One of the largest countries in the world, Canada's vast expanse of land is full of stunning natural wonders, architectural masterpieces and notable structures. It's also home to a much eerier selection of attractions: from long-forgotten ghost towns and creepy hospitals to theme parks where Mother Nature has taken over, these places have been left to rot.
Once a much-loved family hub, McNabs Island today is nothing but crumbling ruins, abandoned homes and even a mouldering soda factory. Named after Peter McNab, who settled here in the 1780s with his family, the island – the largest in Halifax Harbour – was inhabited by Peter's descendants.
That is, until 1934 when one of the last family members, Ellen McNab, sold off her portion of the land before passing away. Although the island was used in the Second World War thanks to its strategic location, it was forgotten soon after. Today, people can visit the island via boat to explore historic forts, nature parks and even have lunch at the newly opened teahouse.
Harking back to the Gold Rush era in Canada, Silver City is where Dawson Charlie, of the Tlingit First Nations people, first discovered the precious metal in 1903. The town was thriving for a couple of decades until the gold ran out and so the ultra-remote town, 133 miles (214km) from Whitehorse, was left abandoned.
Today, the unkempt wooden buildings serve as a stunning backdrop to the vibrant pink Yukon fireweed when it's in full bloom from mid-July to September. And if you do happen to visit this remote trading post, it's worth knowing it sits on privately owned land so be respectful.
Naval Station Argentia, located in Newfoundland, was a strategic military base. It was established in 1941 during the Second World War by the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy. The purpose of the base was to protect convoys and serve as a refuelling and repair station for transatlantic military operations. The station played a crucial role in monitoring German U-boats in the North Atlantic.
After the war its significance diminished, and although it was used throughout the Cold War it was ultimately abandoned in 1994. Today, the site is mostly derelict, with some buildings repurposed for commercial use, yet its abandoned runway serves as a reminder of the importance the site once had.
Positioned in a coastal fjord, Ocean Falls was renowned for its hydroelectricity. The Bella Coola Pulp and Paper Company established a plant here in the early 20th century, which flourished due to the paper industry's high demand. By the late 1960s, the town's buildings became outdated, costs soared and operations dwindled.
Once home to 3,500 residents during its prime, the population dwindled to around 70 by the early 1980s. Today, the town lies mostly in ruins, including a five-storey apartment block from the 1950s (pictured). Also among the abandoned structures is the Martin Inn – a once grand hotel in Canada's West Coast region, now left to deteriorate. Urban explorers have captured the extent of decay in photographs, showcasing the desolate state of the bathrooms and lounge.
Thousands of passengers travel through the Bay Station on Toronto's busy subway system, but very few realise there's an abandoned platform right underneath it. Used only for six months in 1966, Lower Bay Station was part of a failed interlining experiment.
Much of the infrastructure remained in place, though, including subway cars. Although access to the platform is forbidden, it has been opened to the public for a handful of events, such as Doors Open Toronto in 2007, 2013 and 2018.
Not only an abandoned ghost town, Sandon in British Columbia has also turned into what can only be described as a trolley bus cemetery. Rows and rows of old Brill trolley buses line the streets of the once-bustling mining town. They were in use in Vancouver until the 1980s when they were brought to Sandon for refurbishment... but just forgotten instead.
The town itself was once a silver mining hotspot, however it faced its fair share of bad luck over the years. First, it suffered during a drop in silver prices in the 1920s, and was then hit by a major flood in 1955. Much of the town was swept away, yet some buildings, including the original City Hall from 1900 (pictured), still stand today.
Constructed in the 1950s, the Hearn Generating Station served as a coal-fired power plant that supplied electricity to the surrounding region for over four decades, first by burning coal, then natural gas. The imposing structure – large enough to fit 12 Parthenons inside – stood as a symbol of the city's industrial prowess during that era.
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As environmental concerns grew and the demand for cleaner energy sources increased, the power station became obsolete. In 1983, the plant was officially decommissioned and subsequently abandoned. Since its closure, there have been various plans to repurpose the space. It's been used as a filming location and hosted a variety of arts and culture events. However, as the area is not suitable for residential redevelopment, no concrete plans have come to fruition yet.
Bents, a small town located just over an hour's drive southwest of Saskatoon, flourished during the 1930s on the completion of a railway through the Canadian Prairies. However, financial difficulties led to the discontinuation of train operations in the 1970s, causing the population of Bents to steadily decline.
Among the remaining structures is one of the two massive grain elevators (pictured) from the 1920s, accompanied by an abandoned tractor left at its entrance. Inside the general store, there are ice skates still hanging on the wall and rows of empty shelves. A community hall and several homes still stand, many of which house belongings of their former inhabitants.
