Home.  No matter how much I travel, I’ll always consider Canada home. I’ve lived in several cities … Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, Kingston, St. Albert, and Edmonton and visit friends and family in many more.  This country is so vast and each corner is so different from the next. I’ve not yet been to all of it — only nine of the ten provinces (I’m missing Newfoundland, what many say is the most unique Canadian province) and only one of three territories (Yukon, not Nunavut or the Northwest Territories). I have been above the Arctic circle though!

My general Canadian travel articles:

• For Travel + Leisure, Getting to know Indigenous Peoples in Canada through tourism, featuring Vancouver, Quebec, and Nunavut.
  • Republished by Yahoo Life.
• For National Geographic: Why Canada is making it harder to go whale watching. When you go whale watching in Canada, focus on enjoying being out on the water with these magnificent creatures rather than on getting the perfect shot for your Instagram.
  • Republished by MSN, though without the travel tips at the end: Why Canada is making it harder to go whale watching.
  • Featured in Nat Geo’s September 17, 2021 travel newsletter, “How travelers can help orcas and whales”:
    • “The problems of diminishing whale population numbers and increasing threats have moved the Canadian government to strengthen its regulations protecting whales and other cetaceans in recent years,” writes Johanna Read, calling out threats that include rising ocean temperatures, food supply shortages, and increased water traffic.About 30 whale species live in Canadian waters, some of them endangered. “Before the new regulations went into effect, whale watching boats across Canada were usually respectful of the animals, though some edged in close to give customers photo ops. Now, the only legal close encounters are if whales surprise a boat captain and it’s not safe to move away,” Read writes.
• For National Geographic: Canada’s salmon are at risk: How can tourists help? If you want there to be an abundance of bears and whales to see for your future visits to Canada, you need to be aware of the Pacific salmon crisis.
  • Also included in National Geographic’s August 24, 2021 Planet Possible newsletter.
• For Fodor’s, Canada’s borders are reopening soon. Here’s what you need to know. And please — wear your mask indoors and in crowded outdoor places!
• For National Geographic, about travel during the pandemic: Thinking about driving to Canada this summer? Better ask the locals.
• For Forbes, Do these changes hint Canada’s border might reopen? 
• For Forbes, Mark Mandela Day by planning a trip to commemorate human rights, including Winnipeg. Manitoba.
• For Reader’s Digest, in anticipation of Canada Day:
  • What is Canada Day and how is it celebrated?, including why some Indigenous People don’t celebrate it.
  • When did Canada become a country? It was even less smooth and simple than you think.
• For British Airways, comparing central Canada (which they like to call east) with the west: Eastern v. western Canada.
• For USA Today’s 10Best, about how Canadians spend their summers: Land of two million lakes.

Alberta

• In the Rocky Mountains and the gateway city, Calgary:
  • For Forbes:
    • Christmas in a castle? Festive perfection at Fairmont Banff Springs.
    • Celebrate a Canadian Rocky Mountain Christmas in November (ok, December too) at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.
    • October in Jasper, Canada: Symphony under the stars and wildlife under the sun.
    • The most luxurious tea service In Canada.
    • Which Banff National Park castle hotel is best for you?
  • For Culture Trip:
    • The best pet-friendly hotels to book in Banff, Canada (yes, the typo and photo caption still need to be corrected).
    • The best hotels to book in Lake Louise, Canada.
    • The best vacation rentals to book in Canmore, Canada.
    • The best cheap hotels to book in Canmore, Canada.
    • The best luxury hotels to book in Calgary, Canada.
    • The best pet-friendly hotels to book in Calgary, Canada.
    • The best cheap hotels to book in Calgary, Canada.
•  Edmonton:
  • Real French pastry at The Duchess
  • The Metterra boutique hotel (feature for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com)
  • The Varscona boutique hotel (feature for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com)
  • Eating in Edmonton (destination guide for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com)

British Columbia

• For Matador, an upcoming story about British Columbia.
• Canadian hotels offer free stays to bear hunters willing to renounce their guns, about two resorts in BC’s Great Bear Rainforest that have devised an ingenious way to help Canadian bears (for the UK newspaper The Independent).

