“Oh give me a home/where the polar bears roam…”
No, it’s not a bizarre prairie folk tune, though Manitoba and Saskatchewan have produced legendary musicians from Neil Young to Joni Mitchell. Polar bears, dinosaurs, beluga whales and secluded beaches are just a few surprises I found travelling across Canada’s friendly and fiery Prairie provinces. So, tighten your wheat belt, we’re going for a ride.
Canada’s Prairies include Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan; we’re focusing on the latter two, our country’s “bread-basket” region:
Manitoba: Land of 100,000 lakes—give or take a few
Dry as dust prairies? Not a chance. About one-fifth of Manitoba is lakes, but there are rivers, parks and an entire wilderness frontier to explore. An angler once told me he went out fishing for monster northern pike here and had the entire lake to himself. When it gets cold, in October, you can head up to Churchill and go nose-to-nose with polar bears. If the snow doesn’t blind you, the magical Northern Lights just might. Come back in summer to snorkel alongside some 20,000 beluga whales that inhabit the Hudson Bay and Churchill River estuary areas.
If you want to know how Canada came together, Manitoba’s history and culture run as deep as lake waters. Find out about the life of Métis leader and Manitoba founder Louis Riel at Riel House National Historic Site. Visit The Forks National Historic Site, an Aboriginal stopping place that dates back to 4,000 B.C. “The Forks” is now a public market where you can pick up gourmet foods and a few treasured pieces from local artisans. Winnipeg is famous for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (the first company in the British Commonwealth to be granted the use of “Royal” in its title and Canada’s oldest ballet company), great restaurants, a bohemian art scene and superb live theatre.
Oh, and keep an eye on the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, now under construction in Winnipeg—it’s the only museum of its kind in the world.
Saskatchewan: Canada’s breadbasket spills over
Saskatchewan is that thin province wedged between Alberta and Manitoba. I say thin, but it’s actually fives times the size of the state of New York. Feel free to roam. The province is home to two national and 34 provincial parks. Learn about the iconic Canadian “Mounties” at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Centre in Saskatchewan’s capital, Regina (pronounced ruh-JY-nuh); discover dinosaur fossils at the T.rex Discovery Centre, including the skeletal remains of a Tyrannosaurus (discovered in 1991), on a short side trip to Eastend, SK.
In the Tragically Hip song “Wheat Kings,” the band calls Saskatoon the “Paris of the Prairies.” Replace the Eiffel Tower with the University of Saskatchewan’s white grain elevators, and you’ve got an energetic university city with plenty of nightlife.
If you venture out into the landscape, expect profound, mythic, even prehistoric experiences. For starters, there’s some 6,000 years of Northern Plains Indian culture at Wanuskewin Heritage Park.
You won’t run out of “Big Sky” or things to do in the Prairies. As the Tragically Hip song goes: “Wheat kings and pretty things/let’s just see what the morning brings.”
More to-dos:
Manitoba:
Visit the Icelandic community of Gimli on the southwest shore of Lake Winnipeg.
Riding Mountain National Park 
Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site 
Wapusk National Park
Whiteshell Provincial Park
Soak up the sun on the secluded beaches of Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg.
Celebrate the joie de vivre of the fur traders at the Festival du Voyageur in Winnipeg’s lively French Quarter.
World cultures collide at Folklorama, two-week multicultural festival that’s a feast of cuisine, entertainment and ethnic dress at more than 40 pavilions.
Saskatchewan:
Check out Saskatchewan’s new fishing website with tips for catching everything from trout to walleye.
View the skeletal remains of a Tyrannosaurus discovered in 1991 and displayed at the futuristic-looking T.rex Discovery Centre.
RCMP Heritage Centre
Batoche National Historic Site
Prince Albert National Park
Grasslands National Park  
See the Conglomerate Cliffs, buttes and caves on the Saskatchewan side of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. 
Try Saskatoon berry pie, made with a delicious violet-coloured berry so high in antioxidants, some are calling it the next “super fruit.”
Craven Country Jamboree
SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival
www.sasktourism.com
www.travelmanitoba.com