Origins & Canoe4Covid:

It all began in 2020 with six high school students and an ambitious project called Canoe4Covid. With the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic Will, Georges, Nolan, Cailan, Jacob, and Tim embarked upon a 60-day canoe trip across Ontario to raise funds for COVID-19 relief. They travelled over 2000 kilometres through the rugged and remote wilderness, documenting it all on YouTube and Instagram. With an initial goal of $60,000, the trip was a wild success and ended up raising over $87,000 for Food Banks Canada.

The Birth of the Trip:

In the spring of 2021, after Canoe4Covid, Canada by Canoe founder Will Vyse was looking at maps and began to consider the prospect of a follow up trip. He researched previous large canoe trips and an idea started to form. What if instead of crossing a single province, he could cross the country? This incredible feat had already been accomplished a handful of times in the past; however, Will wanted to do it differently. What if busy waterways and large cities could be avoided? What if canoeists didn't need to walk for days on highways to get through the Rockies? After a year developing a rough draft of a more northern cross-country route, he approached his close friends and fellow canoeing enthusiasts: Georges Kirijian and Nolan Aziz. Without hesitation, they joined him, throwing their complete commitment into the project. The Canada by Canoe team was born.

Pre-Trip Progress: