11 Unique Maple Syrup Farms Across Canada
Nothing says spring like a trip to the local sugar bush. Check out 12 maple syrup producers putting their own unique spin on a quintessential Canadian tradition.
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Macphee’s Orchard, Prince Edward Island
Community is front and centre at Macphee’s Orchard near Cardigan, Prince Edward Island. Owner Richard Macphee partners with his neighbours to tap about 600 trees and 90 per cent of their syrup is sold right from their farm gate. A sense of stewardship guides Macphee through his hard work. As he says, “Mostly it’s extremely pleasant and rewarding to be out in the forest at this time of year when life is waking up from the winter. Because the number of trees is small and we have to attend to them regularly through the season, we get to know the individual trees. Perhaps it’s ridiculous to suggest a person can have a relationship with a tree, but we do care about them.”
Wabanaki Maple, New Brunswick
Wabanaki Maple is an Indigenous- and female-owned company located on Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation). In addition to classic maple syrup, they also make aged syrup with oak, whiskey, bourbon and rum barrels, each with its own distinct flavour and aroma profiles. The barrel-aged bourbon syrup has notes of vanilla, caramel, butter and oak, and comes highly recommended for use in specialty coffee, along with inspired takes on pork, salmon and scallops. “The most rewarding [part] is hearing feedback from our customers,” says team member Peter Davis. “From pancakes to glaze on seafood…it’s fantastic to see our maple syrup being used in so many different ways.”
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Black River Maple Products, Nova Scotia
Many people describe making maple syrup as a labour of love, but artist and activist Neal Livingston looks upon it with a meditative eye. “I started the syrup operation when I was 29 and I’m now in my sixties,” says Livingston. “I like that I can get into the forest tapping trees and [repairing the] maple lines.” The first landowner on Cape Breton to have his woodlot eco-certified, Livingston is inspired by the community’s support of his single-forest syrup. “What motivates me, considering [how] climate change has affected us…is that people really love the syrup we make,” he says.
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Cabane à Tuque, Quebec
Few things are so cozily Canadian as a maple-laden meal at a traditional Quebecois sugar shack. One producer near Mont-Tremblant is making sure this unforgettable experience is a sustainable one. La Cabane à Tuque uses local ingredients to transform traditional sugar shack offerings into a delectable vegan feast. Quebec tourtière is made with vegetables and millet, while the homemade beans are prepared without the traditional pork. The eco-ethos extends to their sustainable property, which features a wall made with recycled bottles, and a small sales counter that sells organic syrup and other local products.
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Fulton’s Sugar Bush and Maple Shop, Ontario
This sixth-generation Pakenham, Ontario maple syrup farm is proving that maple syrup is as good for your skin as it is for your stomach. In addition to offering classic maple syrup products and the traditional sugar shack experience, Fulton’s has also developed maple toiletries. They say their heavenly smelling treats were designed “to bring the wholesome goodness of maple from the table to our skin.” You can find their Maple Luscious products in such luxurious settings as the Fairmont Le Château Montebello spa.
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Vanier Sugar Shack, Ontario
Did you know that Canada’s most unusual maple producer is a scant four kilometres from Parliament Hill? Located in the heart of downtown Ottawa, the Vanier Sugar Shack is the most urban sugar shack in the world. Its location is just the beginning of the bragging rights for this beloved community enterprise that’s part of the historic Vanier Museopark. They’re also responsible for tapping the regal trees on the Governor General’s estate!
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The Manitoba Maple Syrup Festival, Manitoba
Held in the village of McCreary—the province’s maple syrup capital—the Manitoba Maple Syrup Festival is an April tradition that honours local maple syrup farms, including Manitoba Maple Products, Yummy Stuff and Tucker Farms. The family-friendly events include helping out with syrup production, sampling maple treats like taffy on snow and Métis traditional dancing. Festival president Pam Little points out that maple syrup is an important part of McCreary’s heritage. “Indigenous people have been collecting sap and producing maple sugar for eons here in Manitoba,” she says. “Our producers learned the process directly from Indigenous people who live in our area or indirectly from them over the years.”
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Uncle Lee’s Bees, Alberta
Cam Wright and the team at Uncle Lee’s Bees near Calgary didn’t set out to be maple moguls. Back in 1993, they had exactly two Manitoba maple trees. Many years (and many more trees) later, they can’t keep up with demand for both their product and knowledge. “As soon as we hit the market with an Alberta-based product like this, the consumer buy-in was huge,” says Wright. “We can’t produce it fast enough.” Some fans may even become future maple producers, with Wright reporting that many people inquire about how they can tap their own trees.
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Beneath the Bark Sugar Shack, British Columbia
Being far from the east coast’s prized sugar maples didn’t deter entrepreneur Glenn Janzen. He was among the many Vancouver Islanders embracing big leaf maples and producing syrup for personal use. But everything changed in 2017 when he acquired a wood-fired evaporator. With improved efficiency on his side, he was making enough syrup to supply the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market. Tending to Beneath the Bark’s 116-acre forest takes time, but Janzen says it’s well worth it. “Being out in the woods every day, what could be more life-giving?”
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Maple Roch, British Columbia
When Roch Fortin was stationed as an RCMP officer in northern New Brunswick, he fell in love with the area. The warm connections continued long after he retired and he was eager to find a way to support the Maritime community from his Summerland, B.C., home. He started by shipping in six barrels of New Brunswick maple syrup. From there, he launched a business based on the principles of social enterprise, partnering with organizations like the local food bank to create jobs. Today, Maple Roch collaborates with local entrepreneurs to make mouth-watering maple-infused treats like granola, mustard, and spice mixes.
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Maple Rush, Yukon
The Whitehorse-based Maple Rush isn’t letting a lack of local maple trees dampen its creativity. Using syrup from single-forest estates in Quebec, the company is pairing maple-based classics with local ingredients. Their list of specialty maple butters includes Yukon birch, spruce tip, and Yukon Brewing’s wild berry brandy. They also offer a maple syrup that ages for six months in whisky barrels that once held Two Brewers Yukon single malt whisky.
Next, check out the best places to see cherry blossoms across Canada.
