Category Archives: Railway Adventures across Canada

In three hours, our train journey travels 4,000 miles from the historic rail trails of Newfoundland into the heart of Canada and across to British Columbia. En route our videos explore historical and modern cities, rainforests, wildlife, culture and cuisine. (Photo: Matthew G. Wheeler)

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Brandon, Manitoba – The Commonwealth Air Training Plan

Posted on August 27, 2014 by On Top Of The World

The Commonwealth Air Training Plan was established in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada from 1939 to 1945 where British, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian Air Personnel came to train as part of the Allied Air Forces. The World War 2 Hanger has now been converted to a Museum with planes, vehicles, photographs and war time memorabilia. For more information: check out episode #54 in the Railway Adventures across Canada category.

Posted in Railway Adventures across Canada | Tagged Allied Air Forces, Australian, Brandon, British, Canada, Commonwealth Air Training Plan, CPR, Manitoba, museum, New Zealand, Wartime Hanger, Winnipeg, WW2 | Leave a comment

Louis Riel & the Battle of Batoche

Posted on August 27, 2014 by On Top Of The World

The dream of a Métis State in the Prairies ended on May 12, 1885 at the Battle of Batoche in Saskatchewan, Canada. Louis Riel had petitioned Ottawa for land rights and better conditions for the native population who were dying of starvation. When the petition was denied Riel established a provisional government and an army was sent to quell the insurrection – a decision that had devastating consequences for those involved. For more information: check out episode #55 in the Railway Adventures across Canada category.

Posted in Railway Adventures across Canada | Tagged aboriginal, Battle of Batoche, Big Bear, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, Canada, Gabriel Dumont, Louis Riel, Métis State, Pound Maker, Saskatchewan, Treason | Leave a comment

Canada: Fact or Fiction – Who was here first?

Posted on August 19, 2014 by On Top Of The World

Stories from our archives: Over 20 years ago, On Top of the World reviewed the history of the occupation of Canada. Who was here first: The Vikings or the Europeans? The general assumption is that they arrived to an empty continent – but demographers proved there were millions of aboriginal people who lived in the New World and, although concentrated in the high civilization areas of Mexico and the Caribbean, some 20 million lived in Canada and America. So what happened to those First Peoples and why did they not defend their land? For more information: check out episode #53 in the Railway Adventures across Canada category.

Posted in Railway Adventures across Canada | Tagged aboriginals, America, Atlantic Ocean, Bering Strait, Canada, Chippewa, Columbus, Dené, Dutch, England, Europeans, fish, French, Greenland, ice age, Inuit, Inuvialuit, John Cabot, L'Anse Aux Meadows, Maritimes, Metis, New World, Newfoundland & Labrador, Norse, Portugal, salt cod, Spanish, St. John’s, Territories, Vikings, Walrus Ivory | Leave a comment

Saskatchewan: Aboriginal archaeology at Wanuskewin

Posted on August 12, 2014 by On Top Of The World

Archaeology takes place at Wanuskewin just outside Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and the discoveries support the oral history of the aboriginal peoples that have gathered and hunted in the area for 6,000 years. For more information check out episode #52 in the Railway Adventures across Canada category

Posted in Railway Adventures across Canada | Tagged aboriginal, archaeology, bones, Buffalo Jumps, Canada, medicine wheel, Plains Cree, pottery, projectiles, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, tepee rings, Wanuskewin Heritage Park | Leave a comment

NWT: Surviving the North – The story of the ‘Eskimo’ dog.

Posted on August 12, 2014 by On Top Of The World

When the migration of Inuit occurred, the Tuli aboriginal culture used working dogs to pull their sleds and locate seal-breathing holes. We visit Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories to learn how the ‘Eskimo’ dog breed, known as Qimmiq, was preserved, meet a prospector/artist who discovered the oldest rock in the world, and discover that living in the north during the Gold Rush was no picnic. For more information check out episode #51 in the Railway Adventures across Canada category.

Posted in Railway Adventures across Canada | Tagged aboriginal, Bill Carpenter, Canada, dog breeding, dogs, geology, Inuit, Inuvaluit, migrations, mining, Northwest Territories, Qimmiq, Siberia, Tuli Culture, Walt Humphries, Yellowknife | Leave a comment

Canada: Ottawa – A Capital Story

Posted on August 12, 2014 by On Top Of The World

We take a balloon trip over Ottawa, originally a work camp for lumberjacks before being made Canada’s Capital City and drop by Kingsmere, the summer residence in Gatineau Park of former Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. For more information: check out episode #50 in the Railway Adventures across Canada category

Posted in Railway Adventures across Canada | Tagged Balloon excursion, ByTown, Canada, Canadian Shield, Capital City, Gatineau Park, Kingsmere Estate, Kingston, lumberjacks, Montreal, National Capital Commission, Ontario, Ottawa, Parliament Buildings, prime minister, Quebec, Queen Victoria, Toronto, William Lyon Mackenzie King, WW2 | Leave a comment

Northern Ontario: Amethysts and Eco-Tourism

Posted on July 29, 2014 by On Top Of The World

We fly north to the aboriginal community of Fort Severn on the shores of Hudson’s Bay where goose-hunting is vying in popularity with the opportunity to see and photograph rare species of migratory birds. Still in the little known northern regions of Ontario we head to the shores of Lake Superior once the canoe route of the fur traders and visit Fort William, Kakabeka Falls, and an Amethyst Mine outside Thunder Bay. For more information: check out episode #49 in the Railway Adventures across Canada category.

Posted in Railway Adventures across Canada | Tagged aboriginal, Amethysts, Canada, eco-tourism, Fort Severn, Goose-hunting, Hudson’s Bay, Kakabeka Falls, Ontario, Terry Fox, Thunder Bay | Leave a comment

Ontario: Seasonal Splendours

Posted on July 21, 2014 by On Top Of The World

We feature: A summer cruise in the Muskoka Lakes aboard the Segwun, the oldest coal-fired steamship still in operation; a visit to Algonquin Park to see the Fall colours and search for Moose; and the icy grandeur of Niagara Falls in the winter. It was Ontario’s magnificent pine and granite scenery that inspired the Group of Seven and paintings, on view at the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinburg, are juxtaposed against visuals of the Northern Ontario wilderness. For more information check out episode #48 the Railway Adventures across Canada category.

Posted in Railway Adventures across Canada | Tagged Algonquin Park, Arthur Lismer, Canada, canoeing, Charles Dickens, Dorset, Firetower, Georgian Bay, Gravenhurst, Group of Seven, Lake of Bays, Lake Rosseau, McMichael Art Gallery, Mississippi, moose, Muskoka Lakes, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Rosseau Lake, Segwun Steamship, Tom Thomson | Leave a comment

Gaspé, Québec: Exploring islands in the St. Lawrence

Posted on July 18, 2014 by On Top Of The World

A cruise around the Gaspé Peninsula and up the St.Lawrence River with whales, dolphins, gannets, monoliths, fishing communities, canyons and waterfalls on the agenda. The feature includes: the maritime centre of Rimouski, the tragic sinking of the Empress of Ireland, fishing for salmon on the Matapedia, and stops at Harrington Harbour, and Bonaventure, Quarry and Anticosti islands. For more information check out episode #47 the Railway Adventures across Canada category.

Posted in Railway Adventures across Canada | Tagged Anticosti Island, bird-watching, bogs, Bonaventure Island, boreal forest, Canada, Cruising, deer, dolphins, Empress of Ireland, fishing, foxes, gannets, Gaspé, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Harrington Harbour, Matapedia, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, monoliths, Percé Rock, photography, puffins, Quarry Island, Quebec, Rimouski, salmon, Sea Lions, shipwrecks, Vauréal Falls, whales | Leave a comment

Prince Edward Island – Confederation Circus, Green Gables and White Sands

Posted on July 8, 2014 by On Top Of The World

A real live circus nearly scuppered the ambitions of politicians when they sailed into PEI and tried to negotiate Confederation – but booze and sweet talking prevailed. From Charlottetown and that historical meeting we explore the white sands, dunes and salt marshes of the park and visit the farm made famous by Lucy Maud Montgomery in her stories of Anne of Green Gables. For more information: check out episode #46 in the Railway Adventures across Canada category.

Posted in Railway Adventures across Canada | Tagged America, Anne of Green Gables, Atlantic, Atlantic Provinces, Canada, Charlottetown, circus, Confederation, George Brown, Gulf of St. Lawrence, John A McDonald, Lower Canada, Lucy Maud Montgomery, National Park, Ottawa, oyster boat, Prince Edward Island, salt marshes, sand dunes, SS Queen Victoria, trans-continental railway, Upper Canada | Leave a comment

Category Archives: Railway Adventures across Canada

Brandon, Manitoba – The Commonwealth Air Training Plan

Louis Riel & the Battle of Batoche

Canada: Fact or Fiction – Who was here first?

Saskatchewan: Aboriginal archaeology at Wanuskewin

NWT: Surviving the North – The story of the ‘Eskimo’ dog.

Canada: Ottawa – A Capital Story

Northern Ontario: Amethysts and Eco-Tourism

Gaspé, Québec: Exploring islands in the St. Lawrence

Prince Edward Island – Confederation Circus, Green Gables and White Sands

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