A Culinary Tour Through Canada's Provinces

Quebec's culinary traditions blend French techniques with North American ingredients, creating a cuisine that's both rustic and refined.

Poutine

Quebec's most famous culinary export consists of french fries topped with cheese curds and smothered in gravy. Originally a late-night snack in rural Quebec during the 1950s, poutine has evolved into a national dish with countless variations, from lobster poutine in the Maritimes to kimchi poutine in urban centers.

Tourtière

This traditional meat pie is especially popular during the Christmas season. The filling varies by region - in Montreal, it's typically made with finely ground pork, while the Lac-Saint-Jean version (tourtière du Lac-Saint-Jean) is deeper and filled with cubed meats including game.

Maple Everything

Quebec produces about 70% of the world's maple syrup. Beyond the classic maple syrup drizzled over pancakes, look for maple taffy (hot syrup cooled on snow), maple butter, and maple-infused craft beers and spirits.

As Canada's most populous province and home to its most diverse city (Toronto), Ontario's food scene reflects influences from around the world.

Butter Tarts

These quintessentially Canadian pastries feature a flaky shell filled with a gooey mixture of butter, sugar, and eggs. The great Canadian debate: should they contain raisins? Try both versions to decide for yourself.

Peameal Bacon Sandwich

Toronto's signature sandwich features lean boneless pork loin, rolled in cornmeal (historically, yellow pea meal), sliced, and grilled. Find the classic version at St. Lawrence Market, where carousel bacon, simple on a bun, lets the quality of the meat shine.

BeaverTails

While originating in Ottawa, these hand-stretched pastries shaped like beaver tails and topped with cinnamon, sugar, and various toppings are now beloved across Ontario and beyond.

With access to the Pacific Ocean, fertile valleys, and a strong Asian influence, British Columbia's cuisine emphasizes fresh seafood and farm-to-table dining.

Pacific Salmon

B.C.'s coastal waters provide five species of wild Pacific salmon. Whether grilled, smoked, or prepared in the traditional indigenous method on cedar planks, salmon is a cornerstone of British Columbian cuisine.

Nanaimo Bars

Named after the city on Vancouver Island, these no-bake treats feature a coconut-graham cracker base, custard-flavored butter icing, and a chocolate top layer. No trip to B.C. is complete without sampling this sweet sensation.

Spot Prawns

During their short season (usually May to June), these sustainable, sweet-tasting prawns appear on menus throughout Vancouver. Often simply prepared with garlic and butter to highlight their natural flavor, they're a seasonal delicacy worth seeking out.

With vast ranchlands and a strong cowboy culture, Alberta is known for its high-quality beef and hearty cuisine.

Alberta Beef

Alberta raises some of the finest beef cattle in the world, thanks to ideal grazing conditions and rigorous quality standards. Whether you prefer a tender filet mignon or a robust ribeye, Alberta steakhouses serve exceptional beef that's often simply seasoned to let the natural flavor shine.

Bison

Indigenous to the prairies, bison meat is leaner than beef with a richer, slightly sweeter flavor. Look for bison burgers, steaks, and even traditional pemmican – a concentrated mixture of dried bison, fat, and berries that was a crucial food source for indigenous peoples and fur traders.

Saskatoon Berry Pie

These small purple berries, which resemble blueberries but have a unique almond-like flavor note, were a staple for Indigenous peoples and early settlers. Saskatoon berry pie, with its sweet-tart filling, is a prairie classic.

New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador share a rich maritime heritage reflected in their seafood-centric cuisines.

Lobster

Once considered a poor man's food, Atlantic lobster is now a premium delicacy. In the Maritimes, you'll find everything from elegant lobster dinners to casual lobster rolls stuffed with chunks of sweet meat mixed with a touch of mayonnaise or melted butter.

Digby Scallops

Harvested from the cold, clean waters around Nova Scotia, Digby scallops are renowned for their large size, sweet flavor, and tender texture. Simply pan-seared to caramelized perfection, they showcase the pure taste of the Atlantic.

Rappie Pie

A traditional Acadian dish, rappie pie consists of grated potatoes, the liquid squeezed out and replaced with broth, layered with meat (usually chicken) and baked until the top is crispy. The unique texture – creamy in the middle with a crusty top – makes it a distinctive Maritime comfort food.

Newfoundland Specialties

Newfoundland cuisine has remained remarkably distinct, with dishes like cod tongues (a delicacy of fried cod cheeks and jowls), toutons (fried bread dough often served with molasses), and Jiggs' dinner (a boiled meal of salt beef, vegetables, and pease pudding).

Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with their agricultural heritage and diverse immigrant populations, offer hearty cuisine influenced by Ukrainian, Mennonite, and Indigenous traditions.

Perogies

Brought by Ukrainian immigrants, these potato and cheese-filled dumplings have become a prairie staple, often served with sautéed onions, bacon bits, and sour cream. Many towns in Manitoba and Saskatchewan proudly claim to have the best perogies in Canada.

Bannock

This simple bread, adaptable to both baking and frying, has been a part of Indigenous cuisine for generations. Modern Indigenous chefs are reinventing bannock in creative ways, from using it as a base for "Indian tacos" to serving it alongside traditional game meats.

Saskatoon Berry Jam

Beyond pie, Saskatoon berries make exceptional jam that pairs wonderfully with fresh bread or bannock. Its unique flavor – somewhere between blueberry, cherry, and almond – is distinctively Canadian.

The cuisines of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut blend traditional Indigenous foods with practical adaptations to the harsh northern climate.

Arctic Char

This cold-water fish, related to salmon and trout, is a staple in northern communities. With its bright pink flesh and mild flavor, Arctic char can be enjoyed raw, smoked, or cooked. It's sustainable, nutritious, and represents the pristine waters of Canada's North.

Game Meats

Caribou, muskox, and moose are still important food sources in the North. Preparing and sharing these meats connects current generations to long-standing cultural practices. When properly prepared, game meats offer rich, complex flavors unlike any conventional meat.

Bannock

While bannock is enjoyed across Canada, it holds special importance in the North, where it's often cooked over open fires during hunting trips or community gatherings. Regional variations might include berries or other local ingredients.

Canada's beverage culture is as diverse as its food traditions:

Ice Wine

Produced primarily in Ontario and British Columbia, this dessert wine is made from grapes that have frozen on the vine, concentrating their sugars and flavors. The result is intensely sweet yet balanced with acidity – a perfect end to a Canadian meal.

Caesar

Canada's national cocktail was invented in Calgary in 1969. Similar to a Bloody Mary but made with clamato juice (a blend of tomato juice and clam broth), a Caesar typically includes vodka, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and is garnished with a celery stalk and lime.

Craft Beer

Canada's craft brewing scene has exploded in recent years, with microbreweries in every province creating distinctive beers that often incorporate local ingredients like spruce tips, maple syrup, or fruits.

Canadian Whisky

Traditionally lighter and smoother than Scotch or Bourbon, Canadian whisky is experiencing a renaissance with small-batch distilleries creating complex, flavorful expressions that showcase Canadian grains.