Canadian cities with similar natural settings

[hipster duck]

I thought it would be fun to compare Canadian cities that have similar natural settings, even if they're very far apart from one another.

Starting with the big 3:

Toronto and Edmonton both are defined by river valleys, with high-rises poking out:





Montreal and Hamilton both have a forested hill rising up behind downtown, and their classic skyline view is from that mountain. But what's even more alike is how the view from Mont Royal to the east towards the triplexes of the Plateau and Rosemont reminds me of the view across inner city Hamilton from the mountain brow:




Vancouver and...this one is a bit of a wild one...Corner Brook, Newfoundland. For a bit of a challenge, I tried to do a town that wasn't in BC. Both have an inlet harbour with mountains to the north:

[Tone]

I've visited many Canadian cities but none really had the same setting/setup as Rimouski I found, does anyone have any ideas?

[TorontoDrew]

Maybe Thunder Bay?

source: https://northernontario.travel

[Tone]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

Maybe Thunder Bay?

Yes I see it too, however TB's waterfront is mostly industrial or vacant land separated from the city by railtracks.

Im looking more for a setup à la Rimouski; a seawall with a seafront promenade, a dreaded waterfront boulevard, a downtown in part built on landfill etc..

[TorontoDrew]

It's tough to do this in a country with so few built up metros. Those cities also being located in terrain unique to their location in Canada.

How about Regina and Saskatoon, I know Saskatoon is on a much more major river, but both seem to have a similar layout.

Regina by Andrew Moore, on Flickr
Saskatoon by Andrew Moore, on Flickr

[Architype]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

I thought it would be fun to compare Canadian cities that have similar natural settings, even if they're very far apart from one another.

.....

Vancouver and...this one is a bit of a wild one...Corner Brook, Newfoundland. For a bit of a challenge, I tried to do a town that wasn't in BC. Both have an inlet harbour with mountains to the north:

I thought of the Corner Brook - Vancouver comparison as well; the landscape imparts a similar feeling visually sometimes. Although the scale is different, there is no other Canadian city that has that kind of landscape. The resemblance doesn't go much farther however, Vancouver has much more expansive flat land, and the urban form is very different. Vancouver's harbour and bridges also remind me of Halifax.

[hipster duck]

Rimouski <> Thunder Bay is a good one! It's not perfect, obviously, but none of these comparisons will be. One is on a lake that feels like the ocean, and the other one is on a river estuary that feels like/is the ocean.

Saskatoon and Ottawa?

They both have a relatively wide, wild river with a bit of a cliff, but tapering down to flat.

Or maybe Ottawa <> Fredericton?

[someone123]

Vancouver and Halifax actually are pretty similar if you drop the north shore mountains and Fraser River. You are still left with the Burrard Inlet which is like Halifax Harbour, spanned by suspension bridges, connecting a peninsula with a park on the end, and a narrow inlet on the other side, False Creek or the Northwest Arm. The Halifax peninsula is larger and Vancouver is a bigger city so False Creek is more urban whereas the Northwest Arm is more like the Kitsilano or Point Grey waterfronts.

Halifax does have the Sackville River and Shubenacadie Canal but they're both small. Halifax's "Fraser Valley" is Hants County and the Annapolis Valley.

[hipster duck]

Well, Vancouver and Halifax harbour both have the same two types of crossings: the historic, low volume suspension bridge close to downtown, and the workhorse, multilane highway bridge a few kilometers further up.

[MolsonExport]

Winnipeg and London. Both on flat plains (I believe both are situated on former lake beds: Lake Agassiz for Winnipeg and Glacial Lake London for London), with a meandering river (Red/Assiniboine, Thames) that forks in the downtown area. Both are surrounded by agricultural land in all directions. Both had their development spurred by the railways. Both have shitty road infrastructures.

[Blitz]

^ That's a good one. At least Winnipeg has a semblance of a ring road.

[MonkeyRonin]

I guess I would call these similar features rather than similar settings, but here's a random one: Toronto & Nanaimo are the only two cities I can think of that have recreational islands in their core, accessible only by ferry:


https://www.waterfrontbia.com/the-islands


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saysutshun_%28Newcastle_Island_Marine%29_Park



Also, Victoria and Saint John's harbour geographies are vaguely similar:

[zoomer]

Damn, very good examples MonkeyRonin!