• Vancouver:
  • For Virtuoso‘s online magazine, A mouth-watering guide to Vancouver’s food scene.
  • For Living Luxe, the cover story for the spring 2023 issue: City of perpetual spring (PDF version), about cherry blossoms in Vancouver. Direct link to the first page of the article. (Note that the article was edited by a person unfamiliar with Vancouver and I did not have the opportunity to review the final version before publishing).
  • For Fodor’s, The layover: How to spend the perfect day in Vancouver, Canada.
  • For Forbes:
    • FIFA announces seven Vancouver dates for the 2026 World Cup.
    • Vancouver’s new Michelin restaurants announced.
    • Vancouver’s 10 new Michelin restaurants plus more to come in October.
    • 1980s’ Milan comes to Vancouver, in the form of a burger utopia.
    • New direct Vancouver-Singapore flight: Fastest way to Singapore.
    • In the pink at OPUS Vancouver.
    • Eight Vancouver restaurants now have Michelin stars.
  • For OpenTable:
    • Vancouver‘s 12 best bars.
      • A new format version published January 2024: Vancouver’s 11 favourite bars.
      • The 2023 updated version: Vancouver’s 13 favourite bars.
    • 10 Vancouver burgers to add to your bucket list.
      • A new format version published January 2024: 10 Vancouver burgers to add to your bucket list.
    • Celebrate your special occasions at these top 14 Vancouver restaurants: my September 2022 update to the article I first wrote in October 2020:
      • A new format version published January 2024: Celebrate your special occasion at these top 13 Vancouver restaurants.
    • 5 standout Mother’s Day restaurant experiences in Vancouver.
    • 22 restaurants that define Vancouver dining (an update to my 2021 list).
    • 6 new restaurants to book in Vancouver this spring.
    • The 12 best restaurants in Vancouver for romance right now.
      • And the Google Map version.
    • The 15 coolest outdoor restaurants across the US and Canada — one of my Vancouver restaurant blurbs was included in this roundup.
    • What’s coming for fall at five Vancouver must-book restaurants.
    • Vancouver’s 18 greatest restaurants (soon to be updated for 2022 to 22).
    • 14 Vancouver restaurants perfect for celebrating special occasions (a slight summer 2021 update to my October 2020 article).
    • Where to dine outside in Vancouver this summer — about safer patio dining during the pandemic.
    • Celebrate a special occasion — even during the pandemic — at these Vancouver restaurants (for fall 2020).
    • Explore Vancouver’s neighbourhoods at these restaurant gems.
  • For Canadian Traveller, Get a bird’s eye view of Vancouver aboard Cypress Mountain’s thrilling new Eagle Coaster.
  • For CBS News’ Peter Greenberg’s Eye on Travel radio show, I was interviewed by Peter Greenberg about Vancouver. My interview starts at 1:15:10, and goes to 1:21:30:
    • https://petergreenberg.com/2018/10/29/eye-on-travel-rocky-mountaineer-from-banff-to-vancouver-canada-october-27-2018/.
    • And here’s me correcting a couple errors: When a travel writer gets interviews on the radio.
    • Guest list intro.
  • For Time Out:
    • Where to eat the best brunch in Vancouver.
    • The 22 best restaurants in Vancouver (original version; updated version with an introduction by Gerrish Lopez from August 2019: The 22 best restaurants in Vancouver).
    • The 20 best things to do in Vancouver  (original version; updated version with an introduction by Gerrish Lopez from August 2019: The 20 best things to do in Vancouver).
  • For Taste & Travel Magazine, Vancouver culinary traveller’s guide (PDF) and, on the web, Vancouver culinary traveller’s guide.
  • For British Airways, 48 hours in Vancouver: my tips for a short stay in my fave Canadian city.
  • For USA Today’s 10Best, Occasional showers bring lots of Vancouver flowers.
  • For Google’s new Touring Bird travel site, 14 of my insider tips for Vancouver:
    • Treat yourself to a chocolate tour.
    • Sample the Canadian Bloody Mary.
    • Swing on the free suspension bridge.
    • Fill up on Asian food at a night market.
    • Go on a mini Canadian culinary tour.
    • Swim in one of the world’s sexiest pools.
    • Escape the city in a roof garden.
    • See salmon jumping fish ladders.
    • Discover mysterious fairy houses.
    • Eat the California Roll inventor’s sushi.
    • Breathe deep at the largest living wall.
    • Admire art & nature at the airport.
    • Dine in a WWII mess hall.
    • Spot a killer whale — guaranteed.
  • The best place to see cherry blossoms, in Watch hanami forecasts to plan cherry blossom trips for USA Today’s 10Best.
  • For Nomador, New rules create house-sitting opportunities in Vancouver.
  • Just like home but not: Vancouver, British Columbia, for Second Chance Travels. An article encouraging first-time international travellers that Vancouver is the ideal place to start.
  • Appetite-inducing Vancouver (for Boutique Travel) — some of the classic places to eat in Vancouver and how to build up your appetite pre-snacking.
  • A wayward weekend in Vancouver, for The Wayward Post, about great ways to enjoy Vancouver sustainably
  • A great hotel that gives back to the community: Skwachays Lodge, in Vancouver’s Gastown (for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels)
  • A little intro on Vancouver, in Discovering Canada’s wild side at Whistler, for Travel with Kat’s Cities on the Edge of Nature series
  • #DowntownDeer and wonderful whales — When nature swims into the city (for Travel With Kat magazine)
  • My home market on Granville Island, one of the 12 markets featured in Favourite food markets around the world on TravelWithKat.com
  • My favourite street food
  • Vancouver field notes
  • Street food (for Going Mobo)
  • The Daily Hive used a quick video I took to capture the sounds from inside Vancouver apartments when the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Finals in June 2019: What Vancouver and Toronto looked like when the Raptors won

