Which Canadian Provinces And Territories Are Most Visited By Canadians?

Ontario is the province Canadians visit most, followed by Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta. Those four hold most of the country's population and its biggest attractions, from Niagara Falls and Toronto to Old Quebec, Vancouver and the Rocky Mountain parks of Banff and Jasper. Statistics Canada's National Travel Survey counted 292.1 million domestic trips by Canadians in 2024, and its July 2025 snapshot of vacations shows the Greater Toronto Area alone drawing about 20.7 million domestic visits that year, more than twice Montréal's 9.2 million (latest published data as of October 2026).

The reason is simple geography. Canada is the second largest country in the world by area, flights between regions are costly, and most trips stay inside the traveller's own province: a weekend at the cottage, a drive to see family, a hockey game in the next city. The smaller Atlantic provinces and the three northern territories receive far fewer trips, but they hold some of the experiences Canadians fly across the country for. This guide ranks all ten provinces and three territories by how heavily Canadians travel to them, with the headline sights, the best season and the practical details for each. Visiting from abroad? Start with our Canada travel guide.

Canadian domestic travel at a glance

• Most visited province: Ontario, then Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta
• Least visited: Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Yukon
• Peak season: July and August, plus long weekends
• Autumn colours: late September to mid-October in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes
• Northern lights: late August to April in Yukon and the Northwest Territories
• Main way to travel: by car, within the home province
• Main air hubs: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary
• For foreign visitors: visa or eTA depending on passport

Ranking of the most visited provinces and territories

This table orders the provinces and territories by the volume of domestic trips they receive, from busiest to quietest, based on the population, trip patterns and tourism-region counts in Statistics Canada's National Travel Survey. The signature draw is what pulls visitors from other provinces.

Provinces and territories, most to least visited by Canadians

The order largely follows population: most domestic trips are short visits within a traveller's own province, which is why Ontario and Quebec lead and the three territories, with small populations and long distances, come last.

The most visited provinces in Canada, one by one

1. Ontario: Canada's most visited province

Ontario takes the largest share of domestic trips because it has the largest population and the most visited city, Toronto. Weekend city breaks bring Canadians to the CN Tower, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Distillery District and the ferries to the Toronto Islands, plus Blue Jays, Maple Leafs and Raptors games.

Niagara Falls, about 90 minutes from Toronto, is the classic family trip, with boat rides into the spray of the Horseshoe Falls. Nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake adds wineries, icewine and the Shaw Festival theatre. Ottawa, the national capital, draws school groups and families to Parliament Hill and the national museums; in winter the Rideau Canal becomes a skateway, and Winterlude fills February weekends.

The biggest Ontario habit is cottage country. Every summer weekend, traffic heads north on Highway 400 to Muskoka, the Kawarthas and Georgian Bay, and canoeists head into Algonquin Provincial Park. Try to travel midweek: Friday afternoon traffic out of Toronto is notorious.

Give Toronto, Niagara and Ottawa four to seven days, staying downtown in Toronto or in Niagara-on-the-Lake for a quieter base. Toronto runs mid to high on cost, while cottages vary widely. The province does city breaks, family trips and lake holidays equally well.

2. Quebec: French culture and festivals

Second place goes to Quebec, driven by Quebecers travelling at home and by English-speaking Canadians who want a French-speaking city break. Montreal is the magnet, with its old port, Mount Royal, bagels and smoked meat, and a summer festival season that includes the International Jazz Festival and Just for Laughs.

Quebec City, about three hours northeast, has the only walled old town north of Mexico, a UNESCO World Heritage Site crowned by the Château Frontenac. Its Winter Carnival in February, with ice sculptures and night parades, is one of the biggest winter festivals in the world. Mont-Tremblant in the Laurentians is the province's leading ski and summer resort.

Further afield, Charlevoix and Tadoussac offer whale watching on the St. Lawrence from June to October, and the Gaspé Peninsula ends at the famous pierced rock of Percé. Some basic French goes a long way outside Montreal.

Montreal and Quebec City need five to seven days; base yourself in Old Montreal or the Plateau, and inside the walls in Quebec City. Costs are moderate and good value next to Toronto, and the rewards are food, festivals and history.

