Canada: The Cross Border Connection Trend

It’s the country from which you nab all the hot NHL players, comedians (Dan Akroyd, John Candy, Jim Carrey, Mike Myers) and yes, Celine Dion too, but there’s a lot more to Canada that you might realize. With all eyes on Vancouver for the Winter Olympics it may come in handy to have the 4-1-1 on Canada.

For starters, just as America is divided into States, the land mass up North is split into provinces. So if you’re planning a trip to a city like Edmonton or Nova Scotia, please don’t tell the travel agent you’d like to book a trip to Canada.  And since we’re talking about territories, you should know that neither Montreal or Toronto is the nation’s capital - it’s Ottawa. Don’t act surprised either if you meet a hot English speaking guy or gal from Quebec, close to 36% of the people living on the Island of Montreal are Anglos.

If you are looking for a lifestyle or career change, there are plenty of reasons in addition to free healthcare to consider Canada. In fact, according to the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Liveability Ranking, 3 of the top 5 best cities in the world in which to live are Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary due to the low crime, little threat from terrorism and a highly developed infrastructure. The latest study by Statistics Canada revealed that just over 50 per cent of Canadians are single, and urban theorist Richard Florida lists Calgary, Ottawa, Victoria, Edmonton and Guelph as the top 5 city choices for unmarried individuals.

As for cross border love, it may be a trend or the laissez faire Northern attitude, but it seems to be on the rise. Earlier this year, Vince Vaughn wedded Calgary real estate agent Kyla Weber, and those nuptials were preceded by Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds as well as Halle Berry to model and Montreal native Gabriel Aubry. And  we ought not forget the highly publicized reality dream (or nightmare, the jury is still out) come true for Canadian Bachelorette Jillian Harris who is currently engaged to Ed Swiderski.  If you’re in the market to meet a Canuck, perhaps one of the most successful free dating sites to check out is Plenty of Fish, which was started and is still operated by Markus Frind out of Vancouver.  The folks at Ashley Madison, whose motto is “Life is too short, have an affair,” come from Toronto as does Lavalife.com, which boasts a stronghold among single Canadians who are looking for love or the next casual encounter.  Of course if you're not into online dating, Livelinks is a fast-growing alternative that lets you meet local Canadians via telephone. Another local gem to check out is Meet Market Adventures, a social club which plans special single’s events in cities like Montreal, Toronto, New York, Chicago, Orlando and Philadelphia.

If you’re looking for a getaway, Gap Adventures is a top tier Canadian based tour operator out of Toronto which services singles in Canada, the United States and beyond. This summer they have two western Canada Adventure trips slated along with many more worldwide excursions from which to choose.  Other operators include Back Roads, which has tours to the Canadian Rockies, Nova Scotia and Quebec, Gutsy Women Travel, which has a trip of Montreal and Quebec City scheduled for August, as well as The World Outdoors.

Canada clearly tops the charts for singles looking for love, adventure or simply a change in pace or lifestyle. Now it’s time you go find out “aboot” the wonderful country and people of Canada!