Good Morning #Canada
Finally, arriving at our our 10th province, Manitoba, and putting this series to rest means no more nightmares. Friendly Manitoba, it says so right on their license plates, also has hundreds of abandoned towns, but today we'll focus on Scarf. Named for William Scarf, not for winter clothing or the more recent term for eating quickly, the settlement began in the 1880s, started to flourish after train service arrived in 1907, and died slowly after train service stopped, with the last residents leaving in the 1980s. But in 2013, the regional mayor decided to sell parcels of land in the ghost town for $10. I wasn't able to find out if this plan to bring Scarf back from the dead was successful, but perhaps the area is cursed. In 2020, a tornado touched down near Scarf, killing two teenagers when their vehicle was swept off the road.

#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadianGhostTowns
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-rm-looks-to-sell-ghost-town-lots-for-10-1.2086700

Good Morning #Canada
I've been a bachelor since Thursday as my wife is in Toronto helping my daughter with her latest chemo session. She's back late Monday when life, for me, returns to normal. According to #StatsCan, being married at our age (late 60s) is the most prevalent relationship. But Canadians in younger age brackets are more likely these days to be living common-law and getting married later in life, if at all. Canada has one of the highest rates of common-law relationships worldwide and the highest in the G7. Between 1981 and 2021, common-law couples increased 447% while the number of married couples grew by only 26%. Common-law unions are most prevalent in Nunavut (52%), Quebec (43%), and the Northwest Territories (36%). It's no surprise that more than half of Canadians believe that marriage is not necessary, and even less surprising that this opinion is stronger with young men versus young women.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Relationship
https://madeinca.ca/marriage-statistics-canada/

Good Morning #Canada
In honour of #Caturday, today's post is about the little known Parliament Hill Cat Sanctuary that existed from 1955 to 2013. It was a feline colony for a group of strays living on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, in a sanctuary set aside for them. The care of the cats and maintenance of the sanctuary was carried out by volunteers, and the effort was funded by donations.
Cats were brought into Parliament in 1924 to deal with a "mild plague" of rats and mice in the basement of the then brand-new Centre Block. The numbers of rodents soon fell, but when the unneutered cats began to multiply, they were banished to the outdoors overnight in the same year. In 1955, the cats were replaced by chemicals and no longer allowed access to the Parliament buildings, but the sanctuary was set aside for their colony, and volunteers looked after them for the next 6 decades.

#CanadaIsAwesome #CatsOfMastadon
https://youtu.be/ru_QvokcIeo?si=O395ASTrDPbX3OuD

Good Morning #Canada
Like a Count Floyd movie night on #SCTV, the ghosts in this series are thinning out as we get to our 2nd to last province. Apparently, New Brunswick is not particularly scary unless you make an enemy of the J.D. Irving clan. (They won't find your body.) Wikipedia has no list of abandoned towns, which is definite proof they don't exist. A century old cotton mill in Fredericton, certainly ripe for ghoulish activities, is currently haunted by government employees. Ooooo....
So we'll have to rely on two of New Brunswick's most famous ghostly locations to spooky your interest, starting with the headless nun.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Halloween #CanadianGhostTowns
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/headless-nun-miramichi-1.7011713

Good Morning #Canada
The list of abandoned towns in PEI is apparently so short that no one has produced any really scary histories. It makes sense being a small island that there isn't enough distance to truly "abandon" a settlement. Maybe a house here or there, perhaps a short street. But that means you are more likely to be living next door to a haunted location. So today, we have a list of ghostly tales from around the island that may, or may not, be myth. Remember, don't go into the old shed with all the sharp farm tools....

#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadianGhostTowns
https://pointseastcoastaldrive.com/scary-stories-of-points-east-coastal-drive/

Jeremy Hansen: First Canadian to the Moon 🌕

Jeremy Hansen is assigned to the Artemis II mission, making him the first Canadian, and one of the first humans in over 50 years, to journey to the Moon. A former fighter pilot and engineer, Hansen's role on this historic flight underscores Canada's contribution to deep space exploration and the Artemis program. #Canada #JeremyHansen #ArtemisII #CanadaIsAwesome 🇨🇦

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hansen

No sympathy for #Stellantis losing $$$ in the USA

#Canada #Sovereignty #Tariffs #ShopCanadian #ElbowsUp #CanadaIsAwesome #ByeAmerican #AnywhereButTheUSA