3. British Columbia: coast and mountains

A mild Pacific coast, temperate rainforest and some of the best skiing in North America give British Columbia a mix that pulls Canadians from every province. Vancouver is the gateway, with Stanley Park's seawall, Granville Island's market and the Capilano and Lynn Canyon suspension bridges on the North Shore.

Whistler Blackcomb, two hours up the Sea-to-Sky Highway, is one of the largest ski resorts on the continent and a mountain-biking hub in summer. Victoria, on Vancouver Island, has the Butchart Gardens and the Inner Harbour; Tofino on the island's wild west coast is Canada's surf town and a winter storm-watching spot.

In summer, families from Alberta pour into the Okanagan Valley for warm lakes, orchards and wineries around Kelowna and Penticton. Book BC Ferries sailings in advance for summer weekends, when the main routes fill.

Seven to ten days covers Vancouver, the island and Whistler, with downtown Vancouver, Whistler Village and Victoria's harbour as bases. Expect high prices, especially in Vancouver and Whistler. It is the province for the outdoors, skiing and coastal road trips.

4. Alberta: the Rocky Mountain parks

Banff National Park, Canada's first national park, founded in 1885, is Alberta's headline and one of the most visited natural areas in the country. Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, with their glacier-fed turquoise water, are the postcard views; Parks Canada now manages access with shuttles and limited parking, and private vehicles cannot drive to Moraine Lake (as of October 2026).

The Icefields Parkway connects Banff with Jasper over about 230 km of mountain road, past the Columbia Icefield and the Athabasca Glacier. Jasper is quieter and a designated dark sky preserve. Calgary hosts the Calgary Stampede every July, ten days of rodeo, chuckwagon races and parties, and Drumheller in the Badlands has the Royal Tyrrell Museum of dinosaur fossils.

Book accommodation in Banff and Jasper many months ahead for July and August, or stay in Canmore just outside the park gate; Banff town, Lake Louise and Jasper are the other bases. Parts of Jasper are still being rebuilt after the July 2024 wildfire, so check what is open before you go (as of October 2026).

Allow five to seven days for Banff, the Parkway and Jasper. Summer is expensive and a park pass is required. Come for hiking, scenic drives and skiing.

5. Nova Scotia: the Atlantic favourite

Among the Atlantic provinces, Nova Scotia leads in visitors. Halifax, with its waterfront boardwalk, Citadel Hill and Pier 21 immigration museum, is the hub, and most trips loop out from there.

Peggy's Cove, with its granite shoreline and lighthouse, is less than an hour from the city. The Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island is one of Canada's great drives, about 300 km around the island's northern tip with ocean cliffs and whale-watching from Pleasant Bay and Cheticamp. The Celtic Colours music festival brings autumn visitors in October, when the hills turn red and gold. The South Shore towns of Lunenburg, a UNESCO site, and Mahone Bay suit a slow day.

Fog is common on the coast in early summer. Late August to early October gives the clearest weather and the best colours.

Five to seven days includes the Cabot Trail; stay on the Halifax waterfront, then in Baddeck or Ingonish on Cape Breton. Costs are moderate, and road trips, seafood and music are the reasons to go.

6. Manitoba: Winnipeg and polar bear country

Two draws bring Canadians from far away to Manitoba, though most trips here are in-province. Winnipeg has the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, The Forks market at the meeting of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, and Festival du Voyageur in February, western Canada's largest winter festival.

Churchill, on Hudson Bay, is reachable only by plane or train. In October and November polar bears gather on the coast waiting for the sea ice to form, and guided tundra vehicles take visitors close. In July and August thousands of beluga whales fill the Churchill River estuary. Both seasons book out early and are expensive, so plan a year ahead.

Two days in Winnipeg, based in the Exchange District, is moderate on cost; three to five days at a Churchill lodge is very expensive. Wildlife and museums are the highlights.

7. Saskatchewan: lakes and big skies

In Saskatchewan, most travel is in-province, and much of it heads to the lakes. Prince Albert National Park, north of Saskatoon, has Waskesiu Lake and the cabin of the conservationist Grey Owl, reachable on a hiking or paddling trip.

Saskatoon's riverside Meewasin Valley trails and the Remai Modern gallery are the urban highlights, and Regina is home to the RCMP Heritage Centre, where the national police force trains its cadets. Grasslands National Park in the south is one of the darkest places in Canada for stargazing, with bison and prairie dogs.

