Canada

Visited: June 2004, November 2005, October 2013

Duration of visit: 6 days

Capital city: Ottawa

Population: 34,7 million (2013)

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

• Beautiful Niagara Falls that are especially scenic from the Canadian side.
• Cold and windy Montreal Basilica Notre-Dame and relaxed atmosphere in bars and restaurants after people go from work.
• Business meeting in Toronto.

The world’s second largest country, after Russia, Canada possess the longest coastline in the world stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Conceivably, it was because of the size or location as the quiet neighbor overshadowed by the USA that I haven’t properly visited Canada yet.

It would take weeks or months to survey big cities, located mostly on the East Coast, navigate trackless wilderness, national parks, rivers and lakes, before reaching the city of Vancouver on the West Coast. For now, it is only a plan. I have only visited some of the Canadian landmarks, met fascinating Canadian people in and outside of the country.

I have been in Canada three times on very short occasions:

• Niagara Falls (2004)
• Toronto (2005) – business trip
• Montreal (2013) – business trip

Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the border between Canada and USA. I approached the falls from the US side, where I could first observe smaller American falls and from a distance the largest of the three – Horseshoe, which can be much better appreciated from the Canadian side. There is no emigration or customs checkpoint in the bridge that connects both countries.

Niagara Falls are 51 meters high and about 1,200 m wide with an average annual flow rate of 2,400 m³ per second.

They don’t rank on the top of the list by any of these characteristics. However, their beauty, location, easy access and promotion make them the most famous waterfalls in the world.

It is a typical American-Canadian story of greatness, fully supported by tourist infrastructure that mixes comfortable access and appreciation of magnificent natural beauty, shows, facilities for anyone, while on the other side, tries to pull out as many dollars as possible from visitors’ pockets.

Hotels, restaurants, gift shops with souvenirs, tours and entertainment on every step redirect the focus of simply enjoying the nature to create needs for spending money on things that you really don’t need, when you are surrounded with such a beautiful scenery.

Over 20 million tourists visit Niagara Falls every year.

During my mandate as a vice-president of Slovenian company subsidiary based in Grenville, South Carolina, I was overviewing the operation of motorbikes division, that had a good local partner in Toronto. A short visit of the biggest Canadian city was predominantly dedicated to business meetings, a stroll around downtown and a delicious dinner in a Japanese restaurant.

It doesn’t take much to understand that Canadian businessmen are quite direct and that great importance is given to respecting everyone’s opinions.

Regardless of rank and status, people expect the right to be heard and listened to. In general, very easy going, focused on the result and respecting the agreements. This is slightly different than my experience in the USA.

I visited Montreal in 2013 on a business trip to attend a yearly conference of ICAO about new trends in security documents industry. It was in mid-November when the temperatures are not as low as during the winter time, but strong wind does not really allow you to appreciate walks in open-air without feeling uncomfortable.

Montreal is the second most populous city in Canada, located in the French speaking province of Quebec. It is probably more famous for hosting the Summer Olympics in 1976 and being home to the prominent Cirque de Soleil than for attractions that I managed to visit. Nevertheless, while I had a little bit of time, I explored the downtown.

I got a feeling that many people don’t return home straight after finishing work, but use the time for a drink or dinner with friends. Bars, cafes and restaurants were full, a pleasant, warm shelter in informal atmosphere. The Basilica Notre-Dame with gothic revival architecture, deep blue colored vaults and intricate wooden carvings is the most outstanding piece of architecture that I remember from Montreal.

Canada is still on my bucket list for a proper visit. I need time, money and company to cross Canada from east to west coast, as I did USA in the 1990s.

Although I have been to Canada three times, I have not yet had the opportunity to explore its capital, Ottawa.