Top 10 Least Popular Places in Canada That You Don't Want to Visit

Laelia Yang May 12, 2022 | 07:39

Canada is known for its open spaces and naturally breathtaking landscapes. Where the country is so vast, there are secret destinations and least-visited places that many Canadians don’t even know about. Discover them here!

Canada is an amazing country with so much to see and do, there’s no shortage of great places to avoid the crowds in Canada, thanks to the nation’s relatively small population compared to its massive area. However, there’s a big difference between wanting to get away from the tourist hordes and wanting to get away from any sign of civilization.

When your wanderlust kicks in, the following destinations should be at the top of your bucket list. They will allow you to easily maintain your social distancing by keeping you away from large gatherings while showing you the raw beauty and historical charm of rural Canada –without you needing to be a hardcore outdoorsy type.

What is the least populous province in Canada?

Prince Edward Island is the smallest with a population of over 150,000. The smallest area is also Prince Edward Island, followed by Nova Scotia.

Which province is the friendliest in Canada?

Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia.
Digby, Nova Scotia.
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
Baddeck, Nova Scotia.
Drumheller, Alberta.
Saint John, New Brunswick.
Gatineau, Quebec.
Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Where does 90% of Canada’s population live?

Canadian Provinces and Territories

Canada is larger than the United States, making it the second-largest country in the world. However, despite this vast territory for a relatively small population, more than 90 percent of Canadians live within 150 miles of the US border.

Where is the warmest climate in Canada?

Victoria, British Columbia holds the title of the warmest city in Canada during the winter. Daily average highs reach 9°C and nightly lows only drop to around 4°C. The average annual snowfall is low at 25 cm. Victoria only has one day per year where the temperature will drop below zero.

What is the oldest city in Canada?

St. John’s is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province, Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. It is the oldest city in Canada.

What is the oldest province in Canada?

Nova Scotia is the oldest Province in Canada. In Canada, 13.7% of the population is 65 years and older. In the last three years, Nova Scotia, part of the Atlantic Provinces, has become the oldest province in the country at 15.4%.

What are The 10 most visited places in Canada?

1. Banff National Park (Alberta): 3,640,125

2. Jasper National Park (Alberta): 2,102,383

3. Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (British Columbia): 1,149,972

4. Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park (Quebec): 880,317

5. Revelstoke National Park and Glacier National Park (British Columbia): 723,379 (these are separate parks but close enough to each other that they count as “one reporting unit” for visitor attendance.

6. Point Pelee National Park (Ontario): 565,236

7. Yoho National Park (British Columbia): 535,861

8. Elk Island National Park (Alberta): 531,817

9. Waterton Lakes National Park (Alberta): 525,749

10. Prince Edward Island National Park (Prince Edward Island): 514,172

What are the least visited places in Canada?

1. Auyuittuq National Park: Nunavut

2. Churchill, Manitoba

3. Gwaii Hanaas National Park & Haida Heritage Site

4. Kananaskis Country, Alberta

5. Torngat Mountains National Park

6. Tangier, Nova Scotia

7. Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park, Saskatchewan

8. Wapusk National Park

9. Ivvavik National Park

10. Quttinirpaaq National Park

*****

1. Auyuittuq National Park: Nunavut

Photo: tripadvisor

Auyuittuq means “the land that never melts.” The park lies on Baffin Island and the renowned snowy, jagged peaks, small coastal Inuit villages and communities, and fjords are for true explorers. Adventurous souls can discover uninhabited lands, an Arctic mountain range, clear lakes, and beautiful scenery. There’s also plenty of local wildlife; polar bears, Arctic foxes, narwhals, belugas, seals, bowhead whales, and walruses. The best time to visit is from March to May, when dogsleds and skis can travel along the frozen fjords.

Auyuittuq is a national park in Canada that features the mountain with the highest vertical drop in the world - Mount Thor. Amongst the mountains are also beautiful meadows and glorious waterways that are sometimes visited by narwhals and other cool marine life.

2. Churchill, Manitoba

Photo: acanela

Churchill is a rugged little port town right at the estuary of the Churchill River, where it flows into Hudson Bay. There isn’t much to the town itself – barely a handful of blocks – but the fact that it’s been dubbed “the Polar Bear Capital of the World” makes it a must-visit for wildlife watchers. If you want to see the mighty white bears, head to Churchill in autumn.

There’s more to see, beyond polar bears. The winter can sometimes bring sightings of the Northern Lights, while summer shows the midnight sun. Beluga whales come through the estuary in July/August, seeking the river’s warmer waters. This is also a good time for birdwatchers, who can see more than 270 species of birds within a 40-km radius of the town. If you want some manmade attractions, check out the historical ruins of Cape Merry or the well-preserved wreck of Miss Piggy – a plane that crashed in 1979.

3. Gwaii Hanaas National Park & Haida Heritage Site

Photo: mapleleafadventures

Formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, the Haida Gwaii archipelago sits off the coast of northwestern British Columbia. It is home to incredible surfing beaches, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, natural hot springs, lush rainforests and small communities. It’s inhabited by the native Haida people, who were once known as the Vikings of the Pacific Northwest.

Haida Gwaii is accessible only by air or water, but that just adds to the island’s mystique. Hot springs, immaculate beaches and native wildlife have attributed to Haida Gwaii being referred to as the Canadian Galápagos. The days are best spent watching the tide, paddling, and surfing in the moonlight. If you prefer land, the Delkatla Wildlife Sanctuary, open all year round offers the chance to see 140 different bird species. Try a traditional Haida feast at Keenawii’s Kitchen and the cinnamon rolls from New Moon Over Naikoon, a cute little wooden bakery in the forest. Visit sometime between October and May for a glimpse of paradise.