Distances are long and services sparse in the south, so fill up the tank whenever you can. Three to five days is enough, staying in Saskatoon or in Waskesiu cabins, on a low to moderate budget. Lakes, stargazing and quiet are what you get.

8. New Brunswick: the Bay of Fundy

The Bay of Fundy, where tides rise and fall by up to 16 metres, the highest in the world, is New Brunswick's top draw. At the Hopewell Rocks, you can walk on the ocean floor among the flowerpot-shaped rock formations at low tide, then kayak around them a few hours later.

Fundy National Park has coastal hiking and the Fundy Trail Parkway, and St. Andrews by-the-Sea is a historic resort town with whale-watching trips. Moncton and the Acadian coast around Shediac (home of a giant lobster statue) are bilingual, with a strong Acadian culture.

Check tide tables before you go: the Hopewell Rocks ocean floor is only safe to walk for a few hours around low tide. Two to four days covers it on a moderate budget, based in Alma, St. Andrews or Moncton, with nature, kayaking and Acadian culture on the menu.

9. Newfoundland and Labrador: icebergs and outports

Canadians save up for Newfoundland. From May to early July, icebergs drift down "Iceberg Alley" past the coast, and from June to August humpback whales feed close to shore. St. John's has the colourful row houses of Jellybean Row, Signal Hill and the George Street pub scene.

Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO site on the west coast, has fjords and the bare orange Tablelands, where you can walk on exposed Earth's mantle. L'Anse aux Meadows, at the northern tip, is the only confirmed Norse site in North America, dating to about 1,000 years ago.

Distances are big and flights expensive. A fly-drive loop from Deer Lake or St. John's needs at least a week, and seven to ten days is better, staying in St. John's and in Rocky Harbour for Gros Morne. Budget moderate to high for wildlife, hiking and culture.

10. Prince Edward Island: beaches and lobster suppers

Red sand beaches, warm summer water by Canadian standards and a slow pace make Prince Edward Island a family favourite. Green Gables in Cavendish draws fans of Lucy Maud Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables". Lobster suppers in church halls and community centres are a summer tradition, and PEI mussels and oysters are famous across Canada.

The island is reached by the 12.9 km Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick or by ferry from Nova Scotia. The toll is paid only when leaving the island. July and August are busy and accommodation books up early, while June and September are calmer. Three to four days in Charlottetown or Cavendish, on a moderate budget, is plenty for beaches and seafood.

11. Yukon: gold rush and aurora

Northern lights in winter, and road trips and canoeing in summer, draw Canadians to Yukon. Whitehorse is the base, with aurora-viewing lodges outside town. Dawson City, a day's drive north, keeps the look of the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, with boardwalks, a historic casino and the cabin of the writer Jack London.

The Yukon River paddle from Whitehorse to Dawson is a classic multi-day canoe trip. Kluane National Park has Canada's highest mountain, Mount Logan.

Whitehorse has direct flights from Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, and the Alaska Highway links it to British Columbia by road for travellers with time. Plan five to seven days, in Whitehorse and in Dawson City in summer, and a high budget for aurora and adventure.

12. Northwest Territories: Yellowknife's northern lights

Yellowknife sits under the auroral oval, and on clear nights from late August to April the northern lights are seen very often. Aurora Village and similar operators offer heated teepees and guided night tours. In March, the Snowking Winter Festival builds a snow castle on Great Slave Lake.

Nahanni National Park Reserve, a UNESCO site reached only by floatplane, has Virginia Falls, about twice the height of Niagara.

Plan at least three nights, and ideally four, since cloud can hide the sky on any one night; Yellowknife hotels and aurora lodges are the options, and costs are high. Winter temperatures often fall below -30°C, so tour operators rent insulated parkas and boots.

13. Nunavut: the Arctic

Created in 1999, Nunavut is Canada's newest territory, receives the fewest visitors and can only be reached by air. Iqaluit, the capital, is the gateway to Inuit art, Arctic culture and summer wildlife trips to see narwhals, walrus and polar bears.

Costs are very high and many trips run as expedition cruises or guided tours, lasting from five days to two weeks, with nights in Iqaluit hotels or on expedition ships. Book with experienced northern operators.

