Flying in Canada is just different enough from flying in the U.S. to make it a learning experience, and similar enough to make it comfortable. Canada's aviation heritage is like a vein whose branches nourish virtually every facet of the diverse country's social, business and even political life. To a large degree, aviation built Canada, untapping its vast resource wealth and often providing the only communications link between far-flung communities whose lifeline was a strip of gravel carved out of the forest and the hardy breed of part pilot, part mechanic and part entrepreneur who flew into them. Over the years, railways and roads have pushed into many areas that once depended solely on bush pilots, but the legacy of those early days serves a different purpose, now. A vast network of airports, from single-direction grass strips to some of the busiest hubs in North America, link a land that has 10 percent more land mass than the U.S. but less than a tenth of the population. And it's all there for the enjoyment of pilots who take a little time to prepare for what might be their trip of a lifetime.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/features/northern-hospitality