Thanksgiving is a statutory holiday in most jurisdictions of Canada, with the provinces of Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia being the exceptions. Where a company is regulated by the federal government (such as those in the telecommunications and banking sectors), it is recognized regardless of status provincially.

Thanksgiving corresponds to the English and continental European Harvest festival, with churches decorated with cornucopias, pumpkins, corn, wheat sheaves, and other harvest bounty, English and European harvest hymns sung on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend and scriptural selections drawn from biblical stories relating to the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot.

While the actual Thanksgiving holiday is on a Monday, Canadians might eat their Thanksgiving meal on any day of the three-day weekend, though Sunday and Monday are the most common. While Thanksgiving is usually celebrated with a large family meal, it is also often a time for weekend getaways.

Canada’s top professional football league, the Canadian Football League, holds a nationally televised doubleheader known as the “Thanksgiving Day Classic.” It is one of two weeks in which the league plays on Monday afternoons, the other being the Labour Day Classic. Unlike the Labour Day games, the teams that play on the Thanksgiving Day Classic rotate each year.

Unlike the American counterpart, Thanksgiving parades are not common in Canada; in fact, there is only one that coincides with the holiday. That parade, known as the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Parade, gets significant national attention as a result and is broadcast nationwide on CTV and A.

Still, these days, the significance for Thanksgiving for Canadians is being together with family and friends, and enjoying Thanksgiving dinner together!

So, to all of our Canadian readers, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Share on Facebook

Canada Day is however, for the benefit of those who aren’t entirely familiar with the day, is not an ‘independence day’ – Far from it in fact! It is the birthday of Canada. The commemoration of the 1st July 1867, when the enactment of the Constitution Act 1867 was brought into being – uniting three British colonies into one unified country; Canada. Originally the day was called Dominion Day, but when Canada gained its full independence from the United Kingdom in 1982, its name was changed to Canada Day.

If you’re lucky enough to be in Canada for today, you’ll be witness to patriotism we rarely ever see in the UK, and strangely we never seem to be given the opportunity to express. The Canadian patriotism is something that fills me with a happiness.. A country and its people, proud to be who they are and where they are – and for me at least, i believe the Canadian patriotism is at the perfect level – it’s loud and proud, but not offensive or overly in peoples faces – an example where a country in the world has simply got things right. But then, we are talking about the only country in the western world not to actually go into recession in the most recent financial crisis – so it’s not unfamiliar territory for Canada to be the ones who got it right!

So what if you aren’t in Canada? Well, you may jut be in luck. A couple of months ago you may remember me featuring this, as a heads up towards the event. Canada Day has come to the UK. Canada Day London is the biggest celebration for Canada Day outside of Canada, and like everything Canadian, 110% is put into ensuring the event is filled with a massive schedule of events, and Canadians and tourists who visit Canada will find some familiar logos around the place – one of the biggest being Tim Hortons! – Tim Hortons Coffee and Doughnuts are coming to London, so if you can get yourself there.. Make sure you do!

Canada Day London 2011 promises to be even bigger and better than ever before with more cultural activities, more food and drink from across Canada and a great new line-up of music and entertainment. Whether it’s watching the coveted Trafalgar Cup street hockey tournament, sampling uniquely Canadian food and drink or rocking out to some of Canada’s finest bands, this event is jam packed with exciting activities and performances for everyone.

Canada has no shortage of artistic greats like Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Celine Dion and Brian Adams. New waves of artists like Arcade Fire, The Dears, Nelly Furtado and Nickelback are taking the international stage by storm. Montreal has been heralded as the global epicentre of indie music by Spin and the New York Times.

As part of Canada Day in London, Canada on Stage is a live concert starting at 6pm in Trafalgar Square, showcasing a stellar line-up of Canadian music talent.

This year’s performers includes: Blue Rodeo, Karkwa, Alex Cuba, The Mahones, Lennie Gallant, Devon Sproule, Jill Barber, Oh My Darling, Justin Hines, Tammy Weis and James Bryan.

The Experience Canada Pavilion will be set up and opening at 10:30am for anyone wondering about visiting Canada. Drop by the Experience Canada Pavilion and learn about the excitement and adventure of traveling to Canada. Visit Canada’s provinces at the pavilion and get information on all the hot travel spots.

The whole event starts in just an hour’s time from this article being published, starting at 10:30am – and the celebrations go on until 10pm tonight – so don’t miss this if you can make it to the show, it’s something you’ll always remember being at!

