Why is Canada the most loved country in the world?
Topping the RepCore® Nations 2025 list from Reputation Lab, featured among Condé Nast Traveler’s top destinations, home to three of the top five spots on North America’s 50 Best Restaurants, and now with Vancouver, Banff, and Québec named NatGeos' Best of the World 2026, the love for Canada keeps growing (and for good reason). But beyond the accolades, it’s the welcome woven into every corner of this country that keeps people coming back. Canada doesn’t greet you with fanfare—it greets you like a neighbor. With openness, curiosity, and the kind of generosity that makes you feel like you belong, even if it’s your first time here. Here are 10 of the top reasons to visit Canada.
1. A welcome that feels personal (and lasts)
Why are Canadians so friendly and welcoming? Because community is built into daily life here. From neighbors who look out for one another to cultures that sit comfortably side by side, across the country, people make time to say hello, to point you in the right direction, to share a favorite spot. A tip turns into a chat, and a stranger turns into a “see you next time”.
2. Space to breathe
Canada offers something increasingly rare: room to pause. In Saskatchewan, prairie skies stretch so wide they seem endless. Yukon’s valleys and peaks roll on for miles, a reminder of just how much land there is to wander. Even on Prince Edward Island, the country’s smallest province, red-sand cliffs and quiet beaches open onto horizons that feel limitless. It’s a place where vast landscapes and still moments go hand in hand, and where unhurried comes naturally.
3. A culture open to many stories
Canada is a country made up of many perspectives. Indigenous traditions are shared with pride, French and English heritage runs deep, and global influences continue to shape daily life. You see it in public art and powwow regalia, taste it in bagels, bannock, and butter tarts, and hear it in everything from francophone festivals to coastal fiddle music. It’s the blend that makes Canada, Canada.
4. Cities embedded in nature
Here, urban days still come with fresh air. In Montreal, the climb up Mount Royal starts in the heart of the city. Vancouver is home to ocean and rainforest trails steps from downtown. Toronto’s ravines stretch toward Lake Ontario, and Ottawa’s riverside paths carry you from Parliament Hill into green space in a matter of minutes. These cities don’t just hold nature inside their borders—they open the door to it, with quick escapes always close at hand.
5. Unforgettable views
Rivers, lakes, and coastlines shape daily life here—and set the stage for some of the country’s most unforgettable views. In the Rockies, the turquoise waters of Lake Louise mirror jagged peaks that seem almost unreal. Along the Bay of Fundy, the tides rise higher than anywhere else on Earth, reshaping the shoreline every day. And along Cape Breton’s Cabot Trail, every cliffside curve opens another sweep of the Atlantic. Water thunders over the edge at Niagara Falls, freezes into skateable highways on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, and glows with bioluminescence in British Columbia’s Tofino inlet.
6. Food with a sense of place
Food in Canada reflects the country itself—shaped by the land, rooted in tradition, and enriched by diversity. On the Atlantic coast, the ocean sets the pace, with lobster pulled fresh from the water. Indigenous traditions keep food tied to the land and its stories, carried forward through generations. In Toronto, neighborhoods turn dinner into a world tour, while in Quebec, French heritage lingers in every cafe and market. Together, they create a table that is abundant and varied across Canada.
7. Iconic stays
Where you spend the night here can be every bit as memorable as where the day takes you. In Whistler, Nita Lake Lodge pairs alpine energy with lakeside calm. On Vancouver Island, Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge sets you right in the rainforest, where luxury and wilderness sit side by side. And on Fogo Island, an inn unlike any other blends bold architecture with the raw power of the Atlantic. Around here, checking in often comes with a deep breath out.
8. Moments you can’t stage
In the forests and along the coasts, everyday life for wildlife becomes once-in-a-lifetime for visitors. In Manitoba, polar bears cross the tundra with quiet authority. In Newfoundland and Labrador, whales breach as icebergs drift past the shore. In Nunavut, caribou move across open land and narwhal surface like shadows. And out west, bears forage in the forests, moose wade through quiet lakes, and elk and bighorn sheep pop up along mountain roads. No crowd control, just nature doing what it does.
9. Skies that make you look up
On clear nights, the northern lights in the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and northern Manitoba turn the sky into a moving canvas. And when the aurora takes a night off, the stars step in: Jasper National Park in Alberta, plus Grasslands in Saskatchewan and Riding Mountain in Manitoba, reveal the Milky Way from edge to edge. It’s the kind of beauty that doesn’t need a spotlight.
10. Journeys that change your perspective
Adventure in Canada doesn’t stick to one path. It rides the rails through the Rockies in a glass-domed coach, where Banff’s peaks and Jasper’s glaciers flood your view. It follows the Icefields Parkway, pausing for waterfalls and quiet moments you didn’t plan for. It hums along VIA Rail tracks that cut through forest. And it sails on ferries that weave through coastal inlets, where the journey is every bit as memorable as the destination. Here, taking the slower option always pays off.