[someone123]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

I guess I would call these similar features rather than similar settings, but here's a random one: Toronto & Nanaimo are the only two cities I can think of that have recreational islands in their core, accessible only by ferry

Halifax has a few harbour islands and you can take ferries to McNab's and George's.

Saint John and Victoria is a good one, although in SJ it's a river.

[Pavlov]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

It's tough to do this in a country with so few built up metros. Those cities also being located in terrain unique to their location in Canada.

How about Regina and Saskatoon, I know Saskatoon is on a much more major river, but both seem to have a similar layout.

Regina by Andrew Moore, on Flickr
Saskatoon by Andrew Moore, on Flickr

In fact, Regina has no river (or any other natural water feature) at all. Is it unique among Canadian cities in that respect?

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by someone123

Halifax has a few harbour islands and you can take ferries to McNab's and George's.

I hadn't heard there was ferry service to them. Last I checked it was only private on-demand services like water taxi and charter boats. That's how I got to McNabs a few years ago.

[MolsonExport]

The Island of Montreal (surrounded by the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers) with a population of ~2,000,000, is the most populated freshwater island in the world.

The next largest freshwater island (in Canada) by population is good ol' Laval (also of the Hochelaga Archipelago, like Montreal Island) with ~450,000 people.

After which, the next largest freshwater island (in Canada) by population is Ile Perrot (also of the Hochelaga Archipelago, like Montreal Island) with ~39,000 people.

After which, the next largest freshwater island (in Canada) by population is Ile des Soeurs/Nun's Island (also of the Hochelaga Archipelago, like Montreal Island) with ~21,000 people.

After which, the next largest freshwater island (in Canada) by population is Grande-Île (Île de Salaberry (also of the Hochelaga Archipelago, like Montreal Island)) with ~15,500 people.

After which, the next largest freshwater island (in Canada) by population is Ile Bizard (also of the Hochelaga Archipelago, like Montreal Island) with ~15,000 people.

After which, it is Manitoulin Island (Ontario, the world's largest Freshwater Island) with ~13,000 people.

I did not forget Lulu Island (Richmond BC, and part of New Westminster) but although it is on the Fraser River delta, it is mostly surrounded by salt water (I lived there for 4 years).

I've been to all the above islands, and I lived on 2 of them (Montreal, Lulu).

[Bishop2047]

Very different city sizes, but I always found Fredericton and Ottawa/Gatineau very similar, being river cities with developed (and often flooded) green space along the rivers, river islands, and rolling hills surrounding the city.

They also get quite similar weather, as Freddy weather is not as impacted by the coast. Meaning hotter summers, and coolers winters, when compared to the other maritime cities.

[harls]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

The Island of Montreal (surrounded by the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers) with a population of ~2,000,000, is the most populated freshwater island in the world.

The next largest freshwater island (in Canada) by population is good ol' Laval (also of the Hochelaga Archipelago, like Montreal Island) with ~450,000 people.

After which, the next largest freshwater island (in Canada) by population is Ile Perrot (also of the Hochelaga Archipelago, like Montreal Island) with ~39,000 people.

After which, the next largest freshwater island (in Canada) by population is Ile des Soeurs/Nun's Island (also of the Hochelaga Archipelago, like Montreal Island) with ~21,000 people.

After which, the next largest freshwater island (in Canada) by population is Grande-Île (Île de Salaberry (also of the Hochelaga Archipelago, like Montreal Island)) with ~15,500 people.

After which, the next largest freshwater island (in Canada) by population is Ile Bizard (also of the Hochelaga Archipelago, like Montreal Island) with ~15,000 people.

After which, it is Manitoulin Island (Ontario, the world's largest Freshwater Island) with ~13,000 people.

I did not forget Lulu Island (Richmond BC, and part of New Westminster) but although it is on the Fraser River delta, it is mostly surrounded by salt water (I lived there for 4 years).

I've been to all the above islands, and I lived on 2 of them (Montreal, Lulu).

I think the Île de Hull should be up there.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre-ville_de_Gatineau

This article says 12K residents but it's from 2011. There's been a lot of condo construction since then.

[Calgarian]

Any other cities in Canada in the foothills? lol