Linda Barnard

“I think I’ll be living here for the rest of my life,” says Blaise Plant. He’s not talking about his hometown of Ottawa. He’s referring to his adopted home near Sendai, the capital city of Miyagi in Japan’s northern Tohoku region. Plant is part of a growing winemaking industry in this part of the country, proud to be the first officially licensed Canadian farmer in Japan.

This is not his only job: Plant is also a founding member of J-pop/rock band Monkey Majik with his older brother Maynard....

In a frosty time for Canada-U.S. relations, Tourisme Montréal brought some good-natured heated rivalry to a travel conference in New York last month.
Emili Bellefleur and Martine Venne of Tourisme Montréal, the city’s destination marketing agency, wore sweatshirts with the slogan: “Montréal bagels are better than New York’s” at IMM, North America’s largest travel industry-media marketplace.
As they hoped, the shirts from Toronto-based leisurewear brand Province of Canada got people talking at th...

Like most traffic jams, when vehicles get backed up in Jasper National Park, Alberta, expect horns.


But they’re not the kind you think. Wildlife has the right of way in the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, and these horns are on photogenic groups of bighorn sheep. But with the splendour of the snow-capped Canadian Rockies all around, who could be in a hurry?


“This is their road,” our SunDog Tours bus driver explained, as we stopped for a half-dozen ewes a few minutes from the...

When you order a cocktail, you’re probably not checking its birth certificate. But bloodlines matter when it comes to the Shaft.

Victoria and Calgary have been duking it out for more than 25 years over which city launched the legendary quick-sipping coffee drink with a boozy kick.

With cocktail history, there’s a good chance chroniclers have hazy recollections. Dates, names and places can get murky.

Getting to the heart of the Shaft story took time...

What could be more chef-driven than a food truck? Whether parked in a permanent spot or rolling up to weddings and festivals, some of the Victoria area’s best food is served through a window.
“We can be elevated food, and it is not just greasy, deep-fried things,” says Vy Nguyen, co-owner of Hide N Seek food truck in East Sooke. “We work just as hard as brick-and-mortar restaurants.”
Like many traditional restaurants, Hide N Seek has an executive chef, Motoharu Nozawa, formerly of the awar...