Les meilleurs employeurs au Canada pour les nouveaux immigrants? Les meilleurs employeurs au Canada pour les nouveaux immigrants? Explorez un urbain parc national?

Les meilleurs employeurs au Canada pour les nouveaux immigrants? Les meilleurs employeurs au Canada pour les nouveaux immigrants? Snacké sur Kouign-Amann?

Les meilleurs employeurs au Canada pour les nouveaux immigrants — as if you were an Acadian in the 1700s?

Avez-vous vu la tombe de Louis Riel? Dipped your toes in the surf of the world’s highest tide?

Have you considered how aboriginal artists perceived the explorers who arrived on their land?

…explored a neighborhood museum — in a former public bathhouse?

…listened to stories of immigrants as they came to start life in a new country?

I’ve recently had the chance to do all these things, et plus.

Tout ici au Canada.

My Cross-Canada Rail Adventure

I’m just back from a great adventure — an epic cross-Canada train trip.

J'ai passé un mois traveling across Canada on Via Rail de Vancouver à Halifax with numerous stops along the way.

As a new Canadian myself — my family and I became Canadian citizens last year — I wanted to explore some of Canada’s iconic, don’t-miss places, depuis les montagnes Rocheuses à la côte atlantique.

But I also want to follow, et partager, Canada’s multicultural story, learning more about other newcomers, passé et présent.

Le laissez-passer culturel

J'ai pu faire ce voyage, en partie, grâce à an excellent program that’s available libre to new Canadian citizens: l' Laissez-passer culturel. Sponsored by the non-profit Institut pour la citoyenneté canadienne, the Cultural Access Pass is good for free admission to more than 1,000 museums and cultural attractions across the country et to all of Canada’s national parks and historic sites.

The pass also gives new citizens a 50 percent discount off a Via Rail trip, and I was excited to learn that you can apply the pass to an already discounted fare. That’s right — when Via Rail announced a 50-percent-off sale, J'ai pu utiliser mon col accès à la culture pour une remise supplémentaire.

If you’re a new citizen, it’s the cheapest way you’ll ever find to take the train across Canada! Merci à la passe, trop, my admission to the national parks, historic sites, and most of the museums I visited — from Jasper to Winnipeg, Toronto à Montréal, Moncton to Halifax — didn’t cost me anything.

All Aboard!

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be posting stories about my new Canadian’s cross-country rail adventure. I hope you’ll join me on my travels.

And I’ll be sure to tell you all about those nun’s farts.

Photo credits:
À bord du train de Via Rail entre Vancouver et Jasper © Carolyn B. Vrai démon
Embarking on the train journey © Alan Albert
Trains departing from Toronto’s Union Station © Carolyn B. Vrai démon