• Vancouver Island:
  • For Lonely Planet, A wild epicurean adventure through Vancouver Island’s Tofino.
  • My photo of the wild cows on the beach at Opitsaht, BC (near Tofino) introduces Jane Mundy’s story Where the cows roam wild, in the spring 2021 print issue of BC Magazine.
    • Online version: Where the cows roam wild.
  • Feature on Tofino‘s Pacific Sands Beach Resort, for Luxury and Boutique Hotels.
  • For Perspectives by Scotiabank, Your dog will love these hotels just as much as you, including the Pacific Sands Beach Resort in Tofino.
  • For Taste & Travel International, a roundup of beach hotels with good food, and including Pacific Sands Beach Resort:
    • On the beach: Where surfside dining gets a makeover (web version).
    • On the beach: Where surfside dining gets a makeover (PDF version, April-June 2019 issue).

• Along the coast:
  • In honour of Canada’s 150th birthday, about Nimmo Bay Wilderness Resort, my favourite place in the Canadian wild:
    • Canadian World Traveller, spring 2017 issue):
      • The Great Bear Rainforest’s Nimmo Bay Wilderness Resort (print version, spring 2017 issue).
      • The Great Bear Rainforest’s Nimmo Bay Wilderness Resort (online version, scroll down)
    • Reprinted in American World Traveler, spring 2017 issue: The Great Bear Rainforest’s Nimmo Bay Wilderness Resort.
  • For Passport 2017, Into the Wild: “At Nimmo Bay Wilderness Resort, it’s all about what’s outside your room—though cozy waterfront cabins don’t hurt either”.
  • Wilderness beyond one’s wildest dreams at Nimmo Bay (for the Kiwi Collection)
  • Nimmo Bay Wilderness Resort (feature for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com)
  • Stress antidote: Nimmo Bay Wilderness Resort (for Nanuism)
  • My Kind of Wilderness — The Canadian Wilderness in Luxury (destination guide for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com)
  • Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, Sunshine Coast (feature for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com)

