Unique Gifts to Bring Home From Canada
Ideas for Finding Great Souvenirs in the Western Provinces
Nov 8, 2009
Canada is a vast country with many unique cultures and places. T-shirts, fridge magnets and key chains are alright, but really special gifts are also easy to find.
Where to Shop
The best places to shop for uniquely Canadian and made-in-Canada gifts are at Farmers Markets and craft sales, museums and galleries. Look for locally made handicrafts, books by local authors, cards and paintings by local artists.
What’s Special About Manitoba and Saskatchewan?
Places to See
- Winnipeg
- Brandon
- Regina
- Saskatoon
- Moose Jaw
What Manitoba and Saskatchewan Are Known For
These prairie provinces are known for their wide-open prairie skies, gophers, coyotes, grain elevators and railroad tracks. This area is Canada’s bread basket. Manitoba and Saskatchewan farmers grow wheat, oats, rye, canola, legumes and many other crops. There is a growing market for Saskatoon berries grown on the prairies, too. Look for gifts based on the following ideas:
- Grain elevators
- Grain products: toasted wheat berries and peabutter, for example.
- Clover honey
- Trains
- Saskatoon berry jams and syrups
- The great prairie sky
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police
What’s Special About Alberta ?
Places to See
- Calgary
- Edmonton
- Banff
- Lake Louise
- Jasper
- Fort McMurray
What Alberta is Known For
Alberta is famous for its Rocky Mountain towns: Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper. Travellers come from around the world to ski the dry powder and see the breathtaking viewsat world class ski resorts. The Royal Tyrell Museum is in Drumheller, while Grande Cache is home to well-preserved dinosaur tracks. Alberta is also Canada’s oil-producing province and is known for its tar sands. Alberta ranches are well-known for their beef cattle and well-trained horses. Look for gifts based on the following ideas:
- Rocky Mountains
- Dinosaurs
- Ranching
- Horse-back riding
- Wild animals: grizzly bears, mountain sheep and goats, bison, elk or wapiti
- Ammolite: Alberta’s gemstone (colourful ancient marine fossils found in southern Alberta)
What’s Special About British Columbia?
Places to See
- Vancouver
- Victoria
- Kelowna
What BC is Known For
British Columbia is well known for metropolitan Vancouver and regal island city, Victoria. Bordered by the Rocky Mountains on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the West, this province has mild winters and is famous for its Okanagan Valley fruit and lower mainland orchards and commercial farms. It is also host of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Look for gifts based on the following ideas:
- Olympics
- Orchards: try dried sweet cherries and cranberries, hazelnuts, fruit leathers
- Salmon
- Spirit bear (white bears on the north-central coast and inland)
- Cougars, grizzly bears, orca whales
- Sea life: sea shells, starfish, oysters
Tourist trinkets are okay, but finding the perfect gift made in Canada is easy. Just look in local shops, museums and markets. Celebrate what’s special and unique about Canada with meaningful mementoes.
For more great Canadian gift ideas, see also, Unique Gifts to Bring Home from Eastern Canada.
 |
