Worked in Toronto and Vancouver (yes, I know opposite ends almost), for 4 years. And also Montreal for 2 years. Backpacked in nova Scotia after high school graduation for maybe a month with my friend. I did a winter road ski trip through the BC Powder Highway. Spent a lot of time around British Columbia in general. Victoria (my friend is the director of engineering at the famous Fairmont Empress there and another friend is director of engineering for Hyatt Regency Vancouver), Sooke, Goldendale, Kelowna especially cherry picking in the summer, Richmond is great for Cantonese and Japanese food. Not many Latin food options though. Skied Sun Peaks and Whistler a lot. One of my grandmother's was French-Canadian.
I've visited Ross Lake on both sides of the border. I've walked to multiple border demarcation lines in the middle of trails or nowhere or backyards.
Banff is GORGEOUS to anyone who hasn't been.
There was one point for a time when I was going to Vancouver on weekends to trip on shrooms since in the city at least they are decriminalized and they have some "medicinal dispensaries."
I still travel to Canada quite often. It's been interesting seeing the American backlash like boycotting whiskey, refusing to travel, etc.
But I have enough passports…
As a side note:
Saskatchewan has more oil than Alberta but they want to use that reserve first - Oil sands, oil under the sand and pressurize it to get it out.
All the rich people from Alberta with oil money go to Lake Okanagan to spend their money and enjoy the sunshine. It's the only desert in Canada. It's a sister city of a town in Australia. A lot of Australians up there. Very friendly city. The population doubles in the summer from 100,000 to 250,000.
The retirement plan of all the old rich oil barons from Alberta was to buy vineyards. Okanagan the only sunny part of Canada like their California. So they ripped out all the peach orchards, apples, pears to build hotels, vineyards, etc.
I like to get Cuban cigars sometimes when I visit Vancouver.
The Hong Kong investment company Allied Cigar Corporation bought 50% of the Cuban government-owned company Habanos from the British tobacco multinational Imperial Tobacco for $1.44 billion. So the Cuban communist government fixed their prices two years ago to the Hong Kong market so whether you buy in Singapore, Toronto, Vancouver, Switzerland, etc. its all the same because they realized how much money they were missing out on. Also the shortage was caused during covid: multiple factors- the minister of agriculture told the farmers to rip out tobacco and plant food. Workers got sick from Covid. Everyone was at home smoking. But they fixed the global prices to the Hong Kong market and have continued to raise the price. The Cuban government is also desperate for money. The Cuban cigar shortages is a result of the pandemic, storms, economic hardship and many blenders and many Cubans have left the island including tobacco industry employees.
Canada also has very strict archaic import laws for tobacco.
Their taxes on gas and tobacco and alcohol are so high that many drive to WA which has the highest taxes in the US but still cheaper than Canada.
British Columbia’s Kootenay Rockies is home to the POWDER HIGHWAY®, where deep snow, funky towns, and some of the most downhome, stash-laden, adventure-packed ski resorts in North America exist.
www.powderhighway.com
Both of my friend's parents are dental professors in Canada.
I found BC bud to be overrated. I think Vermont Maple Syrup is… I lived in southern VT for a year, so, I'm torn on that. I enjoy tapping trees for syrup
