Great Canadian Cities

Canadian cities of the West are characterized by places such as Calgary and Vancouver. Calgary is at the base of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and is the business center of Alberta’s oil industry. Vancouver is on the coast of British Columbia and is widely considered the most livable city in Canada. However, neither of these places have the current tourist draw that Kelowna, British Columbia has.

Kelowna is a city in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia that has recently become a very noteworthy city in Kelowna. As many as two decades ago, Kelowna was a small, generally unknown agricultural and lake town. For many years, the Okanagan Valley has been used as Canada’s premiere winery and vineyard land, but in the last several decades, it has received international attention and acclaim from the wine community. Recently, it was named the most desirable winery destination in North America. Because of this attention and because of Kelowna’s mild climate, the city began attracting the wealthiest retirees in Canada, as well as a slew of Canadian millionaires and billionaires, who wanted to own land in Kelowna.

The wineries and vineyards are the primary draw to Kelowna, and it is easy to see why. The hillsides of Kelowna are covered with spectacular vineyards that overlook the expansive Lake Okanagan. Summer days boast gorgeous warm temperatures, award-winning chilled wine and world class restaurants. Wine tours are an incredibly popular excursion during Kelowna summers. Other than wine destinations, Kelowna offers a number of intriguing vacation destination items, both within the city and in the natural wilderness areas just outside the city. The world-famous Kettle Valley railway trestles are a favorite destination for bicyclists and outdoor enthusiasts, Lake Okanagan is home to a number of sports events and musical festivals and the Kelowna Auction World is the largest auction in the interior of British Columbia.

Kelowna obviously has a bright future as a star among Canadian cities. It has all the amenities of a major city while still maintaining a small town feel, although it is one of the bigger cities in British Columbia. It is currently the retirement destination of choice for many people who spent their lives working in the oil sands of Alberta, which is a primary reason for how wealthy the city is.

The cities of Canada and the United States are often compared to one another on many levels. From an outside perspective, Vancouver may seem to be identical to Seattle, and Toronto may seem to have a lot in common with Chicago. Montreal is sometimes compared to New York City and oil boomtowns in North Dakota are likened to Fort McMurray today. However,  Canadian cities actually have a number of differences that make them unique to North America.

The most obvious difference is the population of Canadian cities verses U.S. cities. Canada on the whole has 35-million residents while the U.S. has 318-million, making the cities of Canada considerably less crowded. As a result, the infrastructure of Canadian cities is also smaller, with less extensive sprawl than the major cities of the U.S.

The healthiness of the citizens of Canadian cities can be seen at a glance. The socialized medicine of Canada creates an atmosphere of security within the population. Those with medical conditions know they will be treated. Even those who have mental disorders or struggle with addiction in Canada live in the assurance that they will not be denied treatment for any reason. This knowledge is unifying and comforting, and can be felt within the cities of Canada.

The way that people behave in Canadian cities is also noticeably different from that of the United States. Canadians living in close proximity to one another have a stronger social consciousness than Americans do. For example, Canadians are more likely to fall into unison while driving and keep with a group speed rather than weave  through traffic or set their own speed. Capitalism is not as present in Canada as it is in the U.S., so Canadian goods and services are not as saturated with choices. The more socialistic government in Canada tends to make the populations of its cities more collectively cooperative.

Canada and the United States have a great deal in common, including the appearance, customs and practices of their cities. People from other foreign countries would likely have a hard time telling a number of Canadian and United States cities apart, but those who have experienced both for a certain duration of time can tell the difference. A majority of the cities in Canada have better infrastructure, less over crowding and smaller populations than that of the United States.

First of all, the infrastructure of most large Canadian cities is superior to that of the United States because it is newer and supports  a more stable population. Many major Canadian cities appeared on the map after comparable United States cities, so their infrastructure is less aged. With the population in Canadian cities smaller and increasing at a slower rate, expansions to the infrastructure of Canadian cities are not demanded as heavily as in the United States. Canada was not hit as hard by the recession of 2007 as the United States was, so it has had more funding to maintain city infrastructure. The cities of Canada also have smaller populations and less over crowding, which gives them a calmer, more controlled feel. A census taken of a Canadian city is considerably more predictable than that of a United States city.

For these reasons, and many others, tourists from the United States and from all over the globe travel to the cities of Canada for a uniquely Canadian experience. Medical tourism is a form of tourism that is steadily on the rise for many of Canada’s cities, with world travelers eager to take advantage of the affordable healthcare in Alberta, the well respected medical practices of Ontario and Canadas best drug rehab. The benefits that the cities of Canada can offer travelers are numerous.