I am biased. I don't think that there is any Canadian city not worth visiting. They each have a unique flavour, a melange made up of their founding nations and countless immigrant cultures, all blended into its own unique geography and history to create an experience all its own.
Then again, if we consider that cities are only those of a reasonable population size, say, 100,000 or more, and don't go by the official political labels as designated by province, there really are not that many mid-sized or larger cities in Canada. The majority of those lie along the Great Lakes / St. Lawrence River corridor: Sault Ste Marie, Windsor, London, Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and then, flowing straight into and among the Atlantic provinces, Halifax, Moncton, Fredericton, Saint John, Charlottetown. Further west we find Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, and on the other side of the mountains Vancouver and Victoria.
Smaller cities which have their own charm include Prince George, Fort McMurray, the many small cities dotting the prairies and the mining regions north of Lake Superior, Stratford and Niagara-on-the-lake for theatre lovers, the relatively small cities of the far north, Whitehorse and Yellowknife and Iqaluit.
So, it really depends what kind of experience you want to have.
For a down-home experience like no other, for fishing boats and seafood dinners and histories as long as any in Canada, you can't beat the cities of Atlantic Canada. The people of Newfoundland, of St. John's and Cornerbrook and many many small fishing communities, may be among the friendliest on earth, though the people of Prince Edward Island and Charlottetown may give them a run for their money. Moncton, Fredericton, and Saint John bring together New Brunswick's dual heritage, the only province in Canada to be officially bilingual. In Saint John can also be seen one of the most famous tidal bores in the world, the famous Reversing Falls, which in turn result directly from the record high tides of the Bay of Fundy. Halifax also offers a strong Scottish heritage, with Highland games every year, and many of its residents have at least some knowledge of Scottish Gaelic.
Arguably the heart of francophone Canada lies in Quebec City, whose old, walled city has been declared a UNESCO heritage site. Montreal is much more ethnically diverse, much more cosmopolitan, and offers everything from a high city experience to quiet contemplative moments on the peak of Mount Royal. While English is widely spoken in tourist sectors, a few French words will win you good will everywhere.
Quebec may be the largest province, but Ontario is the most populous. It is certainly the most diverse. Its capital, Toronto, virtually defines diversity, with nearly half its population having been born outside Canada. The result is a city that draws from the best the world has to offer, food and language and culture. From a tower that was once highest in the world to the smells and sounds of Chinatown and Greektown, from high-powered corporate skyscrapers to quiet tree-lined neighbourhoods, from cutting edge medical research to museums of ancient human history, Toronto has it all.
Yet there is far more to see in Ontario than Toronto. The historic British military culture of Canada is preserved both at Kingston and Fort York, a stone's throw from the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-lake. Regional theatres dot all of the southwestern Ontario peninsula, from summer theatre such as the world-famous Stratford Shakespeare Festival to winter season theatre such as that available at London's refurbished Grand Theatre. Besides its Canada Day celebrations, the capital of Canada, Ottawa, offers a tulip festival in spring, and in winter the Rideau Canal converts to a kilometres-long skating rink commute right into the heart of the city. Cities such as Barrie and Huntsville, in the heart of cottage country, welcome visitors with beaches and still lakes and pine-scented air.
Who could leave Ontario without having visited Niagara Falls? Oh, never mind the falls themselves, what about the Criminals' Hall of Fame, Dinosaur Park Miniature Golf, the House of Frankenstein, the Fun House, Dracula's Haunted Castle, the Haunted House, Alien Encounter, and let's not forget the Guinness World of Records Museum? Can we sense a theme going on here?
And then we have the northern mining cities of Ontario, the locks of Sault Ste Marie, the giant nickel of Sudbury, and Upsala, Ontario, home to a huge statue of a man being carried away by a mosquito, complete with fork and dinner knife. Komarno, Manitoba, even takes its name from the little suckers: the first settlers were Ukrainian, and "komarno" means "mosquito-infested" in Ukrainian. It holds its Perogy-Fest in November, the Mosquito Flea Market in summer. They call themselves the Mosquito Capital of the World. I mean, who could not love a city which has chosen to distinguish itself by its mosquitoes?
The corner of Portage and Main Streets in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is popularly held to be to be the coldest place in all Canada (with nothing between you and the North Pole but a few stray reindeer), but it doesn't stop the roller coaster and other rides of Fun Park from being open all year round. And you thought Quebec City was nuts for its Winter Carnival snow slide at only 17 below zero?
You have seen the iconic Mountie on his black horse. From the very earliest days of Canada he has represented the law, from urbane city to Canadian west and Canadian north, the trackless regions of the country. The Montana 'Fort Benton Record' notwithstanding, his motto is not "We always get our man" but "Maintiens le droit", uphold the right. His fame embraces Monty Python's Lumberjack Song, and Nelson Eddie, and Rocky and Bullwinkle. Regina is where the world-famous musical ride of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has its training quarters and permanent home, and the public is always welcome.