4. Kananaskis Country, Alberta

Photo: flickr

Kananaskis Country is a park system just west of Calgary that’s often overshadowed by its more famous neighbour – Banff National Park. It’s great for hiking, mountain biking, climbing and fishing in summer or cross-country skiing in winter.

What makes Kananaskis Country really stand out from the many parks around it is its wildlife. Several endangered species call the region home, including grizzly bears, cougars, westslope trout, and bighorn sheep. Up to 800 golden eagles pass through the area each day during their migration flights, too.

5. Torngat Mountains National Park

Photo: Everything Everywhere

Torngat Mountains National Park takes its name from the Inuktitut word Tongait, meaning place of spirits. It is 9,700 square kilometres of spectacular wilderness stretching north from Saglek Fjord to the northern tip of Labrador, and westward from the Atlantic seacoast to the Québec border. It's a land of mountains and polar bears, small glaciers, and caribou, where the Inuit hunt, fish, and travel, as their predecessors did for thousands of years.

Home to the Inuit and their ancestors, this park is filled with powerful stories, spirits and unique traditions. Located at continental Canada's northernmost tip, this breathtaking part of Nunatsiavut is free from crowds and full of some of Earth’s oldest rocks.

6. Tangier, Nova Scotia

Photo: theglobeandmail

If you’re looking for a place to go off-the-grid and enjoy a digital detox, Tangier in Nova Scotia might be for you. The village is so small that the post office is considered a highlight attraction and so remote that it barely has any mobile signal.

While you’re enjoying the peace and quiet, far from the madding crowd, Tangier also offers fantastic conditions for giving sea kayaking a try, with beautiful scenery to explore. There are even a couple of little beaches in the area.

7. Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park, Saskatchewan

Photo: canadapost

The Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park was created in order to protect the Athabasca sand dunes, a rare formation stretching approximately 100-kilometres along the south shore of Lake Athabasca in the province of Saskatchewan. The scenery is breathtaking and the dunes can get as high as 30 metres in this unique boreal ecosystem.

Open all year round, this park is accessible by float plane only and recommended to people who are experienced with wilderness and can adhere to visitor guidelines. Once here, though, you can explore for days; activities include dune buggy driving, free camping, fishing, and discovering this amazing ecosystem full of rare and unique plants found only in the park.

8. Wapusk National Park

Photo: BBC

Manitoba’s Wapusk National Park is one of the few places in the world where, in late February, visitors can watch tiny, three-month-old bear cubs explore their snowy new world for the first time under the watchful eyes of their mothers. But no roads or trails lead into this massive park made up of rough subarctic forest, tundra, muskeg, and part of North America’s largest expanse of peat bog, which shelters one of the largest known maternity denning areas for polar bears. Wildlife-watching, especially for polar bears, is why people visit.

Navigate the permanently frozen ground and see all the wonders this park has to offer. Enjoy river canoeing, aerial helicoptering, and you may even spot polar bear cubs walking on ice for the first time!

9. Ivvavik National Park

Photo: Tripsavy

Who needs crowds of people when you can have the entire gorgeous deep canyon backcountry to yourself? Hike along the park’s open terrain and be ready with your fishing gear—the park is home to Dolly Varden char and arctic grayling.

With only a minimal number of people allowed to visit each year, Ivvavik National Park’s pristine wilderness, beautiful cultural and abundance of wildlife is an experience few will ever encounter.

In the summer, Ivvavik National Park truly becomes alive beneath the midnight sun. Wildflowers, grass and shrubs fill the landscape with colour. Migratory and resident birds busily build their nests. Timber wolves, red foxes, Alaskan moose and wolverines roam the land. The Porcupine Caribou Herd migrates to the calving grounds on the coast of the Beaufort Sea.

10. Quttinirpaaq National Park

Photo: hipcamp

Quttinirpaaq National Park, in Nunavut’s Arctic area, is Canada’s northernmost region. The park is so remote that in 2016 only 17 people visited; to reach it, a flight takes you out of the hamlet of Resolute, which can be reached via flight from Iqaluit. Boasting hours of daylight in summer, and with a landscape of rugged peaks, ice caps and glaciers, rivers, tundra and fjords, it’s safe to say it’s worth the trek.

Only a select few can say they’ve experienced Quttinirpaaq, Inuktitut for “Land at the Top of the World.” The landscapes is dominated by a polar desert, creating massive mountain peaks made of ice and rock. It's worth the airfare to explore this hidden gem.

With annual visitor numbers hovering in the double digits, this remote northern park is truly the back of beyond. You’re much more likely to encounter Peary caribou, muskoxen, and Arctic hares than you are a fellow human. Quttinirpaaq is empty and elemental—in a good way. There are no marked trails or designated campsites here, just vast tracts of tundra, mountains, and the odd pre-Inuit archaeological site. Most visitors establish a base camp at Tanquary Fiord or Hazen Lake, and either embark on multi-day treks between the two or a looped route around the Ad Astra and Viking ice caps.

What is the least visited destination in the world?

Tuvalu

- 2017 tourist arrivals: 2,000

- Change in arrivals from 2016: 0%

Boasting just 2,000 international arrivals in 2017, the tiny island of Tuvalu is officially the least-visited place in the world. Not surprisingly, there’s little infrastructure for tourists here. But if you’re looking for little more than relaxation in an idyllic setting, you’ll find it in Tuvalu.