🇨🇦 Fight. Protect. Build.

https://youtu.be/mWib-zSWJ90?si=MuIaqJcdBforMRkJ

Good Morning #Canada
In July 1871, the City of Victoria officially became the capital of British Columbia, when the province joined the rest of Canada. At the time, the city was larger than Vancouver and had served as the most important settlement in the area for decades. The Colony of Vancouver Island also stamped their little feet and demanded that Victoria be designated as the capital in return for the island to join with the mainland to become part of Canada. Captain James Cook was the first British person to set foot on Vancouver Island in 1778, and in 1843, Fort Victoria was established by the Hudson's Bay Company. There is a long history of Vancouver Island serving as a naval base, and today, Victoria is the home of Canada’s Pacific Coast naval and military headquarters in nearby Esquimalt. Victoria is a top tourist destination and is regularly rated top 5 worldwide as an awesome place to live.

#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadianCapitals
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/victoria-bc

Good Morning #Canada
Unofficially, Ontario has the most abandoned towns compared to other provinces, mostly as a result of resource extraction that ran its course. The ghost town of Balaclava is no exception. Named after a battle in the Crimean War, a great beginning for a scary legacy, the town once supported a population of over 200, relying on the busy sawmill as its economic engine. Eventually, the trees thinned out, lumber production dropped, and the town was bypassed by train service and major highways. All that remains is a crumbling sawmill and ghosts wearing woolen masks. Ooooooo.....

#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadianGhostTowns
https://www.readersdigest.ca/travel/canada/balaclava-ghost-town-ontario/

Good Morning #Canada
October 20th, 1992, is a history making day for Major League Baseball. The 1st World Series game is played outside the United States at the Skydome in Toronto. Home town Blue Jays put the chop on the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in Game 3, taking the series lead, 2 games to 1.
BTW - One of the highlights of my #BlueJays memories was Game 4. I was in the stands, Level 500 on the 3rd base side, when Jimmy Key shut down the Braves over 7 innings. The atmosphere was electric that entire day, from walking through the pregame crowds on Front Street to cheering every pitch during the game. I don't remember much about the drive home, just that it was slow making my way through a sea of honking vehicles.

#CanadaIsAwesome #LetsGoBlueJays
https://youtu.be/5bxyxxdcMyg?si=vO9VNhK_5aWwXBnI

Good Morning #Canada
If you live in Montreal, Vancouver, or Victoria, congratulations. According to Condé Nast Traveler, those 3 Canadian cities were top destinations based on the results from its annual Readers' Choice Awards. No other country on the planet had 3 locations named on list of the best cities in the world for 2025. In the top 10 of large cities category, Vancouver was #7, and Montreal was #9. In the small cities category, Victoria was #1 for the 3rd consecutive year.
The article takes a few swipes at Toronto for being excluded as a top tourist destination. Why so mean?

#CanadaIsAwesome #Travel #WorldClass
https://www.narcity.com/canadian-cities-best-in-the-world-to-travel-2025

Good Morning #Canada
As #Halloween creeps up on us, we continue to highlight haunted abandoned towns. Today, we are in Rowley Alberta, a failed railway town near the gates of Hell. Maybe near Drumheller.... I wasn't paying attention. Settled around 1910, it once had about 500 residents but declined after the closure of its train station in 1965, and the construction of new highways bypassing the town. Today, it's a mix of private homes and preserved historical buildings, and the remaining 9 evil residents have worked to maintain its historic charm. They have added new features and even host monthly pizza nights to lure in unsuspecting tourists. Don't go in the old shed with all the sharp farm tools....

#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadianGhostTowns
https://youtu.be/6huskbX8Hh8?si=oowVXFI_s2RwVipM

Good for Louise Penny! 🇨🇦

#Books #Authors
#Canada #Sovereignty #Tariffs #ShopCanadian #ElbowsUp #CanadaIsAwesome #ByeAmerican #AnywhereButTheUSA

https://youtu.be/gRuAPAB8nLw?si=n_1fPzQz7TrkS2_V

Good Morning #Canada
Like many provinces, Nova Scotia has hundreds of abandoned towns because of depleted minerals, harsh living conditions, or forced relocation. But the ghost town of Broughton in Cape Breton must surely be haunted because of a suicide by one of its most important residents. Founded by the promise of coal mining, no amount of money was spared on the design of its buildings and streets. But poor management and family tragedy doomed the town, and today, only ruins remain. Oooooooo.....

Here's a delightful video on Broughton with narration that is suitable for #Halloween. Don't watch it alone...

#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadianGhostTowns

Canada benefiting from USA brain drain.

#Canada #Sovereignty #Tariffs #ShopCanadian #ElbowsUp #CanadaIsAwesome #ByeAmerican #AnywhereButTheUSA

https://youtu.be/YfVL-mdW-5Q?si=mtC4orYq64T6V9qI

Good Morning #Canada
English speaking Canadians feel that Quebec ghosts are not very scary because they have funny accents. But there is a ghost town near Montreal that could send shivers down your spine, especially in early February. Out of the hundreds of abandoned towns in LA Belle Province, the town of Goose Village has the most chilling history, and ultimately, it was wiped off the face of the earth. This municipality of Montreal was officially called Victoria Town, but Goose Village was the common name. It was the infamous site of 22 quarantine sheds where thousands of immigrants, mostly Irish, died in 1847 and 1848. It continued as an impoverished neighbourhood until the entire community was bulldozed to make way for Expo 67 parking. There is ZERO chance that the area is not haunted given its history.

#CanadaIsAwesome ##CanadianGhostTowns
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goose_Village

Good Morning #Canada
#HappyBirthday to William Eldon O'Ree, born October 15, 1935, in Fredericton New Brunswick. O'Ree is recognized for being the first black player in the National Hockey League, playing as a winger for the Boston Bruins. His accomplishment of breaking the colour barrier in the NHL has led him to sometimes be referred to as the "Jackie Robinson of hockey." But O'Ree's legacy goes well beyond the small number of games he played in the NHL. He has spent his non-playing days as an ambassador for hockey and focused on diversity and expanding the audience for the sport. His post hockey career is undoubtedly why he has collected so many honors and awards.

#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadianHeroes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_O%27Ree

Good Morning #Canada
There is a lot of news coverage about a USA president that lusts after a Nobel Prize like he attacks a family sized bucket of KFC. So let's celebrate that OTD in 1957, the first Canadian won the peace prize - Lester B. Pearson. Before he became our 14th Prime Minister, he spent the majority of his career as a diplomat. He was one of the founders of the United Nations and almost ended up as its first Secretary General. He was instrumental in ending the Suez Canal crisis by suggesting and helping to implement the first U.N. Peacekeeping Force.

#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadianHeroes
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1957/pearson/facts/

Good Morning #Canada
Happy #Thanksgiving to all Canadians, but in particular to the volunteers and visitors at Canada’s 5,500 #FoodBanks. Thanksgiving serves as an important focal point for food drives in an effort to provide meals for those less fortunate, as well as create long-term awareness of the role that Food Banks fill. Canadians are visiting Food Banks at record levels, some 4M visits so far in 2025, and 47% of those have children at home. It's not too late to donate to your local Food Bank, but please also consider a cash donation in the future to help them fill in the gaps in supply from farmers, producers, and retailers.

#CanadaIsAwesome #FoodInsecurity

https://globalnews.ca/news/11474846/toronto-food-bank-demand-thanksgiving-food-insecurity/

Good Morning #Canada
There are over 100 ghost towns in Saskatchewan, including Saskatoon in early February. One was Bonne Madone, a community founded in 1902 in the scary Rural Municipality of Woooo Boooo. (Editor - it's actually Hoodoo). The area was granted by the federal government to French settlers, the main contingent of which arrived in 1902 from Dauphiné and Franche-Comté, led by fathers Laurent Voisin and Jean Garnier. A convent run by the Sisters of Providence was established there in 1905. Nuns with rulers are very scary. A school was built there in 1908, and the town's chapel was first built in 1910, and the town also had a Royal North-West Mounted Police station and a Post office. It was an active community in the 1920s and the 1930s, but its population dwindled over the next few decades, and by the end of the 1960s, it was abandoned..... and haunted.

BTW - Some provinces have a Ghost Town Trail, like this one.

#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadianGhostTowns
https://www.prairiepast.com/blog/explore-3