From almost the moment of its discovery, barely as soon as a transcontinental railway could make it accessible, Banff, Alberta, became one of the premier tourist destinations of the world. Yet for all that it has managed to remain small, unspoiled, and utterly charming. Hard to believe it lies only an easy day trip away from Calgary, one of the fastest growing cities in Canada. Home to the Calgary Stampede and the Reform Party of Canada, for all its glittering towers Calgary refuses to relinquish its proud, grassroots, cowboy heritage.
Slightly further north, Edmonton is the northernmost North American city with a population of over one million people, though it has one of the lowest population densities of any North American city, less than a tenth that of New York City. The result is a metropolis that often feels like a small town, even though it hosts the West Edmonton Mall, the largest indoor mall in North America. Despite the proximity of the bustling oil boom city of Fort McMurray and oil reserves estimated to be second only to those of Saudi Arabia, Edmonton has managed to maintain the second-most diverse economy in Canada, and the Financial Times publication 'FDi Magazine' has judged it to have the best economic potential of any city in North America. Yet this paradoxical city still manages to find space for an annual Street Performers Festival, Sourdough Raft Races, Canadian Finals Rodeo, Edmonton Folk Music Festival, and the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. Perhaps not least, among hockey fans Edmonton will always be known as the place where Wayne Gretzky captained the Edmonton Oilers to four Stanley Cup championships, and a life-sized bronze statue of him holding the Stanley Cup over his head stands outside the Northlands Coliseum to this day.
Let's detour north, way up north, and take a moment to visit the territorial capital of Nunavut, the youngest territory of Canada. Iqaluit, a name meaning "many fish", had long been a transitory campsite for the semi-nomadic Inuit, but its original relevance to Canadian national interests came with the Cold War and the Distant Early Warning line, which abruptly ballooned the local population to over a thousand people. Today, with a permanent population of just over six thousand, it is the smallest capital city in Canada, and in 2001 it became one of the smallest population centres to be officially be designated a city. Under the summer midnight sun its population continues to grow and the slowly and reluctantly growing number of cars on the street has even caused its first ever traffic flow glitches! But Iqaluit has not forgotten its heritage. Iqaluit is a bilingual city, in English and Inuktitut. The original Hudson's Bay buildings remind us of early British trade interests in a city once called Frobisher Bay, while Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum preserves the memory of an Inuit lifestyle rarely lived today. Even its historic Anglican cathedral is igloo-shaped! For the first time in recorded history, the summer waters surrounding Iqaluit are now ice-free, which has resulted in a sudden influx of thousands of boats of all sizes, from commercial shipping to private pleasure craft, all seeking to navigate the fabled Northwest Passage.
To the west, close to the Magnetic North Pole and under the northern lights, the territorial capital cities of Yellowknife and Whitehorse are quite a bit older and larger and more ethnically diverse. The gold rush days of Whitehorse and the Canadian Yukon drew people from all over the world in the 1890s, and the lure of diamonds continues to draw people to Yellowknife today. Thanks entirely to the diamond mines of the Northwest Territories, Canada is now third in the world in diamond value. The 2007 History Channel special "Ice Road Truckers" featured the unique profession which brings needed supplies north from Yellowknife along the infamous winter ice roads. Late winter is also the season for the Arctic Winter Games, a festival which brings together nine separate native contingents from five countries to compete in both modern and traditional games. The festival is hosted by different cities in different years, but Whitehorse and Yellowknife are by far the most frequent hosts. Yellowknife's legislature provides official translators for each of almost a dozen represented languages. Even CBC North, which will officially move its head offices from Ottawa to Yellowknife in January 2009, broadcasts in ten different languages. But most people of the Yukon and Northwest Territories understand English, and everyone understands the language of smiles.
South along the spine of the Rocky Mountains and the Inside Passage brings us to coastal British Columbia, the wild beauty of Nanaimo and Campbell River and Port Alberni on the exposed Pacific coast, a very British high tea in Victoria's Fairmont Empress Hotel. It can be hard to believe that the same city also contains a vibrant Chinatown, including Fan Tan Alley, the world's narrowest street, and the Tam Kung Buddhist temple, the oldest Buddhist temple in Canada. Across the warm waters of the Juan de Fuca Strait lies the city of Vancouver, consistently rated among the three most livable cities in the world and possibly the most racially integrated. What else could you call the city which is home to Gung Haggis Fat Choy?
So there you have an overview. How can it help but be hopelessly inadequate? To fully experience the reality, come visit!