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Canada's Road: A Journey on the Trans-Canada Highway from St. John's to Victoria
Russia has the Trans-Siberian Highway, Australia has Highway 1, and Canada has the Trans-Canada Highway, an iconic road that stretches almost 8,000 kilometres across six time zones.
In the summer of 2012, on the highway's 50th birthday, Mark Richardson drove its entire length to find out how the road came to be and what it's now become. In his daily account of the 10-week road trip, originally published as a blog on macleans.ca, he follows the original "pathfinders" Thomas Wilby and Jack Haney, who tried to drive across the country before there were enough roads, he discovers the diverse places along the highway that contribute to the country's character, and he meets the people who make the Trans-Canada what it is today – the road that connects a nation.
In the summer of 2012, on the highway's 50th birthday, Mark Richardson drove its entire length to find out how the road came to be and what it's now become. In his daily account of the 10-week road trip, originally published as a blog on macleans.ca, he follows the original "pathfinders" Thomas Wilby and Jack Haney, who tried to drive across the country before there were enough roads, he discovers the diverse places along the highway that contribute to the country's character, and he meets the people who make the Trans-Canada what it is today – the road that connects a nation.
- GenresTravelNonfiction
160 pages, Paperback
First published May 8, 2013
6 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Mark Richardson
6 books8 followersLibrarian note: There is more than one author by this name on goodreads.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 19, 2025
“Canada’s Road” is the Trans-Canada Highway. The TCH or “T-Can” crosses the entirety of the world’s second-largest country. Spanning 7,821 kilometres (or 4,860 miles) along two main transcontinental alignments, the TCH captures the spirit of Canada’s national motto -- A mari usque ad mare (“From Sea to Sea”). And Mark Richardson offers a fun and engaging tribute to the “T-Can” in his 2013 book Canada’s Road.
Richardson, an automotive journalist who has written for newspapers in Ottawa and Toronto, made this drive in the year 2012, and chose that date quite deliberately, as 2012 was “not just the 50th anniversary of the Trans-Canada Highway opening officially in 1962…but also the 100th anniversary of the first road trip through Canada from ocean to ocean” (p. 7). He makes frequent references to that arduous 1912 journey by English journalist Thomas Wilby and North American driver Jack Haney, while pointing out that his own journey, in a new Chevrolet Camaro lent him for the purpose by General Motors, is much more comfortable.
As Wilby and Haney had begun their trans-Canadian journey by dipping the front wheels of their car into the Atlantic Ocean, Richardson makes a point of doing likewise, at the TCH’s two eastern termini on Canada’s Atlantic coast. In the process, he experiences the sort of humorous misadventure that is characteristic of this book. Having once topped up his water bottle at Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, he does the same at Eastern Passage – after having experienced an uncomfortable episode wherein he forgot which bottle held the Atlantic Ocean water, “pulled up the ocean water bottle and gave it a healthy swig”, and found to his discomfort that “it was a very unhealthy swig, full of salt and fish pee. I spewed my mouthful through the open window, although most of it was picked up by the slipstream and hurled back inside the car” (pp. 51-52).
Richardson seeks out the quirky and distinctive details of TCH life throughout his journey – in Quebec, for instance, a nudist resort in Drummondville (it was cold that day, and therefore no one was naked), as well as a town called Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! (no, really) that Richardson indicates is, “as far as I can tell[,] the only community in North America with an exclamation mark in its title” (p. 67).
It takes Richardson (whose 12-year-old son joins him for part of the journey) quite a while to travel across Ontario, and that’s not surprising; by itself, Ontario would be the 8th largest country on earth by land area. And, once again, quirky details abound, as when he arrives in the town of Scotia, Ontario, and finds a rather interesting farm that may cause some readers to think of the hit Canadian Broadcasting Corporation program Schitt’s Creek.
(N.B. [Nota Bene, not New Brunswick]: Readers who are offended by profanity should skip the next paragraph.)
One of many helpful photos in the text shows the reader the welcome sign for Cow Shit Valley Farms, whose owner, Carl Marshall, notes that “It’s been Cow Shit Valley for 20, 25 years….Everybody kept calling it that, so I figured I should put a sign up.” Marshall notes that many people stop to take photos of the sign, and adds that the bags of topsoil sold by the farm are tactfully labelled “C.S. Valley Farms” rather than giving the farm’s full name – “a nod to the good business practice of not offending potential customers”, as Richardson dryly notes. Folks around Scotia seem to have gotten used to the farm’s distinctive name, and owner Marshall tells Richardson that “If someone wants to come up from the city and complain about my sign, well, tough.” Richardson’s conclusion: “No shit” (pp. 87-88).
As one leaves Ontario, and enters Manitoba, one knows that at some point, the scenery will shift from woodland to prairie, and one may have to work a bit harder to find elements to appreciate in that scenery, as when Richardson notes that “There’s a game you can play, driving either east or west, of looking for the last/first rock and the last/first tree” (p. 105).
Yet if one persists in driving across the Prairie Provinces, making one’s way through Saskatchewan and Alberta, one will eventually – after 7,605 kilometres including ferryboat travel – arrive at the TCH’s western terminus in Victoria, the scenic and beautiful capital of British Columbia. Victoria is Mile 0 of the TCH, but so is St. John’s in Newfoundland – making the TCH, in the words of one Canadian journalist, “the world’s only national roadway that has two beginnings and no end….Neither city wanted to be at the tail of the procession, so we made a road with two heads and no foot. Very Canadian, very sensible” (p. 150).