Canadian Affair, the company we always recommend as having the lowest cost flights going to and from Canada will also be there at their own stall – so while you’re there, remember to call in and have a chat to see what offers they have at the moment to help you go from ‘little Canada’ in Trafalgar Square today – to the real thing!

Canada Day London will be tweeting from the event live today on Twitter @canadadaylondon

Canadian Affair will also be joining in on the live tweeting from the event, so if you want to have a look what theyre doing right now check them out @CanadianAffair .. AND dont miss out on your chance to enter Canadian Affair’s Competition for a pair of free flights at their Facebook Page – http://www.facebook.com/CanadianAffair

And of coarse, while you’re on twitter, why not follow us @canadatrip so that you’re always up to date with the most recent article!

So, i think there’s only one last thing to say – HAPPY CANADA DAY to Canadians everywhere, hope you all have a great time

View Larger Map

Share on Facebook

We have, since we set up almost two years ago, always recommended Canadian Affair for flights, where you can get return tickets to Canada for as little as £318 including taxes.

Canadian Affair charter Thomas Cook flights, as well as Air Transat so you you have the piece of mind when you book that you can choose flights by which ever company you’re most familiar with (though Air Transat is my personal favourite). There’s two reasons for us always recommending Canadian Affair. The first being we ALWAYS book our flights to Canada with them – and have now been on 18 flights over the last 7 years, so we have huge experience with them. The second being – they are simply, the cheapest place to book flights to Canada from the UK. I know.. i search every few weeks, always looking to book my next trip!

Thomas Cook 757 at Toronto

Even if you may have heard of Canadian Affair before, there are deals that many people miss, so I’d always recommend checking out their Special Offers page before you start entering dates – so you can ensure you get the best deal before you book your tickets.

With most people, and understandably, the biggest factor is getting the cheap flights to Canada, but there’s more to Canadian Affair than simply being the cheapest flights to Canada! They strive to give you the best customer service possible, for example in the numerous times i have needed to contact them via email, they have always responded the same day – and on a couple of occasions within 30 minutes of me actually submitting my query!

They also provide you with choice. If your closest airport is Manchester and you want to get flights from Manchester to Toronto or flights from Manchester to Ottawa, you can! Likewise you also have the choice of getting your flights from Gatwick to Toronto and flying back from Toronto to Liverpool if you wanted.

Canadian Affair offer flights from the following UK airports: Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle and Exeter. Their destinations include Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal and Edmonton, but they also do package holidays to various resorts around these locations (such as Niagara Falls) in addition to their flights.

Remember to have a look at our full review from last year on Canadian Affair, details in it are for a trip we took in 2009 but service has only got better since then: Travelling to Canada with Canadian Affair in 2010

If you want to keep up to date on the latest offers we find, and our latest articles, be one of the first to find out by following us on Twitter!

Alternatively you could subscribe to our mailing list and choose what categories you want to be notified that a new review or article is out for it!

But a Holiday isn’t all about the flight right? And different people like different types of holidays. Some relaxing – taking the kids out to some of Canada’s best attractions, Some adventuring through types of wilderness that can only be found here, Some just looking to soak up the culture – or even go shopping. But whatever you want to do while on your Canada trip, we try to find places which you will love, and tag them to the locations you’re looking to Visit!

For example, if you’re heading out to have a drive round Ontario – check out our Ontario category. Or, if you’re planning on spending your time in a particular city or destination such as Toronto, then have a look at the places we’ve reviewed and featured in our Toronto Category. We are also building up a portfolio of Provincial Parks – The one we are focusing on at the moment is Algonquin Provincial Park which is easily accessible after landing in Toronto or Ottawa and you’re guaranteed to be able to spend your entire holiday camping, or staying in a hotel just outside the park – enjoying the unspoilt wilderness – and discovering everything the parks have to offer..

So, Reviews.. Where to start! We have 200 articles on Canada Trip.co.uk, all offering advice about where to go, what to see, how to save money and where to stay.. so when asked to pick out specific reviews, its a difficult choice to make! Below are some of the articles of places you absolutely must visit if you’re in the cities they’re located in..

Toronto

Toronto Zoo
Toronto zoo is one of the must see locations on your trip if you’re in the Toronto region – though remember to give yourself a whole day to look around this amazing place – When i visited in May, it was a beautiful sunny day, we got there in the morning and still didn’t quite get to see everything in the zoo… (more..)

