Craft fairs in Canada: a list. That’s right, we’re one crafty nation.

Canada is one crafty place. Wherever you go, from sea to sea to sea (yep, even up to the Arctic edge of the Great North), there are artisans at work. With so much scope, one of the best ways to get a taste for what’s there is to check out the craft fairs. Here’s a cross-country list of noteworthy shows:

In Whitehorse, YT, the Yukon Crafts Society’s Artisan Market runs every evening from the end of May to the end of August, taking advantage of those long, long northern summer days. The market offers the work of a wide range of Yukon artists and artisans.
Alianait Arts Festival, in Iqaluit, NU, in late June, is Nunavut’s 10-day annual celebration of art, music, film, storytelling, circus arts, dance and theatre. Pegged as a chance to celebrate the arts under the midnight sun, it offers fine Inuit art and crafts from such remote locations as Grise Fiord on Ellesmere Island.
British Columbia’s One of a Kind Show and Sale Vancouver brings together over 200 top-level crafters, artists and designers each December, offering shoppers a great seasonal blitz. Toronto, ON, site of the original One of a Kind Show, now has two, Spring and Christmas.
Calgary, AB’s BEYOND marketplace in October showcases crafts in glass, paper, wood, metal and fibre, as well as fine art and photography.
Wintergreen, in Regina, SK, is the Saskatchewan Craft Council’s Christmas craft market with works in jewellery, clay, wood, metal, fibre and glass.
Scattered Seeds is a twice-yearly (April and October), juried Winnipeg, MB, show, with crafts, art and artisanal foods.
The Huronia Festival of Arts and Crafts, in Barrie, ON, has been a must-attend show for 39 years. Held the last weekend of July, it is part of Kempenfest, a multifaceted gathering of arts, music, antiques and kids events.
Le Salon des métiers d’art du Québec, held in Montréal, is Canada’s biggest professional craft show and sale. Every December the 17-day Quebec show attracts 200,000 visitors to its showcases in seven craft categories: ceramics, wood, textiles, leather and skins, paper, metal and other materials.
The annual New Brunswick Fine Craft Festival has been New Brunswick’s premier fine crafts show for 30 years and counting. Held in Rothesay Commons, Rothesay in early July, it features weaving, clay, surface design and jewellery. This festival allows visitors the chance to not only buy and see these works in the making but to try to make their own as well.
Eastern Canada’s biggest show is Halifax, NS’s Christmas at the Forum. In fact, this annual November event is known locally as “the big one” for its extensive section of regional crafts and art.
Two more annual November events are PEI Craft Council’s Craft Council Christmas Craft Fair in Charlottetown, PEI, with a wide range of island-produced work, plus St. John’s Fine Craft & Design Fair, with crafts from across Newfoundland and Labrador.