Once home to more than 500 people, this quant trading post has survived thanks to the locals, who for decades have been pouring money into sprucing up the old buildings and preserving the pioneer spirit of the town. However, much of their dedication rolled out of town along with its last train in 1999.
Today, there are only eight inhabitants left in the town and it's classed as abandoned thanks to the rows of empty buildings and businesses that line the streets. It has, however, become a popular stop on the Canadian ghost town trail, courtesy of its well-preserved old-timey vibe.
Fort Steele thrived initially in the 1860s with the arrival of gold-seeking prospectors during the Gold Rush. The town then experienced a resurgence in the 1890s when silver, coal and lead were discovered in its mines. Unfortunately, this prosperity waned in the 1910s as Fort Steele was bypassed by a new railway route.
Luckily, the town has reinvented itself as a popular tourist destination and still welcomes visitors today. A National Historic Site of Canada, Fort Steele now includes the original schoolhouse, two churches and the opera house, as well as some reconstructed replicas. For a complete experience, visitors can even extend their stay at the renovated Windsor Hotel, enjoy steam train rides during summer and even pan for gold.
Tranquille Sanatorium was established in 1907 as a tuberculosis hospital. Back then, patients were brought to such facilities for a 'rest cure', which involved ample fresh air and a nutritious diet as the primary treatment until the advent of antibiotics in the 1950s. First Nations communities were particularly devastated by tuberculosis, with nearly one third of the entire Inuit population infected during the 1950s.
With a capacity for 360 patients, Tranquille Sanatorium stood as one of the province's most prominent treatment hospitals. However, with the arrival of anti-tuberculosis drugs, these institutions became obsolete, leading to the closure of the sanatorium in 1958. After briefly serving as a psychiatric hospital, it permanently shuttered its doors in 1983, succumbing to the passage of time.
This once-stunning Egyptian Revival-style theatre dates back to 1927, when its architect, Joseph-Alcide Chaussé, was inspired by Tutankhamun’s tomb and decided to style it as an homage to the 1922 discovery. It was a popular location for then-trending vaudeville theatre (19th century comedy shows from France) and burlesque performances.
The building continued to live many lives, including as a café-theatre and a two-tiered cinema, until 1992 when a fire devastated the building. It closed and has been deserted ever since. There have been calls to bring the local landmark back from the brink as well as rumours that it's set to be demolished. For the meantime, it remains untouched.
Bralorne Gold Mine, located near the small town of Bradian, played a significant role during the Gold Rush of the 1870s, and also experienced a surge in prosperity during the Great Depression. From the late 1920s to the 1930s, the mine employed many people, bringing economic growth to this serene corner of British Columbia, approximately 200 miles (322km) north of Vancouver.
However, the mine ceased operations completely in 1971, leading to the gradual decline of the town. Bradian was predominantly owned by the Gutenberg family for many years, and they carried out some restoration efforts. In 2015, reports surfaced that Bradian was sold to Chinese developers after being put on the market for £673,000 ($840,000).
Trinity Loop has a fascinating history that spans multiple eras. Originally, it served as a segment of the Newfoundland Railway, constructed from 1910 to 1911. However, in 1984, the railway was decommissioned, only to be purchased by an entrepreneur who transformed it into the Trinity Train Loop Amusement Park. For two decades, the park provided entertainment to visitors.
However, in 2004, the amusement park ceased operations and the site took on a new identity as a ghost town. Today, adventurous explorers can witness the haunting remnants that linger within Trinity Loop. From decaying railway carriages, such as the ones pictured, to fractured tracks and faded murals, the atmosphere is tinged with an eerie allure.
In 1831, German missionaries arrived in a secluded region of northern Labrador and established Hebron, a settlement that comprised a church, a mission house and several interconnected buildings. However, the missionaries unintentionally introduced European diseases to the Indigenous population, resulting in devastating loss of life.
For approximately 130 years, Hebron Mission was home to an estimated 200-250 Inuit people. A combination of factors, including tuberculosis, led to the official closure of the settlement in 1959, displacing the First Nations people. An official apology from the provincial government was installed on a monument in 2009, accompanied by an acceptance plaque from the Inuit community nearby.
More than a century old, this impressive site produced 250,000 pounds of malt per year, used to supply local distilleries and breweries. First built in 1905, the factory was sold in 1980, and while it briefly served as a soya and corn warehouse, it was left abandoned in 1989.
Today, the imposing site occasionally serves as the backdrop for urban art installations, while there has also been talk of turning it into a museum. Unsurprisingly, it's a popular site for urban explorers and photographers.