Canada’s Wonderland, Toronto
While you’re in Toronto – why not take a day to visit Canada’s Premiere Themed Amusement Park! Whether you have kids young or old, or even if you don’t have any – Canada’s Wonderland is guaranteed to be a day you wont forget! (more..)

The CN Tower, Toronto
If you’re flying into Toronto Pearson International Airport, you may be lucky enough to be greeted to Canada with a beautiful cityscape of Toronto, set on the background of Lake Ontario – The city skyline of Toronto, no matter where you go in the world will always have a needle looking building to its centre – this is the truely world famous CN Tower Toronto. (more..)

more Toronto articles…

Ottawa

Parliament Buildings, Ottawa
Parliament Hill (colloquially The Hill, in French: Colline du Parlement) is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings — the parliament buildings — serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural elements of national symbolic importance. Parliament Hill attracts approximately 3 million visitors each year… (more..)

Canada’s Wonderland, Toronto
The museum’s collection contains a wide variety of civilian and military aircraft, representing the history of Canadian aviation from the pioneer era before the First World War up to the present day. Particularly noteworthy is the collection of vintage bushplanes from the 1920s to the 1940s. The military aircraft represent aircraft flown by Canadians in the First World War, Second World War, and the Cold War. The museum’s best known exhibit is the surviving components of the Avro Arrow interceptor from the late 1950s. (more..)

more Ottawa articles…

Vancouver

Toronto Zoo
Back now to Vancouver – and one of the city’s key attractions – The Capilano Suspension Bridge. Not a place to go if you have a fear of heights, but if you’re clear of that – you’ll find the trip out to this attraction to be something special, and something you’ll remember for a long long time. The Capilano Suspension Bridge is a simple suspension bridge crossing the Capilano River in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada… (more..)

Vancouver Aquarium
Vancouver Aquarium is Canada’s largest Aquarium, and also a non-profit organisation! They dedicate their efforts to effect the conservation of aquatic life through display, interpretation, education, research, and direct action. You will experience all this and more when you go visit them! (more..)

Fort Langley National Historic Site
My personal thoughts are that if you truly want to get to know somewhere, then you should always go a little bit further to learn about how it came to be this way in the first place, hence my love for history! So, I’m shining the spot light on Fort Langly National Historic Site of Canada in Vancouver, BC… (more..)

more Vancouver articles…

Halifax

Halifax, NS
Another one of the cornerstones of places to visit in Canada would certainly be Halifax. Halifax was the site of the first British town in Canada, founded in 1749. Since then, the area has evolved to be home for a diverse mix of people. Charming fishing villages, farming communities and Atlantic Canada’s largest city are just some of the things which Halifax has to offer. (more..)

Halifax Citadel
Located within the centre of Halifax, this fort is easy to get to from wherever you may be staying in the city. Though a little word of warning – each day at noon a cannon is fired as a symbol of Halifax’s military history.. This often comes as a great shock, being so loud, to unsuspecting tourists – so now you wont be one of them! (more..)

York Redoubt, Halifax
York Redoubt as a place to visit is both an interesting historic site, as well as a fantastic spot to take pictures of the surrounding landscape, and not only that it’s only a very short drive from the city its self… (more..)

more Halifax articles…

Quebec / Montreal

The Citadelle, Quebec City
And I’m once again going to delve into the history of Canada. Anyone who happens to be a member of English Heritage or National Trust in the UK may be interested in Castles, and simply for its imposing position, significance and importance – The Citadelle in Quebec City I would probably most likely compare to Dover Castle, as far as visitor experience is concerned. (more..)

Montreal Biodome, Montreal
If you or your kids ever wanted to be able to visit a number of different places around the world within a few hours, the Montreal Biodome is the place you’ll want to take your family!… (more..)

Canadian Railway Museum
f you have kids, love history and or trains – this is one place that if you’re in Montreal in Quebec, you will not want to miss out of your trip! (more..)

more Quebec / Montreal articles…

Calgary / Edmonton

Calgary, Alberta
Nestled in the foothills of Canada’s Rocky Mountains, Calgary, Heart of the New West is a place where visitors come to explore the heritage of the Canadian West. This safe, clean and vibrant city offers the best of all worlds: a cosmopolitan city of over 1 million people and breathtaking outdoor adventure in pristine wilderness. Not only does it offer amazing wilderness, it has an immense number of activities for you and your family to head off to! (more..)

