By: Jerry Vo
October 3, 2024
In Japanese culture, a person’s sixtieth birthday is a significant milestone. At this point, they would have cycled through the Chinese zodiac five times, returning to their initial zodiac. It’s a time that calls for celebration, reflection, and rebirth. This year, Toyota Canada is marking sixty years in Canada. To commemorate the occasion, they invited a group of Canadian automotive journalists to complete a cross-country road trip from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia. A number of vehicles from their lineup would be making the journey, and the trip was divided into six legs. We got to join in between Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Calgary, Alberta, for a memorable journey across the Prairies.
Toyota Canada, a brand that built itself from the ground up in the 1960s, started as a small consortium in Toronto and quickly became a ubiquitous automaker. It has achieved great success in delivering reliable and long-lasting cars that Canadians can’t seem to get enough of. Countless families have Toyota stories of their own, and I’m no exception.
One of my fondest core memories goes all the way back to age three: in the early 1990s, my dad’s friend had a shiny red 1983 Celica Supra coupe, which was positively hot stuff among a group of refugee immigrant dads, all of whom came to Canada from Vietnam with only the clothes on their backs a decade prior. It was the first car I fell in love with, and it’s the one that kicked off a lifelong obsession and, eventually, a near-decade-long career in automotive journalism.
In 1994, my parents bought a well-used 1985 Cressida sedan, in which my brother and I spent many of our formative years. With the same sweet inline-six engine as the Supra, I admired the ’80s luxury velour, the attention to detail, the digital gauge cluster, and the Technics sound system. I thought it was an excellent car to be dropped off at school in. As the years went by, many vehicles found their way in and out of my family’s driveways, including a 2009 Lexus LS 460 and a 1989 Toyota Corolla SR5 coupe.
Back to the road trip—the drive from Manitoba to Alberta took three full days and featured a series of stops that were of interest to either Canada’s or Toyota’s history. The Land Cruiser, Tacoma TRD Pro, Crown Signia (SUV), and Camry Hybrid made the trip on this leg. All were capable long-distance highway cruisers. Toyota’s Safety Sense advanced driver assist system (ADAS) was instrumental with its lane-centering assist and adaptive cruise control functions.
Some vehicles had greater strengths than others; the Land Cruiser had the best seats, the Tacoma TRD Pro could confidently tackle gravel roads at triple-digit speeds, and the Crown Signia and Camry sipped fuel with their best-in-industry hybrid drivetrains. Toyota’s full lineup is one of the broadest among automakers, guaranteeing that there’s something for everybody when they walk into a dealer showroom.
After spending the end of the first day in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the second day brought a couple of stops that didn’t necessarily relate only to cars and Toyotas. We dropped by Wanuskewin Heritage Park, which is home to Canada’s longest-running archaeological dig. After learning so much about the Plains Indigenous peoples in elementary school, Wanuskewin’s indoor and outdoor facilities were truly humbling to observe in person. Thousands of artifacts go back thousands of years, and the Park’s conservation efforts have successfully re-introduced bison to the area after 150 years.
Before leaving Saskatoon, we stopped at Ens Toyota, a dealership specializing in outfitting special off-road-use Land Cruisers for mining applications. Their showroom featured a ton of vintage Toyotas, including an old Corolla and various other Land Cruisers. The third day brought us to Edmonton, Alberta, where we observed hydrogen fuel cell technology in action at the Edmonton International Airport. We got to take their Toyota Mirai hydrogen-powered vehicles out for a spin. As long as the fill infrastructure can catch up, it’s a very promising technology. The final day of the road trip was from Edmonton to Calgary via a more scenic route. Later that day, there was a quick stop in the ghost town of Rowley and a photo op with the Tacoma TRD Pro and hoodoos at the Drumheller Badlands, the latter creating the backdrop for the best photos of the trip.
I had never driven across the Prairies before, and I had heard a lot about how flat they were and how there wasn’t much of anything as you drove through. After seeing it for myself, however, I can say that it was truly a beautiful sight. While there were definitely some flat sections, there were many more gently rolling hills than I expected to see.
Driving from Winnipeg to Calgary, I had plenty of time to think and reflect on the beautiful Canadian Prairies, and I couldn’t help but think about the next sixty years for Toyota Canada. With the world moving more and more toward electrification, automakers like Toyota will greatly contribute to the transition—whether it’s with hybrids, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells, or full-on battery electric vehicles.
Coming back full circle: three-year-old me would be pretty proud of thirty-something-year-old me. In 2018, I saved enough money to get my very own 1986 Celica Supra. This old and reliable Toyota personified my childhood and the early years that defined me as a car enthusiast, and it never fails to put a smile on my face. What’s more, I now have a three-year-old son of my own, and I sincerely hope that Toyota continues to make cars that he will love. I don’t think they’ll have any trouble doing that.
