the Rocky Mountains and Yoho National Park to the east. Golden is located on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa and Secwepemc people (see Interior Salish).

 The first locomotive to be constructed in Canada was built by the James Good family (1853) of Toronto. Named Toronto, the locomotive had a set of 4 driving wheels and 4 small front wheels for better travel through curves.

Revelstoke, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 1899, population 7,547 (2016 census), 7,139 (2011 census). The city of Revelstoke is situated on the Columbia River between the Selkirk and Monashee mountains. It is on the Trans-Canada Highway at the western entrance to Rogers Pass and Mount Revelstoke and Glacier national parks. Revelstoke is located on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa, Sinixt, Secwepemc and Okanagan peoples. (See also Interior Salish.)

Barrie, Ontario, incorporated as a city in 1959, population 141,434 (2016 census), 136,063 (2011 census). Barrie is located at the head of Kempenfelt Bay, on the western edge of Lake Simcoe. Located within Simcoe County, Barrie shares borders with the municipalities of Oro-Medonte, Springwater, Essa, and Innisfil. Barrie is located on the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, and covered by treaties 16 and 18.

Salmon Arm, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 2005, population 17,706 (2016 census), 17,464 (2011 census). The city of Salmon Arm is located at the head of the southwestern arm of Shuswap Lake, also called Salmon Arm, 110 km east of Kamloops.

Nakusp, British Columbia, incorporated as a village in 1964, population 1,605 (2016 census), 1,569 (2011 census). The village of Nakusp is located on the east shore of Upper Arrow Lake at the foot of the Selkirk Mountains. It is in the West Kootenay district of south-eastern British Columbia. Nakusp is located on the traditional territory of the Sinixt, Ktunaxa, Secwepemc and Okanagan peoples. (See also Interior Salish.) The name is derived from a Sinixt word, though its meaning is debated. One interpretation is that the name Nakusp comes from a word meaning “the bay behind the long point,” another is that it means, “closed-in” or “safe.”

Sicamous, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1989, population 2,429 (2016 census), 2,441 (2011 census). The District of Sicamous is located at the eastern end of Shuswap Lake in south-central British Columbia, 140 km east of Kamloops. It lies to the west of the Monashee Mountains on a narrow strip of land between Shuswap and Mara lakes. Its name derives from a Secwepemc First Nation word meaning “narrow” or “squeezed in the middle.” (See also Interior Salish.)

Saskatchewan is part of the Prairie region and is the only province with entirely artificial boundaries. It is bordered by the US to the south, the Northwest Territories to the north, and Manitoba and Alberta to the east and west respectively. It was created from the Northwest Territories in 1905, at the same time as Alberta, and shares with that province the distinction of having no coast on salt water. The name, which was first used officially for a district of the Northwest Territories in 1882, is derived from an anglicized version of a Cree word, kisiskâciwanisîpiy, meaning “swiftly flowing river.”

Saskatchewan is divided by two of Canada’s seven physiographic regions. These two regions are the Interior Plains and the Canadian Shield. The Canadian Shield is characterized by rugged rock exposures and many lakes. It also includes a sandy region south of Lake Athabasca. South of the Canadian Shield is the area commonly called the “grain belt.” It is characterized by level or gently rolling plains and fertile soils. Saskatchewan is known as one of the world’s great wheat producers.

On the western boundary and across the southwest corner is another plains region of generally higher altitudes. Its rolling and hilly terrain is distinct from that of the grain belt. The extreme southwest the province shares the Cypress Hills with Alberta. The Cypress Hills are the highest point of land in Canada between the Rocky Mountains and Labrador.

Canada was founded along the many waterways utilized by Indigenous peoples, early explorers, fur traders and pioneers. As Canada became a more developed nation, the automobile and roads began to dominate the landscape. Trails were almost forgotten, except in parks and other protected areas. Today, however, Canadians are using trails in increasing numbers. Trails are either managed by organizations such as parks, municipalities and First Nations, or unmanaged. As of 2010, there were 278,576 km of managed trails in Canada. This distance is roughly the equivalent of traversing the country, from Cape Spear, Newfoundland and Labrador, to the Yukon-Alaska border, 50 times. The province with the largest managed trail network is Quebec. Just over 27 per cent of all managed Canadian trails (77,030 km) are found there.