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The Gaspé – One of Canada’s 10 Top Maple Leaf Vacations

Canadian National Railways advertisement printed in a National Geographic magazine. The headline reads: French Canada’s Romantic Gaspé Just like a trip abroad. Below the title, a photograph of Percé Rock, the Percé coast and fishing boats. On the beach, a horse pulls a fishing boat out of the water. On the right side of the page is the logo of the Canadian National Railway and on the right is a photograph of a woman painting outdoor above Percé Rock.

Magazine

Page from The New Yorker magazine, May 3, 1952

Les Amis des Jardins de Métis Collection

“Just like a trip abroad” is how the Gaspé is pitched in this Canadian National Railways advertisement that appeared in The New Yorker magazine in May, 1952. Proximity to the United States was a new angle for advertisers, choosing to promote Canada as easy and effortless to get to, not requiring a passport and offering a generous discount with the exchange rate between the two currencies.

Canadian National Railways was one of Canada’s most important advertisers and (along with its rival Canadian Pacific) operated passenger trains and hotels across the country. Because it was a government railway, it also had to be sensitive to local needs and political pressure, assuring an equal distribution of resources spread across the entire Canadian railway network. The same advertisement that promoted a tour of the Gaspé Peninsula also presented nine other Maple Leaf Vacations.