In May and June 2023, we travelled from east to west across Canada. From Halifax in Nova Scotia to Montreal in Quebec, to Toronto in Ontario, to Vancouver and Whistler in British Columbia. Along the way some night trains and commuter trains, the Niagara Falls and – imagine this – a bus journey. A true Trans-Canada Train Trek.

Little Canada, previously known as Our Home and Miniature Land is a tourist attraction located at The Tenor, near Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto. It contains HO or H0 scale replicas of natural and man-made structures located throughout Canada, including Golden Horseshoe, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Quebec City, the Maritimes and Toronto. 

History

Dutchman Jean-Louis Brenninkmeijer moved to Canada in 1999 for a two-year stint of specialty retail management training at his family’s company C&A stores. He and his wife Mimi decided to make the move permanent, settling in Oakville. He created the concept for Little Canada in 2011 shortly after visiting Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg.

Brenninkmeijer struggled a bit to find people with model train expertise to jump on board, but did get the project up and running.  A number of model enthusiasts were hired, who from 2014 to 2019 collectively worked about 100,000 hours in a Mississauga warehouse to create the scale-model components.

Among them were about 50 artists, including model makers, specialists in mechatronics and animation, and scenic artists. Other specialists included architects, digital artists, electricians, painters, plumbers, sculptors, and visual artists.

The exhibit was designed to be assembled and disassembled, allowing for it to be moved. The attraction was expected to open in July 2020, but was delayed as result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A visit

Little Canada opened recently and is a work in progress. There is no western Canada or the northern areas. Those will come later.

But the areas covered are compelling. Little Canada gives you an idea of what Canada is. It does take some artistic freedom, such as using Deutsche Bahn ICE model trains. 

Little Canada plays with dat and night, has trains and cars riding around and the roof of Toronto’s Rogers Centre actually moves. 

From the outside the exhibition looks childish, but it’s not. The engineering part and the attention to detail is just worth a visit on their own.

The website estimates your visit will be 90 minutes and that’s a good assessment. 

2023 Trans-Canada Train Trek

1. REVIEW | Brussels Airlines Brussels to Munich in Economy.
2. REVIEW | Lufthansa Premium Economy Munich to Montreal.
3. REVIEW | Air Canada Economy Montreal to Halifax.
4. Flying Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and Air Canada Brussels – Munich – Montreal – Halifax in minimal economy.
5. HALIFAX | Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.
6. REVIEW | The Westin Nova Scotian Halifax.
7. NOVA SCOTIA | Sampling Halifax.
8. REVIEW | VIA Rail Canada night train 15 ‘The Ocean’ from Halifax to Montreal.
9. QUEBEC | Meandering Montreal.
10. REVIEW | InterContinental Montreal.
11. FORMULA 1 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal track walk.
12. MONTREAL | Dining solo at Monarque felt like being part of a tv show.
13. MONTREAL | Exporail – Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant.
14. REVIEW | VIA Rail train Montreal to Toronto in business class.
15. ONTARIO | Touring Toronto.