There are countless attractions waiting for travellers along the Trans-Canada Highway, but the landmarks that are never mentioned in any guidebook, yet are photographed by thousands of roadtrippers every year, are the border signs that welcome visitors as they enter each of Canada’s provinces and territories.
These signs are the first things that greet us as we pass from one province to the next and for many vacationing families, it is a ritual to stop and pose in front of them to chronicle their voyage. I remember my family doing it when I was a child as we drove across the country and I did it with my kids on our trans-Canada journey from Montreal to Tofino several years ago. We completed our collection of welcome sign photos when we drove east to Newfoundland the following summer.
If you’re one of the many Canadians vowing to travel closer to home this year, I encourage you to take a moment as you cross from one border to the next to appreciate these humble signposts. No two are alike and each attempts to convey the personality of that province. Some are works of art, while others are perfunctory. Here are my completely subjective rankings of Canada’s provincial welcome signs:
1. Nova Scotia
As you drive the Trans-Canada Highway from New Brunswick into Nova Scotia, you can’t miss the bright, bilingual sign welcoming you to the province. It even features a cute miniature lighthouse that reminds you that you’re entering a maritime province. This sign gets bonus marks for being easily accessible via a dedicated road from the nearby provincial visitors’ centre, making it a breeze to snap souvenir photos.
2. Yukon
There are several routes you can take to enter Yukon and while the charming and rustic welcome signs are all the same, not all of the locations are. One of the prettiest settings is on the Klondike Highway as you drive in from British Columbia. A gorgeous lake and mountains serve as a stunning backdrop for your mandatory family photo in front of Yukon’s sign.
3. Northwest Territories
I’ll confess that I’ve never actually driven into the Northwest Territories so it seems odd that I rate their welcome marker so high, but if the photos are anything to go by, the bold and colourful sign that sits on Highway 35 just outside of Alberta puts many of the country’s other border signs to shame. It gets bonus marks for sitting near the Sixtieth Parallel Territorial Park Visitor Centre for easy access, but it gets docked marks for being unilingual.
4. Quebec
Quebec’s border marker is interesting because of its graphic design which juxtaposes a photo of its official flower, the fleur-de-lys, with the stylized emblem synonymous with the province. While it’s the last time you’ll see English on a road sign in the province, the border sign is not only bilingual, but welcomes visitors in four languages. While Spanish seems like an appropriate choice for our continental neighbours, it also inexplicably adds Portuguese. For the many Brazilians who’ve driven all this way, perhaps?
5. New Brunswick
I like the modern look of New Brunswick’s border marker, but kind of wish they would have leaned a little more heavily into the colours on the province’s bad-ass flag. The red thing on the top looks to be a nod to the boat on their flag, but the whole thing needs more yellow. They lose points for not cleaning off the stickers that travellers have vandalized the sign with.
6. Manitoba
Driving across the boreal forest of northern Ontario from east to west makes you realize how big Canada really is. The transition to flat prairie landscape is sudden when it happens, butit’s not immediately at the Manitoba border. You’ll still have to drive a ways before that happens. Until then, you encounter a big sign at the border shaped like the province itself, welcoming you in both languages. The sign is decorated with the province’s greatest tourist attraction, a polar bear. Unfortunately, it is also sullied by stickers placed by passing vandals. There isn’t much shoulder here, so be careful when stopping for photos.
7. Alberta
The only thing marking the border between Saskatchewan and Alberta along the Trans-Canada is a small, stone marker indicating the fourth meridian, which is easy to miss as you drive by at high speed. There’s no official welcome sign until several kilometres past that point. In fact, you’ll see a Welcome to Cypress County sign before you get to the rest stop where the province’s official welcome sign sits. Designed to look like rustic wood, the sign says Welcome to Alberta, Wild Rose Country.
8. Prince Edward Island
As you drive off the Confederation Bridge, you’ll whiz by what seems like Canada’s smallest border welcome sign. Perhaps that is appropriate as you enter the country’s smallest province. In the summer, it is enhanced by flowers arranged to spell out the letters P-E-I. Unfortunately, there’s no easy turn-off or parking spot if you want to pose for a photo, but you can approach it from the truck-weighing station as you get off the bridge.
9. Saskatchewan
Other travellers tell me they drive across Saskatchewan as fast as they can to get to the next province, but I think it’s a wonderful place to visit and one of Canada’s most underappreciated destinations. I also think the province’s old border sign was nicer than its recent replacement, but no one consulted me. However, I do like that they’ve maintained the green and yellow colours and dig the new slogan “Land of Living Skies.” Saskatchewan get bonus marks for incorporating their sign into a rest stop with picnic tables and toilets, but loses points for not being bilingual.
10. British Columbia
The border between Alberta and British Columbia along the Trans-Canada also marks the crossing between Banff National Park and Yoho National Park. The motto on B.C.’s welcome sign says it is “The Best Place on Earth: and when you look at the mountains surrounding you, it’s possible that it may not be such a boast. While I like the blue and yellow graphic of sunrise over the mountains, I hate how it is obscured by so many stickers. And, like just about anywhere west of Manitoba, the sign is English-only.
11. Ontario
We routinely cross the border into Ontario since it is our neighbour, so their welcome sign along the Trans-Canada is a familiar one. Unfortunately, as signs go, it’s also kind of boring and looks like it belongs next to a car dealership. If you want to get rid of the stereotype of Ontarians not knowing how to have fun, changing the slogan from “More to Discover” to “Open for Business” was probably a step in the wrong direction. It would also be nice if there was a place other than the highway shoulder to pull over to take a photo.
12. Newfoundland and Labrador
I can’t say enough nice things about Newfoundland and Labrador as one of the greatest places in Canada for a holiday, but their welcome sign is completely underwhelming. Located just out of Port au Basques as you drive off the ferry, the white on blue looks like it could be any old highway sign. The flags are a nice touch but hardly original. It could also be more bilingual.
