Why Travel Matters
Marvel’s next superhero, an Olympic swimmer, Drake’s personal documentarian and many more on how travel has shaped their lives and their earliest travel memories.
Kim’s Convenience superstar, Marvel superhero
Travel has the power to… Bring families together.
First travel memory Coming to Canada for the first time when I was four and a half. My dad brought me over from Harbin where I was living before and we were going to start a new life in this new country.
Cookbook author, creator of “sexy” food
Travel has the power to… Completely reset everything in your life.
First travel memory My first memory of travelling somewhere really cool or fun as an adult is when I went to Tulum, Mexico, for the first time. I had just started dating somebody and he said we should go to Mexico together and I said yes, then I realized I didn’t have a passport because my sister got it taken away when she tried to get into a club – that’s a different story. I had four weeks to get a passport; I paid way too much for that, but I got it done, I made it happen. I went to Tulum and even for four days it was still one of the best vacations I’ve ever taken because I was on my own, it felt really grown up; it felt really exotic at the time and I loved it.
Co–founders of Goodee and Want Les Essentiels, dapper twin brothers
Travel has the power to…
Byron Peart: Change the world.
Dexter Peart: Connect people.
First travel memory Jamaica, to visit our grandma as kids. Getting off the plane and smelling the Caribbean.
Jamaican–Canadian filmmaker, Issa Rae collaborator
Travel has the power to… Change your perspective. No matter where you go, be there with all your heart until the next stop.
First travel memory Going to Kingston, Jamaica, with my Aunt Jan in grade two. We went to see one of her best friends and I remember being in the Beverly Hills neighbourhood.
NFL lineman, medical doctor, Renaissance man
Travel has the power to… Create bonds and bring people together.
First travel memory In 2000, my parents, two sisters and I embarked on a long journey on a very small sailboat. We did our schoolwork on the boat while making our way along the East Coast down to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. It gave me the opportunity to learn the basics of sailing and navigation. It shaped me as a human being.
Canada’s favourite teenage Olympic swimmer, enRoute cover model
Travel has the power to… Bring us together and make us happy.
First travel memory It was a road trip with my family to the 2011 NHL draft in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Her brother, Dallas Stars defenceman Jamie Oleksiak, was picked 14th overall.)
Toronto photographer, Drake’s personal documentarian
Travel has the power to… Enlighten.
First travel memory Going to Georgian Bay with my dad and brother, and fishing in a small metal boat with a pirate flag on it.
Canadian pop star, 2020 Grammy nominee
Travel has the power to… Change your perspective so much that it forces you to grow.
First travel memory I travelled to Colombia when I was 10. Everything was great except for my parents asking my teacher to give me homework so I didn’t slack off while I was gone.