In April 2014 I joined my dad for the trip of a lifetime, riding VIA Rail’s The Canadian along its entire route from Vancouver to Toronto.
The text for this post was written in 2026 based on the 2014 trip and photos.
I flew to Vancouver for some visiting with family and friends before we boarded the train to Toronto. The train left from the historic Pacific Central train station.
It was an evening departure, so after a celebratory glass of wine, we settled in for our first night on the train as it traversed the Fraser and Thompson Canyons.
First light the next morning found us along the north shore of Kamloops Lake. The train snaked its way along the shore as it approached Kamloops. We had the dome car to ourselves.
From Kamloops, we enjoyed breakfast in the dining car as we headed up the North Thompson River. We were trying to coordinate seeing my brother in Valemount but the lack of cell coverage made it difficult to provide updates on our timing.
In Valemount, we did get to wave to my brother as the train rolled by! My dad got an attendant to open a service door to wave as well.
Unfortunately, Mount Robson was hidden in the clouds as we entered the Rocky Mountains.
Jasper was our first stop where we could get off the train to stretch our legs.
After our break in Jasper, the train continued through the Rockies into the evening. When we woke the next morning, we were in the prairies.
Sunrise found us passing frozen ponds under the big skies of Saskatchewan.
Our views of the ever changing colours, patterns and textures were interrupted by a couple of brief stops in Biggar, Saskatoon and Melville, where we could stretch our legs for a few minutes.
Between stops, VIA Rail had some activities, including educational talks on some of the areas we were passing through, an author talk and a musician.
Although not as common as they once were, prairie grain elevators are still iconic towers representing a link to a previous era when railways were a much larger part of Canadian life.
At times we had to wait for CN freight trains, sometimes for what felt like hours. Usually the timing was pretty smooth with the meets, either the freight was in the siding when we approached, or the train could glide through the siding without stopping while the freight thundered by. When the waits got long enough, we would nap.
The Qu’Appelle Valley has some notable relief after the flatness of most of the prairies.
Three course dinner in the dining car
The last light on the prairies as we crossed Saskatchewan and into Manitoba. By morning we would be in Ontario. The train stops in Winnipeg for its longest stop on the trip for a crew change at around midnight but we did not get off the train.
The last two days(!) of the trip were through Ontario, mostly past lakes, trees and more trees of the Canadian Shield. The only scheduled stops are in Sioux Lookout and Hornepayne.
First light was at around 6am and we were the only passengers in the dome car. And we were the first for breakfast in the dining car.
Hornepayne
On our final day on the train, dad and I were once again the first people in the dome car. First light (in the fog) was at 5:30am!
It was foggy and rainy the rest of the trip south from Sudbury towards Toronto. After four days of travel across the country, we arrived in Toronto’s Union Station almost exactly on time.