Nova Scotia is renowned for its picturesque attractions. But for a more unique and lesser-known experience, visitors can venture to the abandoned properties near Blue Rocks on the province's south coast. Eastern Points, a cluster of islands extending into the Atlantic, offers a glimpse into a community that has largely remained deserted since the 1960s.
Enduring extreme weather conditions, with scorching summers exceeding 30°C (86°F) and relentless rains and harsh winds in winter, this place is not for the faint-hearted. Some buildings are still inhabited, but are primarily used during the summer. Those who dare to explore can join kayaking tours to encounter the empty and decaying homes, a former general store and haunting piers.
On the secluded Princess Royal Island in British Columbia, the wooded shores host the scattered remains of a dilapidated fishing cannery town. These weathered structures offer a rare glimpse into the industrial history of the region as one of the last surviving northern cannery sites in the province.
Founded in 1911 as a fishing, mining and logging camp, Butedale thrived, accommodating over 400 residents. Its strategic location near the Butedale Passage and coastal shipping routes made it an important salmon cannery, benefiting from the annual salmon runs. However, when the salmon cannery shut down in the 1950s, Butedale became a desolate ghost town, with empty buildings, rusting machinery and encroaching weeds. Accessible only by air or water, glimpses of this isolated relic can be enjoyed by passengers cruising the Inside Passage on BC's rugged north coast.
Once built to be the biggest mansion in Canada, the so-called Peter Grant Mansion was the vision of multi-millionaire Peter Grant back in 2005. Securing a picturesque stretch of land along the coast of Lake Temiskaming, the mansion was set to boast features like a waterfall, two swimming pools, an observation lighthouse and a small golf course.
Sadly, construction was halted in 2008 due to the global recession and eventually the unfinished mansion, along with Peter's other assets, were put up for sale. Unfortunately, the company that bought the mansion failed to finish it and its hollow shell was sold on to another owner. Today, the mansion still sits unfinished with its massive brick fireplace and sprawling swimming pool never completed.
Originally a bustling boat-building centre in 1897, this town thrived during the Klondike Gold Rush, attracting around 15,000 residents to its shores on Lake Bennett. It played a crucial role in the construction of the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway, but once the railway was completed in 1900 the town lost its purpose and gradually declined.
Today, only St Andrew's Church and other eerie remnants of its former prosperity, like wharf pilings and scattered glass bottles, remain. Lake Bennett, now managed by Parks Canada as part of the Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site, offers camping opportunities. The area also features a cemetery where early Gold Rush pioneers rest.
Situated in Alberta's Badlands, around 30 minutes southeast of Drumheller, lies the hamlet of Dorothy. Renowned as the world's dinosaur capital, Drumheller's proximity adds allure to this quaint town. Although Dorothy still hosts a handful of steadfast residents, remnants from the early 20th century stand abandoned and boarded up, frozen in time.
Once a thriving pioneer community, Dorothy boasted approximately one hundred inhabitants during its peak in the 1920s. However, the prosperity fuelled by the nearby railway line faded away, and the closure of Dorothy's school and the shuttering of its churches in the 1960s signalled its decline. Like other rural areas in southern Alberta, farming played a crucial role, with Dorothy proudly showcasing three grain elevators in its heyday. Today, only one elevator remains, bearing the fading lettering of the Alberta Pacific Grain Company – a firm that has long since been absorbed.
Molson Brewery has a long and storied history in Canada's brewing industry. Founded in 1786 by John Molson in Montreal, it quickly gained recognition as one of the country's leading beer producers, becoming an iconic brand synonymous with Canadian beer culture.
In 2005, Molson merged with Coors Brewing Company to form Molson Coors Brewing Company, and production was gradually shifted to newer facilities. Even though the company still exists today, albeit in a different form, many of its old facilities were abandoned. The old brewing facility in Vancouver was acquired by property developers Concord Pacific in 2016 and plans have been drawn up to redevelop the site into a modern 7.6-acre mixed-use property titled Quantum Park.
Located on the slopes of Tagish Lake in southern Yukon, the remnants of the former Venus Silver Mine stand as a testament to the area's rich history in silver mining. During the early 1900s, silver was extracted from higher elevations and transported to a mill on the lake's shore. It experienced its peak between 1905 and 1906, but the mine's prosperity was short-lived and it ceased operations in 1915.
Left to the mercy of Mother Nature, the mine's fate took an alarming turn in October 2020 when a man was seen pilfering historical artefacts from the site. Fortunately, law enforcement intervened swiftly, apprehending the individual and restoring the stolen relics to their picturesque surroundings.
