We heard you were planning to travel in Canada this summer, so we asked you to drop us a line. Here’s some of what arrived in our mailbox
This spring, as many Canadians made plans to spend their summer vacation without crossing the U.S. border, we asked Globe readers to tell us about their travel destinations.
Your responses were captivating – so we asked for something more. We asked you to send us a postcard from your journey.
Postcards are picturesque, of course, and whimsical, even nostalgic. As Walter Schneider of Toronto put it, sending postcards is a “retro way of saying hello.” A postcard is a tactile, physical thing in an increasingly digital, AI-generated world: hand-picked and hand-written, placed by hand in a mailbox. The sender’s trust that it will reach its intended recipient more ethereal than physical, and deeply human.
Your postcards started trickling into our office in June (weeks before the Air Canada labour dispute complicated many travel plans). A totem pole here, a rainbow there. Pictures of lakes and oceans, rocks and mountains. Lighthouses and icebergs.
There were postcards of trees, fields and rolling hills. A bear. A bighorn sheep. A historic B.C. streetcar. The CN Tower. Parliament Hill. Nova Scotia’s provincial flag.
On the back, you wrote of friendly places and kind people. Of joy and gratitude, wildlife and beauty. Ice cream, barbecue, lobster rolls, sunsets. Interconnectedness.
Here, in your own words, you describe the wonders you visited in the summer of 2025, in this country we call home.
-Idella Sturino, advice and service editor
Click on the postcard to flip and reveal the back!
Dear Reader, The road leading into New Brunswick is a long expanse of trees, a verdant comforter blanketing the Earth. Fredericton was everything I hoped it would be – and more. The sparkling Saint John River, that cuts through the city, flows swift and sure of itself; constant forward motion. The people are kind. They stop their cars at crosswalks to let you pass. Patient and beautiful in their ordinariness and familiarity. I feel like I know the citizens of Fredericton, that perhaps, being from Ontario, Quebec’s neighbour on the other side, we are opposite sides of the same coin. I could live here. In Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park, at low tide, I will not soon forget the wonder, my youngest daughter crouched in the rusty mud, tiny hermit crab cradled in her hands. We will be back.
-Adelle Purdham, Peterborough, Ont.
Local celebration for National Indigenous People’s Day held at the Comox Valley Exhibition Centre. Cultural and environmental workshops, guided walks, Indigenous cultural and archeological displays and food vendors, including traditional salmon barbecue and numerous Indigenous craft vendors – and live music!
-Caroline Cody, Comox, B.C.
Hi Globe and Mail people, Love this project, thank you! Spent our summer vacation in beautiful PEI, Nova Scotia and Quebec instead of the U.S. or Europe.
-Melinda Anderson, Toronto
Against long odds, my husband of 50+ years and I travelled to Ottawa for the opening of Parliament with the hope of seeing King Charles and Queen Camilla up close. Success! At the Rideau Hall tree planting ceremony, we were in the second row and got to shake hands with the King, who asked if I had “come for” the Queen, Prime Minister Carney, Diana Carney, the Governor-General and her husband. A day we’ll always cherish!
-Anne Armstrong, Guelph, Ont.
Dear Globe staff, A solo road trip has brought me to Tobermory, Ont., and two days of hiking in Bruce Peninsula National Park. Ancient shelves of pocketed rock boulder beaches, cedar forests dotted with Yellow Lady’s Slipper orchids and stunning views of the Georgian Bay shoreline stand out for their beauty and diversity. It’s been a potent reminder of the interconnectedness of our natural world.
-Linda Lord, Ottawa
Having a great time in Toronto even though the humidex is 45 C today! Yikes! Loved Canada’s Wonderland, seeing Blue Jays play, book shopping, local coffee shops and taking public transit everywhere. Also enjoyed a day trip to Niagara Falls.
-Shannon LaBelle and family, Vancouver
I left Canada in 2011 when I was 38 and took a job overseas. My plan was to stay two years, have a new life experience, and try to save some dough. I left with two suitcases, zero savings and on a wing and a prayer. I came back 12 years later with a wife, a kid and two dogs. The country has changed, so there’s some rediscovering to do. This summer we did a road trip to Quebec and we spent Canada Day at the Chateau Frontenac, where in Grade 6, as part of a class trip, I had my first “fancy” four-course dinner. We did the Red Bus tour during the day. Crazily, I bumped into an old friend from U of T on the street. We actually talked for too long as his family waited nearby, about kids and parents, ours and others. My family had dinner at Sam’s overlooking the St. Lawrence, then ice cream and sorbet at 1884. After, we watched a very interactive and entertaining acrobat show beside the hotel. My four-year-old was wide-eyed and enthralled. It was a wonderful day. I send this postcard as a gesture of gratitude to the universe. Good to be back.
-Daniel Jeon, Toronto
On a summer road trip, I searched the Eastern Townships of Quebec for the cranky poet Ruth and her “fowl”-mouthed duck Rosa, two of the many loveable characters in Louise Penny’s Three Pines mysteries. What I found was a charming region full of picturesque villages, wonderful inns, great bike trails, and enticing bistros, wineries, breweries and fromageries – an inviting region, friendly and cozy like the setting in Penny’s delightful novels (without the murder, of course)!
-Jamie Ross, Bracebridge, Ont.
Using the new Canada Strong Pass offering free summer admission and discounted camping, my wife and I hiked the famed Crypt Lake Trail, 18 kilometres, in Waterton Lakes National Park, named by National Geographic as one of the continent’s most thrilling. It can only be reached by boat and skirts the U.S. border (you actually cross into Montana for 50 metres). It’s about a three-hour climb past three waterfalls and a scramble through a 20-metre long tunnel, past some stunning views, to Crypt Lake, 1,945-metres elevation. Black bears and grizzlies sometimes use the trail, reminding me that our natural parks offer an opportunity to encounter the wild.
-Greg Strong, Burnaby, B.C.
I always send postcards. It’s a cool retro way of saying hello. This stop was part of my North of Superior drive from Thunder Bay to Muskoka.
-Walter Schneider, Toronto
Here to help a friend celebrate her 60th birthday. Beautiful city! Old Quebec has beautiful architecture, good workout opportunities walking up from the waterfront to the hotels, and great shopping and art. We came away with shoes and shawls. There’s an awesome vegan restaurant with patio, Don Vegan. Loved our walking tour. Fun to practice my French.
-Wendy Rogers, Fredericton
Dear Globe and Mail staff, This is my first trip to this province. I am focusing on the Avalon Peninsula as it is a big province. It is also the last of our 10 provinces I have visited. The territories will come next. My two favourite things have been enjoying a lunchtime picnic at Ferryland Lighthouse and seeing two whales and thousands of puffins on a tour around Gull Island. I was surprised by how small puffins really are. The people of Newfoundland are truly welcoming to all. Thank you, Newfoundland!
-Teri Wickes, Victoria, B.C.
Editor: Idella Sturino. Interactive editor: Lucina Lo. Visuals editor: Sarah Palmer. Community Editor: Jacob Dubé.
