Famous Canadians reveal their most beautiful sunrises

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Located off the northeast coast of Newfoundland, Fogo Island is sometimes described as one of the most remote corners of the earth. And just off the coast of this outer island lie the rocky cliffs and mostly abandoned fishing huts of Little Fogo Island. From the Fogo Island Inn above the harbor, you can experience one of the first places in Canada to see a spectacular sunrise.

On the other side of the country, Tofino, British Columbia, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, is one of the last places to catch a great Canadian sunrise as the golden orb arches from east to west. Sanoa Olin, Canada’s first Olympic surfer who was born and raised in Tofino, tells us the best viewing spot: Head to the Lennard Island Lighthouse and watch the sun rise over the mountains that drop into the Pacific Ocean.

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There are many places in Canada that are famous for their sunrises – Banff, Alberta, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, Parliament Hill in the country’s capital, to name a few. But the beauty of a sunrise is that you don’t have to go anywhere to see it. Just get up early.

You won’t be alone. Join famous Canadian early risers Felix Auger-Alliassime, Elisapie, Tom Green, Wab Kinew and supersurfer Olin on a sunrise tour of the country with comic book writer Jeff McIntyre in this special Canada Day collaboration with Postmedia.

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Jeff McIntyre, comic book author

McIntyre is a lively storyteller and recently released his first graphic novel Salmon Run, Book 1the first in a series that explores mental health through a rock’n’roll road trip. McIntyre is currently on his own road trip across Canada in his 1985 Buick LeSabre and has seen many glorious sunrises. “It’s been a wild few weeks.”

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Felix Auger-Aliassime, tennis champion

From the French Open at Roland-Garros in Paris to Wimbledon at the All-England Club, the tennis star, ranked 18th in the world, is travelling to his second Olympic Games for the Canadian team. From July 27 to August 4, he will be on the clay courts of Roland-Garros, aiming for the winner’s podium. Then it’s finally home, where the sun rises in Montreal. FAA, as he is known, is only 23, but in his hometown he has been immortalised with a large mural on the wall of the IGA Stadium in Montreal, where he will play in the National Bank Canadian Open from August 3 to 12.

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Elisapie, Inuk singer and songwriter

Inuk musician Elisapie has come a long way from her hometown of Salluit, a tiny Inuit community in northern Quebec where the sun shines about 20 hours a day in the summer. Elisapie won a Juno in Halifax in March and was honored with a portrait on a Canadian postage stamp on June 21, Indigenous Peoples Day. On tour this summer, she played the Ottawa Jazz Festival on June 25 and plays the Quebec City Festival (July 8), Edmonton Folk Festival (August 9), Blossoms and Bones Music Festival in New Mexico (September 13-14), and in New York and Toronto (November 8).

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Tom Green, comedian

When the comedian, actor and podcaster returned to Canada from Los Angeles in 2021, he ended up in a most unusual place – a farm somewhere in Eastern Ontario. He won’t say exactly where, but you can catch a glimpse of it on his Instagram feed. In addition to appearances on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Green is working on a new Prime Video project that will showcase – what else? – his life on the farm.

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Wab Kinew, Premier of Manitoba

In October 2023, Wab Kinew was elected premier of Manitoba, becoming the first Canadian prime minister of First Nations (Anishinaabe) descent. Kinew has been leader of the province’s NDP party since 2017, a television journalist, university administrator – and rapper. The early riser has launched an orange New Democrat movement that is gaining momentum across the province – Winnipeg just saw its first NDP victory in a constituency held by Conservatives for four decades.

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Sanoa Olin, Olympic surfer

Olin grew up in a surfing family near Tofino’s famous Cox Beach. She was exposed to surfing as a toddler and got her first surfboard at age six. This summer, at 18, she will become Canada’s first Olympic surfer, as shortboard surfing debuts at the 2024 Games. Spectators are in for a thrill – the surfing competition (July 27-August 5) takes place in Tahiti, French Polynesia, on the infamous Teahupo’o wave, a huge offshore break over coral reefs. Olin says she loves the adventure of the sport and the way surfing connects her with the ocean and nature. The morning patrol – catching the early morning waves – lifts her up and further.

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