Edmonton, Alberta
Edmonton is the capital city of Alberta and is well known for its scenic river valley and a thriving music and art community. Located 294 km (183 mi) north of Calgary, Edmonton is home to North America’s largest shopping and entertainment complex, West Edmonton Mall. More than just a shopping centre, West Edmonton Mall also has a giant water park, a man-made lake, a skating rink, two mini-golf courses, 21 movie theatres, a Vegas-style casino and an amusement park with 25 rides and attractions. (more..)

The Calgary Tower
Officially opened June 30th 1968, the ‘Tower’ has become the City of Calgary’s most famous and identifiable physical landmark. One of the first Towers of its kind, the Calgary Tower offers the best view in Calgary and is a must-see on any tourist’s itinerary… (more..)

more Calgary / Edmonton articles…

Remember, you can check any of the categories on the left to specify if you’re looking for anywhere that isn’t listed here. For the latest articles, feel free to head back to the home page and have a look around!

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

If you’ve been following me by Twitter you will probably have spotted a retweet about this offer yesterday! The offer is $129 for a one night short break in Niagara Falls. It treats you to a Deluxe Cityview Two-Bedroom Jacuzzi Suite with a fireplace and includes a $40 dining voucher for Romano’s Macaroni Grill for your dinner at the hotel, Full buffet breakfast for two, valued also at $40, and Two passes for a winery tour and tasting at Peller Estates, also valued at $40!

The offer is being run through TravelZoo.com and to have a look at full details of the offer click the following link: http://www.travelzoo.com/ca/hotels/ontario/1021136/

These rooms are available now through until June 15th, but you must book by the 10th May and these rooms are likely to sell out quickly, so the sooner you book the better! If you are flying to Toronto to stay there or near and around Niagara Falls – planning a trip there, this is not an offer you should miss! If your journey is particularly long and don’t fancy driving back at night – stopping at a hotel is very much recommended. Not only do you get to avoid a night time drive, you get to enjoy the atmosphere and the vibrancy of the colourful Falls when they’re lit up at dusk – and at all time you have the peace of mind of knowing that you’ve got an incredibly comfy and cosy suite to head back to for a good night’s sleep.

Treating yourself has just got a lot more affordable!

If you want more updates about the Hilton Niagara Falls Hotel, you can follow them on twitter here: @Hilton_Niagara

And remember you can always follow me on Twitter here:@canadatrip

View Larger Map

Share on Facebook

Canada Day is still 111 days away, but that doesn’t mean preparations are not under way to make the biggest Canada Day Celebration outside of Canada – even bigger and better than ever before. Why am i writing about it so soon before the event? Because last year i mentioned it a little too soon to give you guys the opportunity to plan ahead! So, here’s my heads up for you to start planning!

2011 promises to be even bigger and better with more cultural activities, more food and drink from across Canada and a great new line-up of music and entertainment. Whether it’s watching the coveted Trafalgar Cup street hockey tournament, sampling uniquely Canadian food and drink or rocking out to some of Canada’s finest bands, this event is jam packed with exciting activities and performances for everyone.

Canada has no shortage of artistic greats like Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Celine Dion and Brian Adams. New waves of artists like Arcade Fire, The Dears, Nelly Furtado and Nickelback are taking the international stage by storm. Montreal has been heralded as the global epicentre of indie music by Spin and the New York Times.

As part of Canada Day in London, Canada on Stage is a live concert starting at 6pm in Trafalgar Square, showcasing a stellar line-up of Canadian music talent.

This year’s perfomers includes: Blue Rodeo, Karkwa, Alex Cuba, The Mahones, Lennie Gallant, Devon Sproule, Jill Barber, Oh My Darling, Justin Hines, Tammy Weis and James Bryan.

The Experience Canada Pavilion will be set up and opening at 10:30am for anyone wondering about visiting Canada. Drop by the Experience Canada Pavilion and learn about the excitement and adventure of traveling to Canada. Visit Canada’s provinces at the pavilion and get information on all the hot travel spots.

Now any regular reader knows I’m a bit of a foody.. and that I’ve highly recommended food and drink in Canada more times than anything else. So.. Have you ever wanted to try Tim Hortons? Because, there genuinely IS going to be a Tim Hortons in the UK in Trafalgar Square, on Canada Day this year!! Tim Hortons coffee, donuts, Timbits and pastries are coming to London! Be prepared to rediscover your addiction to the world’s greatest coffee when Canada Day in London brings Timmy’s to you!
And what about that recent food i’ve written about? Poutine? Yep! That will definitely on sale, as always in Canada Day London, along with the Bison Burger so if you can get, make sure you try these out!

