Canadian cities with similar natural settings

[Denscity]

Are there any foothills in B.C.?
It seems like it’s all real mountains.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by Pavlov

In fact, Regina has no river (or any other natural water feature) at all. Is it unique among Canadian cities in that respect?

it's actually on the Wascana Creek, which flows into Wascan Lake ( I think ). I'm not sure if that lake is natural or was man made at some point.

[phone]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

it's actually on the Wascana Creek, which flows into Wascan Lake ( I think ). I'm not sure if that lake is natural or was man made at some point.

Wascana Creek flows into the Qu'Appelle River, which meets the Assiniboine at St Lazare, MB. Wascana Lake is a man-made lake on the Wascana Creek, regulated by a dam at the Albert Street Bridge in central Regina.

[MonkeyRonin]

Kingston and Charlottetown are another pair with a somewhat similar-looking layout:

[Tone]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Rimouski <> Thunder Bay is a good one! It's not perfect, obviously, but none of these comparisons will be. One is on a lake that feels like the ocean, and the other one is on a river estuary that feels like/is the ocean.

Good point! No I agree, we can't be too picky, and Thunder Bay is one if not the best match.

A beautiful place I like to go in the summer which has a pretty unique setting is Penticton.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Tone

Good point! No I agree, we can't be too picky, and Thunder Bay is one if not the best match.

A beautiful place I like to go in the summer which has a pretty unique setting is Penticton.

Penticton is wonderful. You've got your choice of Skaha Lake and Okanagan Lake.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I hadn't heard there was ferry service to them. Last I checked it was only private on-demand services like water taxi and charter boats. That's how I got to McNabs a few years ago.

I was curious, but yes one company has a ferry schedule posted for Georges and McNabs is daily, I'd assume just during the typical tourism season: https://www.ambassatours.com/tours-experiences/visit-georges-island

There's the traditional approach of finding your way over in somebody's small boat. I went to McNabs from Fisherman's Cove or whatever it's called out toward Eastern Passage.

Apparently there's also a new water taxi: https://app.flyteboat.com/

Sort of off-topic, but this has all improved a lot. Georges was not even open to the public before. McNabs used to be more like what the Toronto islands are to Toronto now, with people living on it and fairgrounds. Apparently there was a steam-powered carousel there in the Victorian era.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Kingston and Charlottetown are another pair with a somewhat similar-looking layout:

Never noticed this one before. Scrolled up and saw the Charlottetown one first and thought I'd misremembered Kingston's waterfront for a second before realizing.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by niwell

Never noticed this one before. Scrolled up and saw the Charlottetown one first and thought I'd misremembered Kingston's waterfront for a second before realizing.

They're fairly similar in feel overall. Not just in terms of natural setting, but also the layout of the city, age, and scale of the historic buildings (not so much some of the newer buildings; I don't think Charlottetown really permits any highrises). Charlottetown is smaller now but was comparable in the 1800s.

Charlottetown is about to pass 100,000 people if it hasn't already and definitely has a small town feel but is probably more urban than a lot of people imagine.

[MonctonRad]

The only city (town) really comparable to Moncton is Truro NS,

- Both riverine cities
- Both located on the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy.
- Both the Petitcodiac River and the Salmon River are muddy rivers with tidal bores.
- Both cities are transportation centres and lie at the intersection of major highways.
- Moncton is called the"Hub of the Maritimes." Truro is called the "Hub of Nova Scotia."

Moncton CMA population is 200,000. Truro CA population is about 45,000.

[someone123]

Again they likely were around the same size not too far in the past, but Moncton grew far more in the postwar era. But Truro is growing a bit too and in the latest estimate was 51,000. I consider Truro part of the central NS "economic region" even though NS has different strangely defined regions. It's a 40 min drive or so from the airport to Truro.

The Bay of Fundy is really its own ecoregion with a unique look that extends over to PEI. It is significantly different scenery from the Atlantic side of NS.

[Docere]

Wow, one can indeed confuse those shots of Toronto and Edmonton.

[Five Four]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The only city (town) really comparable to Moncton is Truro NS,

- Both riverine cities
- Both located on the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy.
- Both the Petitcodiac River and the Salmon River are muddy rivers with tidal bores.
- Both cities are transportation centres and lie at the intersection of major highways.
- Moncton is called the"Hub of the Maritimes." Truro is called the "Hub of Nova Scotia."

Moncton CMA population is 200,000. Truro CA population is about 45,000.

Along with Truro, I always thought Summerside and Moncton had relatively similar layouts (obviously Summerside being much smaller). This mostly comes from how similar I find both their Main Streets and their downtown areas. This isn't surprising considering a lot of historical similarities.

Speaking of cities I find similar, I always felt Sidney B.C was a more modern version of Sydney, N.S. And no, it's not just because of the name..

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by harls

I think the Île de Hull should be up there.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre-ville_de_Gatineau

This article says 12K residents but it's from 2011. There's been a lot of condo construction since then.

I was going to mention Hull (Gatineau) but just noticed your post.

Other ones I can think of are Île d'Orléans right near Quebec City and islands in the Fraser River in BC in the Greater Vancouver Area. Those islands do experience tides but I think they are technically freshwater.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by harls

I think the Île de Hull should be up there.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre-ville_de_Gatineau

This article says 12K residents but it's from 2011. There's been a lot of condo construction since then.

Originally Posted by Loco101

I was going to mention Hull (Gatineau) but just noticed your post.

Other ones I can think of are Île d'Orléans right near Quebec City and islands in the Fraser River in BC in the Greater Vancouver Area. Those islands do experience tides but I think they are technically freshwater.

There's no official name, but would "Lowertown Island" count? That's the island formed by the Ottawa River, Rideau River, Rideau Canal and Dow's Lake. Population is around 45k.

In terms of natural setting, I'm hard pressed to find a city similar to the NCR. I first thought of Edmonton with the river valley and natural buffer between city and river, but like all other prairie city, Edmonton's sort of narrow and curvy. The Ottawa River is wider and more varied. The confluences with the Gatineau and Rideau rivers are also quite unique. There's may Trois-Rivières, but that's more similar to Kingston.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Loco101

I was going to mention Hull (Gatineau) but just noticed your post.

Other ones I can think of are Île d'Orléans right near Quebec City and islands in the Fraser River in BC in the Greater Vancouver Area. Those islands do experience tides but I think they are technically freshwater.

I lived in Steveston (the extreme southwest corner of Richmond, on Lulu Island in the Fraser delta). without a doubt, it was mostly surrounded by salt water. I've seen dogfish, sharks, and jellyfish. Every day, I could smell the tide.

[BillM]

The westward expansion of Edmonton reminds me of the westward expansion of Quebec City.

Montreal with Mont-Royal in the middle and (on a smaller scale) Halifax with the Citadel in the middle.