• Whistler and Pemberton:
  • For Matador Network:
    • 7 incredible winter experiences to have in Whistler.
    • Whistler, BC by the numbers: all the stats on North America’s largest ski resort.
    • Family ski guide: Whistler, BC.
  • For Canadian World Traveller, about a hotel that gives back to the community:
    • Going above and beyond at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler  (PDF of print version)
    • Going above and beyond at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler (online version)
  • Whistler: Where to eat and where to burn your calories (destination guide for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com)
  • Discovering Canada’s wild side at Whistler, for Travel with Kat’s Cities on the Edge of Nature series
  • Assumptions challenged: A newbie’s first sledding experience (for SnowSeekers — The Guide to Winter)
  • Wine and dine at Whistler’s Cornucopia (for The Kiwi Collection)
  • City IN Nature — Whistler, BC (forthcoming for Travel With Kat magazine) 
  • Adrenaline Whistler! (for Nanuism)
  • Pan Pacific Whistler (feature for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com)
  • Summit Lodge & Spa Whistler (feature for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com)
  • Fairmont Chateau Whistler (feature for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com)
  • Nita Lake Lodge (feature for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com)
  • Summer in Whistler Ski Village (destination guide for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com)
  • I was interviewed about Whistler for Haley Shapely’s “Where Travel Writers Go” article in the Bellevue Club’s Reflections magazine (flip to page 40 of the November 2015 issue for a photo of me too)

Manitoba

• For Forbes:
  • See the polar bears, belugas and borealis of Netflix’s ‘Predators’ for yourself, about Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.
  • Warm up and chill out, even in Winnipeg’s winter.

New Brunswick

• For Culture Trip, The best hotels to book in Fredericton, Canada.

Nova Scotia

• For Fodor’s  The most unusual whitewater rafting in the world — about Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, Canada, where you can go whitewater rafting UP river.
• For Matador, Road trip itinerary for seeing the best of Nova Scotia.
• For Matador, Six awesome yet undiscovered spots in Nova Scotia.

Ontario

• Ottawa:
  • Ottawa: a summary
  • A story about two Ottawa chefs who are stovetrotting around the world that I met at an innovative restaurant in Fès, Morocco  (for The Ottawa Citizen, and republished in The Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald):
    • Have Apron Will Travel (print version published October 29, 2015).
    • Young Ottawa chefs Oliver Truesdale-Jutras and Phoebe Oviedo combine wanderlust with cooking (online version with more photos and a recipe, published October 28, 2015).

• • Almost street food
  • Brothers Beer Bistro
  • Eat Cobra
  • Dessert Dishcrawl
  • Gezellig is gezellig
  • Gezellig (for Eat In Eat Out Magazine)
  • Sidedoor (for LT Ottawa)
  • The Wellington Gastropub (for LT Ottawa)
  • Union Local 613
  • Your tastebuds will thank you (for Destinations Travel)
• Toronto: TIFF Bell Lightbox

Quebec

• For Culture Trip, The best botels to book in Gatineau, Canada.
• About Charlevoix, an hour east of Quebec City:
  • For Matador, The brand new Club Med Québec takes care of everything while you enjoy your ski vacation.
  • For Roadtrippers Magazine, In Quebec, a Belgian “alchemist” is turning tomatoes into world-class wine.
  • For Ensemble Vacations’ winter 2020 issue (pages 18 to 19), Charlevoix’s Meteoric Rise, about the new Charlevoix Club Med opening in December 2021 (corrections of typos has been requested).
  • For Dreamscapes Magazine:
    • An activity-filled getaway in Charlevoix (PDF from May 24, 2019 print version); An activity-filled getaway in Charlevoix (online version).
  • Le Germain Charlevoix Hotel & Spa, Quebec — about an old farm turned into a boutique hotel in the town of Baie-Saint-Paul.
  • For Luxury and Boutique Hotels:
    • Review of Hotel & Spa Le Germain Charlevoix (Baie-Saint-Paul)
    • Review of Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu (forthcoming)
  • For Perspectives by Scotiabank, Your dog will love these hotels just as much as you, including Fairmont’s Le Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie.

Multiple locations

• Multi-city: (Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Halifax): Doughnuts delight (for World Travel Buzz)
• Multi-city: (Ottawa, Vancouver, Toronto): Creative cocktails

And, linking to my old life as a policy executive with the Government of Canada, an op-ed about the state of the Public Service after the October 2015 federal election, for The Ottawa Citizen:

• Trudeau is ready but the Public Service clearly isn’t (print version published October 31, 2015).
• Read: Trudeau is ready, but the public service isn’t (online version published October 30, 2015).
• Republished by Canada.com Read: Trudeau is ready, but the public service isn’t.