Poll Update

Last week, we asked what provinces you’d like to see featured on our scratch-off adventure cards. Ontario, Nova Scotia, and BC got the highest score.

So we’d like to start with Ontario, but we need your help. If you voted for Ontario, please pre-buy the Ontario series here.

We have the series almost ready but need as many pre-buys as we can get to help fund the initial print run!

If all 188 of you pre-buy, we can have them here before the summer!

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🐣 Family-Friendly Easter Events

Since “Easter Weekend” is coming up in a few days, we wanted to share some of the big events and traditions around the country. Easter is a popular time of year in Canada, with Good Friday being a statutory holiday in most provinces and territories. For some, it’s a religious holiday, while for others, it’s a chance to spend time with family and hunt for Easter eggs.

If you’re interested in taking your celebrations up a notch this year, consider one of the events below.

Some of the other largest Easter events in Canada include Downey’s Farm Easterfest in Caledon, Easter Fun Fest in Markham, and Warner Ranch Easter Eggstravaganza in Welland.

However, there are a variety of smaller community events all across Canada as well. You can find some of those events here. You can also take your kids to get a photo with the Easter bunny at Cabela’s across the country.

🥚 Unique Easter Traditions by Province

Ever wonder what Easter looks like across the country? While it certainly varies from coast to coast, here are some ways people celebrate the special time of year.

Newfoundland & Labrador

• Families prepare large bake-ups (a local term for hearty meals), often featuring salt cod, toutons, and homemade bread for Easter Sunday.

• Some communities host Easter parades with music and dancing, reflecting Irish and English influences.

• In smaller towns, locals still colour eggs using onion skins or natural dyes—a nod to old-world techniques.

Maritimes (Nova Scotia, PEI, New Brunswick)

• In Nova Scotia, a local favourite is searching for over 10,000 eggs hidden on the grounds of Canada’s oldest National Historic Site.

• Easter meets oceanside retreat at White Point Beach Resort with mussel bakes, bonfires, egg hunts on the beach, and brunch by the waves.

• In some Mi’kmaq communities, Easter may include traditional storytelling and crafts passed down generations, reflecting a deep spiritual and seasonal connection to springtime.

• In the Acadian communities of NB and NS, Easter may include a feast with dishes like meat pie (pâté), fricot (stew), and homemade desserts—shared after mass or family gatherings. Some Acadian parishes still hold traditional processions during Holy Week.

• In Moncton, locals celebrate the Frye Festival. Though not strictly an Easter event, this April literary festival aligns with the season and celebrates bilingual culture—featuring readings, storytelling, and creative workshops for families.

• PEI churches often host Easter sunrise services on beaches or cliffsides, especially around Charlottetown and North Rustico.

• In small towns and villages, local community halls host Easter dinners, bingo nights, and kids’ egg hunts—often decorated with handcrafted Maritime charm.

Quebec

• Many towns and cities in Quebec still hold traditional Catholic Easter masses and processions.

• Easter Monday is a public holiday in Quebec (unlike in many other provinces), often celebrated with family brunches and egg-shaped sugar pies (tarte au sucre).

• In rural areas, families may gather for sugar shack (cabane à sucre) feasts combining Easter and maple season.

Ontario

• In cities like Toronto and Ottawa, you’ll find Easter events from multiple cultures, such as Orthodox Easter processions in Greektown, Filipino Community Sunrise Services, Ukrainian pysanka (egg-decorating) workshops, and Easter bonnet parades in Rural Ontario—adorable throwbacks to Victorian-era tradition.

British Columbia

• Easter hikes and outdoor sunrise services are big here, especially in Vancouver and the Okanagan.

• Local farms and vineyards host eco-friendly egg hunts with biodegradable materials and wildlife-themed activities.

• Some coastal communities combine Easter with whale-watching tours since it's the peak season for gray whale migration.

Alberta

• Easter events in ranch country often include petting zoos, pony rides, and egg hunts in barns or hayfields.

• Calgary and Edmonton host large-scale indoor Easter extravaganzas, but in smaller towns, community pancake breakfasts and crafting circles are tradition.

Saskatchewan & Manitoba

• Ukrainian communities here continue the tradition of pysanky (intricately decorated Easter eggs), often passed down through generations.

• Easter bread (paska) baking is also popular, with blessings of baskets at Orthodox churches.

• Families gather for large Sunday meals featuring perogies, kielbasa, and cabbage rolls.

The North (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)

• Many communities mark Easter with "going out on the land"—camping, snowmobiling, and ice fishing with family.

• Some Inuit and First Nations groups blend Christian traditions with local customs, including drum dancing and traditional feasts.

• In Iqaluit and other communities, Easter games and races on the snow are a unique northern tradition.

Beaver Bites

• Looking for a place to eat in Vancouver? This family-run Café, which sits above a hardware store, has become a destination with hour-long lineups for lunch.
  
  

• What would you do with $10,000 worth of WestJet credit? WestJet currently has a giveaway going with 25 grand prizes of 1 million WestJet Points, which amounts to approximately $10K worth of flights.
  
  

• Jasper preps for slower summer tourism, as it continues to recover from the 2024 wildfire. However, many of the tourist attractions are open, so if you’re keen on visiting one of the most beautiful places in Canada, they could certainly use the support.
  
  

• RBC and Canadian Tire have linked up their Avion Rewards and Triangle Rewards programs. Under this partnership, eligible RBC credit and debit cardholders will be able to earn Canadian Tire Money at an accelerated rate when shopping at CTC's retail banners and more.
  
  

• Travel continues to drop for U.S. destinations. U.S. Flight bookings from Canada over the next six months are down by as much as 76% compared to the same time last year due to travel boycotts and heightened fears about detentions at the border.
  
  

• We might soon see a high-speed trail connecting Vancouver, BC with Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The Cascadia high-speed rail project is receiving $49.7 million for the second stage of planning.

Just for Fun

• Ever look out the window of an airplane and wonder what you’re looking at? That could all change if Smart-Glass windows become a reality. Utilizing augmented reality, these windows would beam in-flight info over scenic areas, which would not only be incredibly entertaining and educational but would also help pilots see during bad weather.
  
  

• These Canadian anti-tariff billboards down south have gone viral.
  
  

• A 300-pound log of wood believed to be 50 million years old has been hauled up from below ground at Diavik diamond mine in the N.W.T.

• Want to reach 65k+ Canadian travellers for your brand? Reach out (reply to this email) to sponsor an edition of Must Do Canada.