{"id":145974,"date":"2025-08-14T20:30:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T20:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/145974\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T20:30:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T20:30:17","slug":"canada-strong-park-pass-has-brought-big-crowds-but-some-question-whether-everyone-should-get-in-for-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/145974\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada Strong park pass has brought big crowds, but some question whether everyone should get in for free"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lorne and Riza McVicar of Halifax were excited to take advantage of the federal government’s much-touted Canada Strong Pass<\/a>. It\u00a0includes automatic free admission to Canada’s national parks and a 25 per cent discount on campsites\u00a0from\u00a0June 20 to Sept. 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The pass has\u00a0been billed as a way for Canadians to more easily explore their own country<\/a>.\u00a0But Lorne McVicar says it\u00a0has actually made it more difficult for the couple to vacation in Canada\u00a0\u2014 and he questions why the program is open to everyone, including\u00a0international tourists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In June, he says, the couple\u00a0tried to reserve a camping site\u00a0for several days\u00a0in\u00a0July at New Brunswick’s Fundy National Park, but it was completely booked that month. So was Newfoundland and Labrador’s Gros Morne National Park.<\/p>\n

“I anticipated with the Canada Strong Pass, there’d be a higher demand for these campsites, but I didn’t anticipate that it would be such a demand that everything was sold out,” said McVicar.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"LorneLorne and Riza McVicar at their home in Halifax. The couple says when they tried in June to book a camping trip in July at a nearby national park, they were surprised to discover all sites were booked. (Dave Laughlin\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Parks Canada told CBC News it won’t have\u00a0attendance data until the end of the season, but says it has had eight consecutive years of above average visitation\u00a0and expects high volumes to continue this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, one\u00a0thing is already clear: The Canada Strong Pass has helped draw an influx of\u00a0visitors to the country’s most popular parks, sparking concerns about overcapacity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stay off the sand dunes<\/p>\n

In late July, Prince Edward Island National Park<\/a> announced<\/a>\u00a0it has been experiencing record numbers of visitors and traffic congestion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It is overcrowded,” said Mike Kelly, who lives close to and frequently visits the park. “If you’re going to invite the whole world here for free, you should be ready for it.”<\/p>\n

Amid the record attendance, the park\u00a0reissued\u00a0warnings to visitors<\/a> to stay off its sand dunes, which help protect the coastline<\/a> from storm surges. Walking on them damages the grass that holds them together, leading to their destruction.<\/p>\n

“I see an awful lot of people walking on the dunes;\u00a0I see a lot of people digging on the dunes,” said Kelly. “It’s really disheartening.”<\/p>\n

\"AParks Canada has posted signs and barriers at Prince Edward Island National Park, reminding people to stay off the fragile sand dunes. (Parks Canada)<\/p>\n

Park warden Doug Campbell says\u00a0with the large influx of visitors, it’s likely more people are trespassing on the dunes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s such a beautiful spot and we hate to see damage done.”<\/p>\n

Traffic jams<\/p>\n

More visitors also means more traffic on roadways near popular parks, including the world-famous Banff National Park. Traffic in the town of Banff is on pace for a record-breaking year, with volume up more than six per cent over the past seven months, compared to the same period last year.<\/p>\n

“We are so glad that people can connect with their national park\u00a0system. But we do know that we cannot handle that volume of vehicles into the long term,” said Banff Mayor\u00a0Corrie DiManno.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Town of Banff says itraffic is on track for a record-breaking year, with volume up more than six per cent over the past seven months, compared to the same period last year. (Helen Pike\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Traffic got so heavy at southern Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park on Aug. 3 that\u00a0park officials had to block cars from entering<\/a> for about two and a half hours.<\/p>\n

“We recognize that that has a real impact on visitors and is a really challenging situation for all involved,”\u00a0said Christy Gustavison, visitor experience manager for the park.<\/p>\n

The only other time<\/a> Waterton had to temporarily close the park to traffic was in 2017<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 when Parks Canada also offered free admission<\/a>\u00a0to celebrate the country’s 150th birthday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parks Canada responds<\/p>\n

Parks Canada spokesperson\u00a0Claudia Cr\u00e9peault\u00a0told CBC News in an email that “traffic diversions and fully booked campsites happen each year,” and that current camping reservation levels are similar to previous years.<\/p>\n

But according to recent\u00a0regional CBC News reports, July saw bigger camping crowds\u00a0\u2014 at least at some parks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parks Canada told CBC last month<\/a> that Gros Morne National Park’s campsites booked up\u00a0about a month earlier than last year.\u00a0The agency also said<\/a>\u00a0that at\u00a0La Mauricie National Park in Quebec,\u00a0year-over-year attendance climbed by 19 per cent and campsite bookings by 10 per cent between July 7 and 13.<\/p>\n

WATCH |\u00a0Ottawa launches Canada Strong Pass:<\/strong> \"\"<\/p>\n

Government launches Canada Strong Pass to promote tourism<\/p>\n

The federal government has announced details of the Canada Strong Pass, aimed at promoting domestic tourism. It includes free entry to national parks and conservation areas as well as lower prices for campsites, but there are concerns about further overwhelming locations.<\/p>\n

Cr\u00e9peault\u00a0also said that Parks Canada incorporates many effective strategies to manage crowds and protect the parks’ ecosystems.<\/p>\n

U.S. parks surcharge<\/p>\n

Because the Canada Strong pass was promoted as a perk for Canadians, it has raised questions about why it’s accessible to international visitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It should have been for taxpayers only,” said McVicar, of Halifax. <\/strong>“It was for Canadians to access the Canadian parks.”<\/p>\n

Hermine Landry, spokesperson for the office of the minister of Canadian identity and culture, did not directly address why foreign travellers have also been able to use\u00a0the pass.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Our government will be reviewing the success of the pass this summer to assess its impact,” she said in an email to CBC News, adding that the pass has proven popular with many Canadians.<\/p>\n

There currently isn’t data suggesting international\u00a0tourists are behind an uptick in park attendance this year. However, many\u00a0countries, including Ecuador<\/a> and\u00a0Costa Rica<\/a>, charge\u00a0tourists more\u00a0than their own residents to access national parks and protected areas.<\/p>\n

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump\u00a0signed an executive order<\/a>\u00a0to hit\u00a0foreign travellers with an increased fee\u00a0to visit his\u00a0country’s\u00a0national parks. The yet-to-be-determined charge could take effect in 2026<\/a>. Most U.S. national parks and sites have free entry, but popular sites like Yellowstone<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Rocky Mountain<\/a> charge\u00a0admission fees.<\/p>\n

McVicar\u00a0said he hopes Canada will make a similar move: “[Trump’s fee] should definitely be met with a surcharge on Americans coming to our parks.”<\/p>\n

Ottawa didn’t directly respond to a question about whether it’s\u00a0considering doing so.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"RizaRiza McVicar at Fundy National Park where she and husband, Lorne, managed to stay three nights in July by moving to different camping sites each day. (submitted by Lorne McVicar)<\/p>\n

For their part,\u00a0the McVicars report they\u00a0eventually managed\u00a0to book their July camping trip, by constantly checking the Parks Canada reservations site for cancellations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, they say their trip wasn’t on par with previous years,\u00a0because they had to change sites five times over six nights, as they could only secure single-night bookings each time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s unfortunate,” said McVicar. But he added,\u00a0“Beggars can’t be choosers.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lorne and Riza McVicar of Halifax were excited to take advantage of the federal government’s much-touted Canada Strong…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":145975,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[746,159,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-145974","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115029018124409438","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145974\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}