The Great Canadian Towns and Villages Thread

[Laceoflight]

Canada is well-known for its great cities.
But this country is WIDE. Each province has its lot of nice towns and villages.
Many of us also grew up in these.

After reading what you guys had to say especially in BretttheRiderFan's "The Lowest Population You'd Consider Moving To" thread, I realized that there was a real interest for all those great places, so :

What are, in your opinion, some of the most beautiful towns (let's say 50 000 population or less) and villages in your province? Please state any reason for your selection; beauty, architecture, natural setting, charm, urban feel, nice downtown...

Maybe this has already been done on SkyscraperCity... Thought it would be interesting to bring it back. BTW, I'm quite new here, so... glad to meet you!

[esquire]

Small towns and villages is one area where Canada punches way below its weight. Unlike in Europe where charming towns are a dime a dozen, the typical Canadian small town is fiercely utilitarian and often not that pretty. And unlike small European towns where even a small town of 1,500 can have a little urban square at the centre, Canadian small towns tend to resist any urban character, especially out on the prairies.

That makes it somewhat hard to pick a favourite, although I have to admit I was taken with the tiny village of Trinity, NL. Partly because of its cute charm with walkways bisecting many of the blocks and partly due to the beautiful natural scenery of the area with the rugged coast nearby. I was impressed.



Source: Panoramio

I also like some of the small towns on the East Coast that maintain, in the European tradition, a small degree of urban flavour to them... I'm thinking of places like Port Union, NL, Lunenburg, NS, and Mahone Bay, NS.

[Laceoflight]

Here are some starters from Quebec...

I agree that Canada punches way below its weight on that matter, but I also think that people may only not know those towns well enough. For example, Québec, Ontario and New Brunswick (the provinces I am the most familiar with) have hundreds of interesting little villages and towns...

Also, we must not forget that we are the "new world" compared to Europe. That means that the early settlers in North America tried to develop new forms of urbanity.

----------

Baie-Saint-Paul, QC (pop. 7 378), for its natural setting and its main streets, cafés, and culture


Baie Saint-Paul, Québec by Oddition, on Flickr

Baie St Paul - Québec by Vince Arno, on Flickr

DSC_7283_7307 by Sébastien Girard, on Panoramio


Trois-Pistoles, QC (pop. 4 590), for its region and history


Trois-Pistoles-1.jpg by nicogag, on Flickr


Montmagny, QC (pop. 11 525)


Source : Google Street View

Source : Panoramio

Montmagny, Québec by piermd, on Flickr


La Prairie, QC (pop. 24 162), for its proximity to Montreal and its nice almost pedestrian downtown


Source : Google Street View


Source : Panoramio


Source : Panoramio


Source : Panoramio

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Laceoflight

Here are some starters from Quebec...

I agree that Canada punches way below its weight on that matter, but I also think that people may only not know those towns well enough. For example, Québec, Ontario and New Brunswick (the provinces I am the most familiar with) have hundreds of interesting little villages and towns...

Also, we must not forget that we are the "new world" compared to Europe. That means that the early settlers in North America tried to develop new forms of urbanity.

Good point. I haven't really been through any Quebec small towns since the late 90s so it's not part of my current frame of reference, but I do remember seeing some gems there.

[Laceoflight]

Some favourites :


Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, QC (pop. 2 343), for its central square, historic houses and village life




Source : Google Street View


Saint-Denis by Laurent Lucuix, on Flickr


Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, QC (pop. 984), for everything


IMG_7307 by louisp.rousselleb, on Flickr

IMG_7295 by louisp.rousselleb, on Flickr

IMG_7285 by louisp.rousselleb, on Flickr

IMG_7271 by louisp.rousselleb, on Flickr

IMG_7267 by louisp.rousselleb, on Flickr

IMG_7252 by louisp.rousselleb, on Flickr

Les premiers rayons - The first rays by plaurin19, on Flickr

[Nashe]

It's tiny, but I'll likely always have a soft spot for the village I grew up in, Rexton, NB:

[Laceoflight]

Wow, Rexton HAS location!



Cap-Santé, QC (pop. 3 276), for its heritage and the scale of the streets

Christmas on the Church Place :

Marché de Noël-26 by Photogoup, on Flickr


Source : Flickr


Mike riding through the village of Cap Sante -- on the Chemin du Roy by Calypso Orchid, on Flickr

[Laceoflight]

Stratford, ON (pop. 30 885)


Stratford, Ontario by Embee742, on Flickr

the City Hall :

Source : Marie Ann Werier on Flickr


Stratford-0131 by Bill Pawlitzki, on Flickr

[le calmar]

Hatley, Quebec


typiquementmemphremagog.com


cimetieresdescantonsdelest.com




Way's Mills, Quebec


chemindescantons.qc.ca


townshipheritage.com

[hipster duck]

Holy La Prairie!

Anyway, here are some I was struck by (these are places that are either small or very small) from west to east:

Cumberland, BC
Revelstoke, BC
Nelson, BC

Lacombe, AB
Fort McLeod, AB

never been to SK, MB or Northern ON

Elora, ON
Port Hope, ON
Brockville, ON
Perth, ON
There are probably others...Ontario has seemingly half of Canada's small towns.

I'll defer to you guys on the Quebec ones.

Haven't been to Atlantic Canada since I was a child.

[eternallyme]

What is sad is that most of these towns are declining in population quite rapidly...

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

What is sad is that most of these towns are declining in population quite rapidly...

of all the Quebec small villages mentioned, only Trois-Pistole, Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans and North Hatley are losing population.

[le calmar]

Hatley is not North Hatley though, even if they are in the same area.

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by le calmar

Hatley is not North Hatley though, even if they are in the same area.

Hatley has +-600 residents

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Holy La Prairie!

Anyway, here are some I was struck by (these are places that are either small or very small) from west to east:

Cumberland, BC
Revelstoke, BC
Nelson, BC

Lacombe, AB
Fort McLeod, AB

never been to SK, MB or Northern ON

Elora, ON
Port Hope, ON
Brockville, ON
Perth, ON
There are probably others...Ontario has seemingly half of Canada's small towns.

I'll defer to you guys on the Quebec ones.

Haven't been to Atlantic Canada since I was a child.

Off the top of my head, I'd add Amherstburg, Goderich, Fergus, St. Marys, New Hamburg, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Westport, Merrickville, Vankleek Hill.

[SignalHillHiker]

Ontario and Quebec are going to shame us all in this thread.

I love Paris, Ontario. I don't believe I've ever been but I love the pictures I've seen.

Any anything in Quebec works.

The Maritimes has some great ones too. Lunenburg and Shediac stood out to me.

Here, I second the Trinity vote. It's gorgeous. Port Union is a great one. Didn't realize anyone off the island even knew it existed. BUT it is dying.

Locally, I also love Grand Bank, Bonavista, and Newtown. All absolutely gorgeous communities, and two of them (Grand Bank/Bonavista) large enough to have services/amenities.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Ontario and Quebec are going to shame us all in this thread.

I love Paris, Ontario. I don't believe I've ever been but I love the pictures I've seen.

Any anything in Quebec works.

The Maritimes has some great ones too. Lunenburg and Shediac stood out to me.

Here, I second the Trinity vote. It's gorgeous. Port Union is a great one. Didn't realize anyone off the island even knew it existed. BUT it is dying.

Locally, I also love Grand Bank, Bonavista, and Newtown. All absolutely gorgeous communities, and two of them (Grand Bank/Bonavista) large enough to have services/amenities.

Paris is OK, SHH, but if it's the row of old buildings overhanging the river that captures your attention, I'd recommend Elora. It's more touristy but has lots of good restaurants. Plus the Elora Gorge is very cool.

[Stryker]

My home town, great place however it doesn't look pretty in picture.

7,800 people, although a super grey population, feels like a micro city, with almost every basic service in walking distance.


In real life, the moutains/ocean surrounding it, really frame the environment,

[middeljohn]

A few cool towns along Lake Erie, my favourite is Port Stanley. Nice downtown and awesome landscape.

[FrAnKs]

Edit.