News to Use

New in Jasper

* PURSUIT is developing a new wilderness-inspired hotel within Jasper National Park, Alberta. Expected to open in June 2022, the hotel’s 88 guest rooms will feature kitchenettes and patios ‘that seamlessly bring the outdoors in’. pursuitcollection.com

New in Québec

* SET between the St. Lawrence River and soaring mountain peaks, Med Québec Charlevoix is Canada’s first Club Med village. In winter, allinclusive ski stays feature lessons, dog sledding, ice skating, fine dining and après-ski entertainment. clubmed.ca/r/quebeccharlevoix/w

New in Vancouver

* GREATER Vancouver’s first new luxury boutique hotel in years, and the first hotel of its kind in the city of Richmond, opened in summer 2021.

The 100-room Versante is appriximately 20 minutes from Downtown Vancouver and just minutes from Vancouver International Airport. versantehotel.com

Sky high on Vancouver Island Queen’s welcome awaits in Halifax

M ALAHAT S K yW ALK -H AMISH H AMILT o N

THE new Malahat SkyWalk is now providing the ultimate natural high on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Located 35 minutes north of Victoria, the attraction immerses visitors in nature along a 600-metre-long elevated walkway through an Arbutus and Douglas Fir forest that leads to a 10-storey, architecturallyinspiring spiral tower lookout.

Rising 250 metres above sea level, the SkyWalk offers 360-degree views of both Canada and the USA, including Finlayson Arm, Saanich Inlet, Saanich Peninsula, Gulf Islands, San Juan Islands, Mt. Baker and the Coast Mountain range.

Guests can return to ground level by taking an exhilarating ride on a 20-metre spiral slide.

They can forge a connection with nature by learning about the trees, birds, animals and marine life of a coastal region unique to British Columbia.

Malahat SkyWalk is located on the traditional territory of the Malahat Nation, whose Indigenous stories are a key element of the experience.

Malahat SkyWalk is open 365 days a year. malahatskywalk.com

Reconnect at Niagara Falls

QUEEN’S Marque, a dynamic ‘new’ neighbourhood on the waterfront in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is set to be completed in September 2022.

Housed in the area known historically as Queen’s Landing, Queen’s Marque bills itself as “a community destination inspired by the historic, cultural and natural forces that have shaped this place and its people”.

The waterfront development, with its striking architecture, features private residences, 12 food and beverage destinations, bespoke shopping and event spaces and offices.

A centrepiece of Queen’s Marque is the Muir hotel, a member of the Autograph Collection Hotels, which opened in November 2021.

Queen’s Marque is also a showcase for local artists and feature works include ‘Tidal Beacon’ by Ned Kahn, a 40foot installation rising above the Halifax harbour, and ‘Sail’ by Edoardo Tresoldi, a 21-foot high art installation sitting on the edge of the boardwalk.

Queen’s Marque is set to become an iconic destination for both Halifax and Canada and a spectacular place for both locals and travellers. queensmarque.com

A NEW tour telling the ‘untold’ Indigenous story at Niagara Falls will launch in spring 2022.

Niagara Living Museum Tours will feature animated encounters and engagements with Indigenous peoples, cultural interpreters, historians, food specialists, and artisans.

The tour will reveal the intrinsic connection between the famous waterfalls and the livelihood and traditions of the Haudenosaunee. It will also ‘shine a light on what’s not in history books’, such as the role of Indigenous people in the War of 1812, when 300 Mohawk fought with the British at the Battle of Beaver Dams, defeating 500 Americans. ”Guests will never think of Niagara Falls the same way after the tour,” said a spokesperson. niagarafallstourism.com

New electric frontiers in subarctic

MANIT o BA TRAVEL FRONTIERS North Adventures and Red River College have unveiled the first zero-emission electric buggy for traversing the tundra.

Called EV Tundra Buggy, it provides guests with a silent experience amongst wild polar bears and beneath the northern lights in Churchill, Manitoba.

While polar bears are used to the presence and sounds of the diesel-powered buggies, these generate sounds that carry long distances over the quiet tundra.

Development of the buggy was partfunded through the province’s Conservation and Climate Fund, part of the Manitoba Government’s commitment to green energy.

Guests of Frontiers North Adventures dine beneath the northern lights, sing alongside beluga whales and lock eyes with wild polar bears. Direct flights are offered from Calgary or Montréal on Subarctic Discovery trips. frontiersnorth.com

Cape Breton trip to the top in 2022

THE new Ingonish Tree Walk, in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, is on track to start welcoming visitors in 2022. Blending in with the landscape it will offer ‘education, entertainment and adventure’.

Access will be by trail or an eight-person gondola which will take riders from the bottom of Cape Smokey 320 vertical meters to the top in four minutes. Visitors, including wheelchair users and parents with baby strollers, will be able to explore Cape Breton’s nature, learn about the history of the Mi’kmaq people, and enjoy views of the Atlantic ocean and Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

The project was due to open in June 2021 but was delayed by the pandemic. cbisland.com