by Eric Goudie

Created on: March 06, 2009

Canada is a country of roughly 30 million people, divided into ten provinces and three territories. Each province and territory has unique geographic, historical, cultural narratives, and all have many great reasons to include them in a vacation to this "land of the birchbark huts."

Newfoundland and Labrador - The eastern-most province joined the Canada in 1949. It is divided into two parts, the island of Newfoundland, and the rugged, sparesly populated Labrador. The province is known for its rich, distinctive local dialect, as well as its long history of fishing, especially for cod, off its shores on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Though in recent years the fishery has been severely curtailed due to overfishing, offshore oil and gas deposits have brought new and hitherto unseen prosperity. Newfoundlanders are known for their friendly, outgoing nature, and quirky sense of style, most famously represented in the bright colours they paint their houses, so much so that one street in Newfoundland is simply known as "jelly bean road."

Nova Scotia - Another one of Canada's four "maritime" provinces, Nova Scotia has also been a product of the sea throughout its history. Most of the province is attached to the mainland, except for the northern island of Cape Breton, considered by many the cradle of a thriving East Coast Canadian music scene. Nova Scotia is home to The Blue Nose II, one of the world's fastest schooners, and the boat depicted on the Canadian dime.

Prince Edward Island - Canada's smallest province, PEI as it's affectionately referred to, is best known for its potatoes and its plays. PEI potatoes are considered among Canada's best, and farms exist alongside golf courses, light houses and sandy beaches throughout the island. The capital, Charlottetown, is home to the world-famous Charlottetown Festival, a major Canadian theatre that regularly produces the stage version of Anne of Green Gables, the story of a precocious red-headed child with a heart of gold, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, PEI's most beloved author.

New Brunswick - The fourth maritime province is called New Brunswick. It has a smaller connection to the sea than the others, albeit an important one, and it is home to the Bay of Fundy, which is known for some of the most extreme ocean tides on earth. New Brunswick was once home to the Acadians, French-speaking settlers who were forcefully relocated by the British when they captured North America from the French. Some Acadians moved to South

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