Canadian readers may peruse Canada’s Road with special pride, especially when considering Richardson’s final reflections regarding the Trans-Canada Highway as a unifying factor in Canadian life. But any reader who enjoys open-road adventure might find themselves wanting to emulate Richardson’s transcontinental trip, saying something on the order of “The T-Can? I can!”
Richardson, an automotive journalist who has written for newspapers in Ottawa and Toronto, made this drive in the year 2012, and chose that date quite deliberately, as 2012 was “not just the 50th anniversary of the Trans-Canada Highway opening officially in 1962…but also the 100th anniversary of the first road trip through Canada from ocean to ocean” (p. 7). He makes frequent references to that arduous 1912 journey by English journalist Thomas Wilby and North American driver Jack Haney, while pointing out that his own journey, in a new Chevrolet Camaro lent him for the purpose by General Motors, is much more comfortable.
As Wilby and Haney had begun their trans-Canadian journey by dipping the front wheels of their car into the Atlantic Ocean, Richardson makes a point of doing likewise, at the TCH’s two eastern termini on Canada’s Atlantic coast. In the process, he experiences the sort of humorous misadventure that is characteristic of this book. Having once topped up his water bottle at Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, he does the same at Eastern Passage – after having experienced an uncomfortable episode wherein he forgot which bottle held the Atlantic Ocean water, “pulled up the ocean water bottle and gave it a healthy swig”, and found to his discomfort that “it was a very unhealthy swig, full of salt and fish pee. I spewed my mouthful through the open window, although most of it was picked up by the slipstream and hurled back inside the car” (pp. 51-52).
Richardson seeks out the quirky and distinctive details of TCH life throughout his journey – in Quebec, for instance, a nudist resort in Drummondville (it was cold that day, and therefore no one was naked), as well as a town called Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! (no, really) that Richardson indicates is, “as far as I can tell[,] the only community in North America with an exclamation mark in its title” (p. 67).
It takes Richardson (whose 12-year-old son joins him for part of the journey) quite a while to travel across Ontario, and that’s not surprising; by itself, Ontario would be the 8th largest country on earth by land area. And, once again, quirky details abound, as when he arrives in the town of Scotia, Ontario, and finds a rather interesting farm that may cause some readers to think of the hit Canadian Broadcasting Corporation program Schitt’s Creek.
(N.B. [Nota Bene, not New Brunswick]: Readers who are offended by profanity should skip the next paragraph.)
One of many helpful photos in the text shows the reader the welcome sign for Cow Shit Valley Farms, whose owner, Carl Marshall, notes that “It’s been Cow Shit Valley for 20, 25 years….Everybody kept calling it that, so I figured I should put a sign up.” Marshall notes that many people stop to take photos of the sign, and adds that the bags of topsoil sold by the farm are tactfully labelled “C.S. Valley Farms” rather than giving the farm’s full name – “a nod to the good business practice of not offending potential customers”, as Richardson dryly notes. Folks around Scotia seem to have gotten used to the farm’s distinctive name, and owner Marshall tells Richardson that “If someone wants to come up from the city and complain about my sign, well, tough.” Richardson’s conclusion: “No shit” (pp. 87-88).
As one leaves Ontario, and enters Manitoba, one knows that at some point, the scenery will shift from woodland to prairie, and one may have to work a bit harder to find elements to appreciate in that scenery, as when Richardson notes that “There’s a game you can play, driving either east or west, of looking for the last/first rock and the last/first tree” (p. 105).
Yet if one persists in driving across the Prairie Provinces, making one’s way through Saskatchewan and Alberta, one will eventually – after 7,605 kilometres including ferryboat travel – arrive at the TCH’s western terminus in Victoria, the scenic and beautiful capital of British Columbia. Victoria is Mile 0 of the TCH, but so is St. John’s in Newfoundland – making the TCH, in the words of one Canadian journalist, “the world’s only national roadway that has two beginnings and no end….Neither city wanted to be at the tail of the procession, so we made a road with two heads and no foot. Very Canadian, very sensible” (p. 150).
Canadian readers may peruse Canada’s Road with special pride, especially when considering Richardson’s final reflections regarding the Trans-Canada Highway as a unifying factor in Canadian life. But any reader who enjoys open-road adventure might find themselves wanting to emulate Richardson’s transcontinental trip, saying something on the order of “The T-Can? I can!”
July 12, 2013
great read! For me it only was lacking a "visual". TAlking not only about main towns/cities on the route, but smaller ones, that I've never heard of :) had to google the map to keep track!
otherwise - really, REALLY great book, look into past, compairson to present times... :) makes you want to get in the car and go! :)
otherwise - really, REALLY great book, look into past, compairson to present times... :) makes you want to get in the car and go! :)
June 27, 2018
Good Summary of Road-Building History
Well-written survey of historical trips along the developing TCH combined with a journal of a contemporary trip. Don't wait for fascinating encounters, lyrical descriptions or deep insights.
Well-written survey of historical trips along the developing TCH combined with a journal of a contemporary trip. Don't wait for fascinating encounters, lyrical descriptions or deep insights.
November 3, 2021
This is not a travel guide... or at least anything most people would find useful for planning a trip. He writes about things he did but they aren’t really highlights for the specific spot. At least it doesn’t take long to skim it.
September 15, 2015
Interesting to read about some of the small places across the TCH I have seen on my own travels.
March 10, 2018
ok. Some neat facts but I could have had less promotional pics and comments about his great car he was given to do the drive...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews