Events

What’s Happening in Nature

From watching wildlife to walking through wildflowers, Canada’s natural events abound year-round.

In January, the Brackendale Winter Eagle Festival celebrates one of the largest gatherings of bald eagles in North America.

Canada’s maple trees become the main attraction in March. As the snow thaws, the trees yield sap. Following First Nations tradition, the sap is collected in buckets and boiled down to maple syrup. The annual event is celebrated with pancakes soaked in syrup and trips to the sugar shack or cabane à sucre.

In May, Ottawa bursts into colour when three million tulips bloom for the Canadian Tulip Festival.

Summer turns Canada’s white winter landscape green with trees, plants, and wildflowers. Many communities celebrate this new growth with nature walks. In Winnipeg, you can take a tour of Manitoba’s carnivorous plants. On the West Coast, you can sign up for a guided wildflower tour at the Mountain Wildflower Festival in Vernon, B.C.

In central Canada, bright orange butterflies float by like leaves in September. At Point Pelee National Park of Canada, nature lovers join park interpreters for tours of the world-famous annual migration of monarch butterflies.

As the weather cools in fall, Canadians take to the woods to experience the breathtaking colours of the trees. By December, cold weather and long nights create ideal conditions to see the aurora borealis or northern lights. Shimmering colours dance across the night sky.

This section is about Canada’s natural events.