7 Canadian capital cities you didn’t know existed

Harrison Hot Springs, not far from Chilliwack, B.C., is known for its Sasquatch (and/or Bigfoot) sightings. And for its Sasquatch Museum, filled with artifacts, recorded witness accounts, and Sasquatch-related science. What? It can’t all be a myth.

St. Paul, Alta., was handed this nickname way back in 1967, on the same day that it unveiled “the world’s first UFO landing pad.” Happy 100th, Canada! The massive concrete circle cost $11,000 and the town donated the land. Not because St. Paul was a hotspot of UFO activity, but because such a welcome mat would stand for “unity and acceptance.”

With more than 35 wineries, Oliver, B.C., in the south end of the Okanagan Valley, claims this title. In the 1920s and ’30s, however, Oliver was famous for growing cantaloupes. (Oliver: “Home of the Cantaloupe!”) Booze, fruit…either way: cheers to you, Oliver!

Komarno, Man., proudly calls itself the Mosquito Capital of the World, and even built a huge, pivoting mosquito statue to drive the point home. The town was settled by folks who’d immigrated from the Ukraine; “Komarno” means “mosquito infested” in Ukrainian.

Oxford, a town of 1,170 in Nova Scotia’s Cumberland County, is small but mighty. Well, mighty good at producing wild blueberries. Oxford Frozen Foods processes nearly three million pounds of berries a day in peak blueberry season. That’s a lot of antioxidants.

This honour goes to Drumheller, Alta., home to a massive amount of dino fossils at the world-renowned Royal Tyrrell Museum. But more importantly, home to the massive “World’s Largest Dinosaur”! She’s 86 feet tall. And, yes—for the record— female.

Vulcan, Alta., actually got its name from a railway surveyor in the 1900s; Vulcan is the God of Fire and Forge in Roman and Greek mythology. But flash forward to March 2010 and the town was officially proclaimed this country’s Star Trek capital. Obviously. With a name like Vulcan, resistance was futile.