Communities are small and services are limited, so groceries, rooms and flights must be arranged in advance. Weather delays are common on northern routes, so build at least one spare day into any itinerary. Respect local rules on photographing people and hunting activities, and buy carvings and prints directly from Inuit artists or community co-operatives, which return the money to the makers.

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Why Ontario and Quebec dominate domestic travel in Canada

Population explains most of the ranking. Ontario and Quebec together are home to roughly six in ten Canadians, and most domestic trips are short: a drive of a few hours to a city, a lake or a relative's house. Every one of those trips counts, so the two central provinces collect a huge share of the total before a single visitor arrives from elsewhere. The Toronto to Quebec City corridor is also the only part of the country where frequent intercity trains, dense highways and big cities sit close together.

Visiting friends and relatives is the single biggest reason for domestic travel, ahead of pure holidays. That favours provinces with large populations and with people who have moved away: a Nova Scotian working in Alberta flies home for Christmas, a family from Saskatchewan visits grandchildren in British Columbia. Business travel adds more trips to Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.

Pure leisure trips paint a different picture. Measured by long holidays and spending per trip, British Columbia, Alberta and the Atlantic provinces punch well above their population, and the northern territories, while tiny in trip numbers, attract visitors who spend heavily on guided tours and lodges. So the province that gets the most trips is not always the one Canadians dream about. Ask a Torontonian where they want to go this summer, and the answer is often Banff, Newfoundland or the Cabot Trail.

Best season by region

Sample itinerary across the most visited provinces

Two weeks is enough to cross Canada's most visited provinces from Toronto to the Rockies: Toronto and Niagara Falls in Ontario, then by train through Ottawa to Montreal and Quebec City, then a flight to Calgary for Banff and Jasper in Alberta. Fly between regions and drive within them.

Two weeks: Toronto to the Rockies

• Day 1 to 3, Toronto and Niagara: Two days in Toronto, then a day trip to Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake.
• Day 4 to 7, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City: Train east via Ottawa, then two nights in Montreal and one in Quebec City.
• Day 8 to 11, Calgary, Banff and Jasper: Fly to Calgary, drive to Banff, then the Icefields Parkway to Jasper.
• Day 12 to 14, Vancouver: Fly or take the train west for Stanley Park, Granville Island and a day trip to Whistler or Victoria.

The route links the four most visited provinces with only two flights. In the east, VIA Rail trains run several times a day between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, with roughly four to five hours between Toronto and Ottawa and about two hours from Ottawa to Montreal, and the Montreal to Quebec City run takes a little over three hours. From Quebec City, fly back via Montreal or Toronto to Calgary.

In the west, collect a car in Calgary; Banff is about 90 minutes away. The Icefields Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper is around 230 km of mountain road with no mobile signal for long stretches and few fuel stops, so fill up first. A Parks Canada pass is needed to stop in the parks. For the last leg, most travellers drive back to Calgary or fly from Edmonton or Calgary to Vancouver. The scenic alternative, VIA Rail's Canadian or the Rocky Mountaineer, takes a full day or more and suits travellers with extra time. Summer, from late June to early September, is the best window for the whole route.

Practical tips for travelling between Canadian provinces

Fly the long legs between Canadian provinces: Toronto to Calgary is about four hours by air but two days by road. In the east, VIA Rail runs frequent trains on the Quebec City to Windsor corridor linking Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, and the annual Parks Canada Discovery Pass covers national parks across the country.

• Fly the long legs. Toronto to Calgary is about four hours by air and two days by road. Fly between regions and drive within them.
• Use VIA Rail in the east. The Quebec City to Windsor corridor has frequent trains linking Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.
• Buy a Parks Canada pass. The annual Discovery Pass covers national parks across the country and pays for itself on a Rockies trip.
• Mind long weekends. Victoria Day, Canada Day, the August civic holiday and Labour Day fill campsites and ferries. Book Parks Canada campsites when reservations open, usually in winter for the summer season, and reserve BC Ferries sailings to Vancouver Island on holiday weekends.

With time for just one region, let the season choose it. Summer suits the Rockies and the Atlantic coast, autumn is for the colours of Quebec and Nova Scotia, and winter belongs to Quebec City's carnival, the ski hills of Whistler and the northern lights of Yellowknife. Foreign travellers should check the official Government of Canada portal for visa or eTA requirements, which depend on passport.

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