The best time to travel to Manitoba

The main reason to plan a trip to this remote province is for the polar bear capital of the world. Polar bears cross through the town of Churchill en masse, making their way to the freezing Hudson Bay for winter. The best chances of seeing this polar bear migration is throughout October and early November.

Some tours start seeking out polar bears as early as July, but you are risking spending a lot of time and money travelling to Churchill without a guaranteed sighting. However, July (into early August) is a great time to visit if you want to spot beluga whales instead.

The northern lights can be seen from around January to March; local residents can see the northern lights up to 300 nights a year in Manitoba. As it’s also possible to see these elsewhere in Canada, the aurora borealis alone is perhaps not enough of a draw to battle Manitoba’s harsh winters.