All this, and there’s still many more things that the Canada Day London 2011 website has still to publish! Make sure to check their site regularly for new announcements of what’s happening and the full schedule of the events taking place on July 1st 2011!

View Larger Map

Share on Facebook

If you’re new to this site, I’m writing this as a British traveller, who happens to want to give recommendations and information about some of the best places to go in Canada, as well as information which you really could do with knowing before you set out there. So with this in mind – my first interest to go to Canada started young.

It’s a strange thing when you’re a kid, and told that the Queen of your country, which you’ve known your whole life – happens to be the queen of other countries around the world. It sparks all kinds of thoughts, presumptions and ideas about what are these other countries like exactly? And how, on this gigantic planet – could a Queen be not just Queen of one country, but of many.
It was out of that curiosity, as well as my interest in Geography – and funnily enough my mum’s old Globe (one of those on an axis which turns.. a metal one, with a metal base) which made me choose the two places on earth which i would most want to visit. According to the old metal globe, the flag of Canada was a red flag, with a shield in the middle and a Union Flag top left. Of coarse, this was an old globe, and i soon learnt that things had changed since the 1960s, and the red maple on a white and red background had been adopted.

The more i learnt about Canada the more curious i was.. And TV just spurred it on.. TV images on the news – live or recorded are always fuzzy in the UK if they come from the US or Canada and converted into PAL. It was nice therefore when we touched down at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto in June 2005 that the whole north American continent was definitely not soft-toned to look at!

I remember that first trip out, it was almost like being on a different planet. At least when you go to Spain or France, you see the some things which are familiar.. for example models of Cars. But when you’re in Canada for the first time, you’ll find almost everything is different in some way.

Cars are bigger, chunkier – bolder.. And certainly for me – everything simply seems new! In the UK we’re so used to driving down country lanes. There’s a dry stone wall on both sides which predates the USA – and it’s normal for us, we don’t pay it any attention.. So when you go to Canada, the lack of these features gives everything a clean and fresh perspective!

I’ll leave out the state-the-obvious details for example driving on the right. Though although i don’t recommend it to you – a lot of people speed at least little above the limit, but if you do go, it’s just not worth it. You will no doubt have a car with cruise control, just set it to the limit – and relax. The car behind will over take you in whichever lane it feels like so remember to use all your mirrors! Lane discipline isn’t so tightly stuck to in Canada! .. and then there’s the Trucks. In the UK we have the boring flat fronted trucks, standard across Europe.. where as in Canada – there are real trucks, with front mounted engines, giant grills.. double exhausts .. Yep. Real trucks!

The first thing, as silly as it sounds, that we did when we were in Canada – was stop off at a local McDonald’s – the food tastes better. For me, it was like eating the best McDonald’s meal i had ever had.. combined with fries which i’d not tasted since i was a kid. It proved to me that in the UK, McDonald’s had changed their fries.. maybe it was the oil? Who knows.. all i do know is i was literally transported back to memories of a happy meal i once had before seeing the Lion King in the Cinema as a kid!

My very first evening in Canada brought me face to face with a species I’d only ever seen in photos, film and cartoons. A Raccoon, uncharacteristically came out early in the evening, before the sun had fully set. Almost as if it somehow in a fictional way, knew – it was my first evening, and came to present its self as some kind of furry ambassador of Canadian wildlife for me to take photos of! Even today i remember it as a special moment, as we rarely spotted raccoons out while it was still light.

Then there’s the peace and tranquility. If you’re lucky enough to be able to stop somewhere out in a Provincial park camp, or with relatives out of the city.. or just simply somewhere out of a busy city centre, you’re left with peace and quiet. The stars shine brighter, than you will have no doubt ever seen before since the light pollution is limited to cities, and next to nothing outside of them, and the quiet is silence. All but the rustle of trees and the sounds of nature around you.

So, it looks as if first impressions definitely do matter. My first day in Canada showed me everything i’d hoped Canada would be – and more. The best part was – the best was still to come! So why Canada? Because it’s Canada.