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Situated near the US/Canada border, Boblo Island Amusement Park was a cherished destination for both Ontario and Michigan residents. The historic theme park, located on Bois Blanc Island, welcomed its first visitors in 1898. Ferry services from Detroit and Gibraltar in Michigan and Amherstburg in Ontario transported eager guests to the island.
Boasting attractions like the world's second-largest dancehall, a Ferris wheel, a zoo, a carousel and multiple roller coasters, the park provided endless entertainment. However, despite its popularity over the years, the amusement park struggled to adapt to changing times. In 1993, it reluctantly closed its doors, and the rides were relocated to other parks across the country. Today, all that remains are a few crumbling rides and dilapidated structures with broken windows, lending an eerie ambiance to the once-thriving Boblo Island.
There's an eerie fascination surrounding abandoned prisons, and Burwash Correctional Center in southern Ontario is no exception. Established in 1914, the prison housed approximately 1,000 inmates primarily serving short-term sentences for minor offences. The facility encompassed not only the prison itself but also a church, a post office and a farm where vegetables were cultivated for inmate meals.
In 1975, the provincial government made the decision to close Burwash due to its exorbitant operational costs. Since then, the prison has succumbed to decay and surrendered to the encroaching forces of nature. Moss now blankets the walls, chunks of plaster have fallen from ceilings and walls, and rotting wooden beams protrude from the floors.
The story of Yellowknife's Giant Mine is a tragic tale of environmental catastrophe. The discovery of gold in the Yellowknife area, originally inhabited by the Dene First Nations community, dates back to 1896, but its inaccessibility posed a challenge. However, with the introduction of bush planes in the 1930s, prospectors flocked to the region, leading to the establishment of the Giant Mine shortly after the Second World War.
What followed was a prolonged period of gold mining spanning several decades and marked by unimaginable devastation. In 1958, the Giant Mine released vast amounts of arsenic into the environment, with an estimated 237,000 tonnes of toxic arsenic dust generated over its history. The pollution had catastrophic consequences for the local Dene community, devastating fish and animal populations vital to their livelihoods and leaving traces of arsenic in the land within a nine-mile (15km) radius of the site.
Port Radium was a vital mining and refining facility for radium and uranium during the early 20th century. It was opened in the late 1930s in the Northwest Territories to extract valuable radioactive materials for medical and military purposes. The site played a significant role in the development of atomic weapons, but as the demand for radium decreased and environmental concerns rose Port Radium was abandoned in the 1960s. Today, not much is left to remind us of its atomic past, apart from a disused landing strip.
Constructed during the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, the star-shaped earthwork fortification with a red brick tower is the only one of its kind in Canada. Sitting at the mouth of the Niagara River, the fort was used again for military training during the First World War, but hasn't served a purpose since then. Today, it forms a National Historic Site and is open to visitors (apart from the tower, which remains closed all year).
Located in the Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, Deertrail Resort is a dream that never quite materialised. Purchased in the 1980s by developer Albert Yuen, the site was meant to house a lush lodge with over 200 luxury rooms, a pool and spa, while Timber Lodge, its centrepiece building, was meant to house the largest log-burning fireplace in Canada. Unfortunately, the Yuens ran out of money and eventually construction was abandoned. Today, the half-finished walls are adorned with graffiti murals and it's a popular spot for urban explorers and photographers.
A lonely reminder of Canada's coal mining heyday, this early 1900s structure was a crucial part of Bankhead's history as an affluent town with streetlamps, electricity and even a sewage system. The Lamphouse Building was where each miner would collect their lamp at the start of their shift – then at the end, the lamps were handed back in and counted to check all miners had returned safely.
Opened in 1862, it was one of the first institutions in Canada dedicated to housing and treating individuals deemed mentally ill and criminally inclined. Over the years, it faced criticism for its harsh treatment methods and overcrowding until the institution was finally closed in 2000 due to concerns about its outdated facilities and approach to human care. Since its closure, the fate of Rockwood Asylum has remained uncertain. There have been discussions and proposals for repurposing the historic buildings, including potential conversions into residential or commercial spaces.
A 40-minute drive from Calgary, Glenbow is another abandoned town that didn't survive an industrial change. Once home to a busy sandstone quarry, its heyday was short-lived, only lasting 20 years. As soon as the quarry shuttered, many of the town's residents left in search of other jobs and it's been left untouched since 1927.
Hauntingly beautiful, the Canso plane crash site marks a tragic entry in Canada's aviation history. The PBY-5A Canso aircraft was operating a routine flight with seven crew members on board on 30 October 1942 when it encountered engine trouble and had to make an emergency landing. Unfortunately, none of the crew on board survived and the crash site was left for Mother Nature to reclaim. Today, it serves as a historical and educational landmark, and there have been no plans to remove it.