If you’re heading to Canada for the first time i hope your first impressions are just as good as mine were! Even if they turn out to be the none conventional type. Or, if you’ve travelled to Canada from the UK previously, it’d be great to hear some of your stories of how you may have come to love the country!

Share on Facebook

If you haven’t been to Canada yet, you’ll almost certainly walk into restaurants and find something on the menu called Poutine. Now, don’t be scared of its particularly unique name! Poutine is actually something that most people in the UK can relate to.. We have all (well.. most of us) gone to the chip shop and got either Chips with Gravy, OR Chips with Cheese .. Well .. although technically it wouldn’t be technically correct – if you had cheese and gravy on the same tray of chips, that is almost poutine! Now, i say almost because for it to be truly poutine, the cheese needs to be cheese curds, not just your normal cheese.

As you can see from the picture, poutine is definitely not the most elegant looking of foods, but lets face it, it beats the looks of mushy peas now doesn’t it! Besides, Canadians have always been known for their no-nonsence approach, and food in my opinion should always be about flavour, and not looks.

The dish originated in rural Quebec, Canada, in the late 1950s. Several Québécois communities claim to be the birthplace of poutine, including Drummondville (by Jean-Paul Roy in 1964), Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, and Victoriaville. One often-cited tale is that of Fernand Lachance, from Warwick, Quebec, which claims that poutine was invented in 1957. Lachance is said to have exclaimed ça va faire une maudite poutine (“it will make a damn mess”), hence the name. The sauce was allegedly added later, to keep the fries warm longer.

So, since in the UK fresh cheese curds are difficult to find, how do you make poutine in the UK? If you were fancying making and trying your own poutine, it’s actually not too difficult. my suggestion if curds are hard to find, use a cheese like Mozzarella (torn into small ‘curds’) or Cheshire or Lancashire cut into small cubes, then pour your sauce over them.

You can either make your own real meat gravy from your Sunday roast, or use tinned gravy granules (OXO or that nice Bovril granule mix), a touch of tomato sauce and a dash of pepper (black), or if you like a touch of oregano and garlic that is fine, depending on were you go in Quebec the poutine sauce can change.

The most important thing you should know, is the chips are supposed to be soft in the middle and crispy on the outside, and to make sure they keep their texture for as long as possible, take the chips to the table and put the gravy on immediately before eating!

So when you’re in Canada next, you’ll see it on the menus. And sometimes, someof the best places to get it are at the chip trucks you’ll see in store carparks or by the road – so why not call off and try out the genuine stuff? Comments would be welcome for places to get the best Poutine!

Share on Facebook

A lot of people don’t realise that Canadian Affair always run a large number of offers – so take a quick look at the offers most people miss by clicking here for their special offers like flights from £139!

So once again, my recommendation on the company you should fly to Canada in 2011 is Canadian Affair.

Below I’m including my review on Canadian Affair from 2009, but before it I’m going to mention a couple of things I’ve seeing about the web
I’m sure if you’re searching for for Canadian Affair Reviews, positive or negative, you’ll have found a great deal – that’s because many people use the company every year.. One thing I’ve found is that a great deal of negative points are based on ‘one off’ instances which many people would disregard if you had a comfortable flight. I’ve now had the experience of 16 happy flights with them and i have absolute faith in the company. I’ve seen “complaints” over the seats people have booked changing a month or so before their flight – this can happen, for example if a flight is underbooked (not many people booked themselves onto the flight) rather than cancelling the flight, sometimes they will change an A330 for an A310 – different planes have different seating layouts.. but even so they will try to put you in the closest seat to what you asked for (as they did with us last year). And if you look at the reviews which are positive, the majority are almost 5 out of 5 and i think that speaks louder than anything! So as my opinion and experience hasnt changed since i wrote the following, here’s my 5 out of 5 positive review about Canadian Affair from just after flying with them the other year!

“So, what about my experience with Canadian Affair? Well every time i have ever visited Canada, i have always booked through Canadian Affair. This is because back in 2005 i went hunting for the best prices and Canadian Affair won hands down every single time. Since then I’ve been on 12 separate flights booked by Canadian Affair and I’ve never had any major problems what so ever.
What I’ve found on review sites are a few people who mention Overbooking being a problem.. I have only ever seen this happen twice out of my 12 flights. Canadian Affair’s method to deal with overbooking is very generous and they try to make it as fair as they possibly can – The first time i knew my flight was overbooked was my flight out in May this year. An apologetic person went through the check in queue asking for Volunteers, letting people know the flight was overbooked and offering them if i remember right over £100 off their next Canadian affair flight and accommodation for the night if they would take the offer of going on the next flight out to Toronto. It is entirely voluntary – BUT do as i do. ALWAYS get to your check in when it opens, just because you have 3 hours to check in doesn’t mean you can get there an hour after it opens – if you get there first, whether you have booked seats or not, you will always be guaranteed to fly out on the flight you booked.. Oh and the second time? My return flight last Saturday, this time the apologetic Canadian woman going through the queue was offering £250 off the next Canadian affair flight, as well as accommodation for the night if someone would volunteer to transfer flight. £250 was the entire amount i payed for that flight! So as you can see Canadian Affair do all they can to be fair and honest to their customers.

Thomas Cook 757 at Toronto in June 2006

How about the quality of the flights? Well, I’ve flown on Thomas Cook and Air Transat as I’ve mentioned before (as well as My Travel before they were bought by Thomas Cook) and the food – in my opinion – for airline food was top quality. Thomas Cook, being a British airline company will usually serve two hot traditional style meals (such as a chicken dinner or pasta bake) or, depending on the time you’re flying a hot meal and a snack – usually of a small sandwich, crisps, cheese and biscuits and a branded chocolate bar. Air Transat however are a French Canadian Airline and the food you find on these flights are usually different, with a nice french/American twist to their meals – for example a carrot and cinnamon muffin for breakfast, and a portion of three bean salad with your hot meal. On either Airline you fly with i have always found the service by the crew very helpful and polite, and in the case of my flight back last Saturday very patient, since my partner kept accidentally pressing the “call” button on the armrest!

Entertainment varies on your flights greatly. It’s very difficult to say that there is good entertainment on specific flights simply because everyone has different preferences as to what they want to watch. Most of the flights operated by Air Transat or Thomas Cook in my experience have TVs that come down from the roof, so offer only a single channel of TV. These usually include two recent movies one oriented at kids, and another oriented at Family, or in the case of when i was flying back last Saturday on a Thomas Cook A330, we had three films which pretty much filled up the whole flight – Pink Panther 2, 17 Again and Aliens Vs Monsters. If you’re lucky – some of the Thomas Cook A330 Planes have back seat TVs built in, which gives you a much greater choice of what you can watch – but my tip is if you’re pretty specific about what you like to watch, try take a PSP or small DVD player with you, or maybe even a good book, for the programs or films you may not feel like watching

The GPS Map Channel on Thomas Cook A330 Aircraft

My experience with Canadian Affair has always been positive, speedy response to queries be it email or telephone, kind personal responses which make you feel respected and valued, great quality service and flights and the absolute best prices.

If you book with them for your next Canada Trip please email them and let them know if you’ve had a great flight and service, also feel free to leave a comment here to let everyone else know what you think! The funny thing about us British is we’re always quick to complain, but we very rarely take the time to complement – and Canadian Affair, certainly over my last 12 flights deserve all the compliments they can get! So let me know your experiences with Canadian affair by leaving a comment!

If you want to look for the latest deals, the cheapest flights are made easier to find, when you get to the home page after clicking the link to Canadian Affair below – check the “Special Flight Offers” section on the right, it’ll take you to the list of all the lowest priced flights and which dates they’re on, so go check it out at Canadian Affair!” Click here For more information about canadian affair and the flights to toronto and other destinations for £139

Share on Facebook

I’m sure by now many of you will know we recommend Canadian Affair for flights – and that every time we fly to Canada we only ever book through them. The reason is as most know, Canadian Affair simply are the lowest priced flight operator from the UK to Canada, and they include all meals within their prices – so you get real value for money.

Canadian Affair are offering flights currently from £139 one way – to and from Canada – and you can get return flights to Canada from £298! These prices INCLUDE taxes! So the price you see on their site is the price you pay

Click here for Canadian Affair’s Special Offers page which lists all the dates and prices for flights to Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

Or, click here for Canadian Affairs Round Trip Offers to all their destinations!

Though that’s not all that Canadian Affair are offering at the moment. They’re Still offering Skiing holidays from £499pp for this season. You can save 10% on all Rocky Mountaineer tours - Free upgrades and free one way drop offs on Car Hire – and much more! So Take a look at what Canadian Affair has to offer this January! We’re booking our flights within the next few days – so why not do the same?

Share on Facebook