Country guide

Canada

Destinations

Visa & entry

eu passport	Visa-exempt for air travel but must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), CAD 7, online, valid up to 5 years or until passport expiry
us passport	No visa or eTA required; travel on a valid US passport (land or air)
uk passport	Visa-exempt but requires an eTA, CAD 7, for air travel
digital nomad visa	No dedicated 'digital nomad visa' product; under Canada's Tech Talent Strategy, remote workers for a foreign employer can reportedly stay for an extended period (cited as up to 1 year as of Jan 2026) without a work permit, but this is a visitor-status allowance, not a distinct visa - unverified against a primary IRCC source this session
tax residency days	Commonly cited general threshold of 183 days in a calendar year for deemed tax residency; not verified against a CRA primary source this session
notes	eTA is linked to the passport and required for visa-exempt foreign nationals arriving by air; not required for entry by land or sea in the same way.

Money

currency	Canadian Dollar (CAD)
card acceptance	Very high; cards (incl. tap/contactless) are the default payment method almost everywhere, including small towns like Squamish
local instant payment	Interac e-Transfer - the standard Canadian bank-to-bank instant payment method; requires a Canadian bank account, so not directly usable by foreign tourists without one
tipping	Expected in restaurants/bars/cafes and for services (typically 15-20%), prompted automatically on most card terminals
cash tips	no

SIM & internet

operators ranked for coast coverage	Telus Rogers Bell
esim options	Rogers eSIM Bell eSIM Telus eSIM third-party travel eSIMs (e.g. Airalo-type) from ~USD 8, running on the Rogers/Telus networks
notes	Squamish sits between Vancouver and Whistler on a well-covered highway corridor; expect solid 4G/5G from the major three carriers. Canadian mobile plans/roaming are notoriously expensive versus a travel eSIM.

Insurance

Health

tap water	Tap water is safe to drink throughout Canada, including Squamish/BC
emergency numbers	911 for all emergency services nationwide; 811 non-emergency health line in many provinces (not independently verified this session); 211 non-emergency social services; 988 suicide/crisis line
hospital standard	High-standard Western healthcare system; Squamish has a general hospital with larger trauma centres in Vancouver (~1hr away) - not independently verified this session

Driving

idp needed	Not required for short-term visitors from most countries who can drive on a valid foreign license, though an IDP is commonly recommended especially for non-English/French licenses - not verified against a BC-specific primary source this session
road safety	Good road infrastructure; the Sea-to-Sky Highway (Vancouver-Squamish-Whistler) is well-maintained but mountainous with winter snow/ice conditions and sections prone to fog
4x4 contexts	Winter tires/4x4 relevant for shoulder-season mountain driving on the Sea-to-Sky corridor, not for the kite spot access itself

Regulation

drone rules	Governed by Transport Canada RPAS rules; not independently detailed this session

Calendar & costs

beer	CAD 8.00 (range 5.00-10.00)
meal	CAD 25.00 (range 15.00-45.00), inexpensive restaurant meal
coffee	CAD 5.33 (range 3.00-8.00), regular cappuccino
one bedroom month	CAD 1,588.29 (range 1,052.73-2,228.57), 1BR outside city centre, national average (Squamish itself, being a resort town near Vancouver/Whistler, likely runs above this average - not independently verified)
currency	CAD
year	2026

airline: Air Canada
policy: Kiteboard/kite equipment treated as special sports equipment; one board per handling fee (two boards packed together = two fees); counts as one piece toward the fare's checked-bag allowance
fee: CAD/USD 100 flat fee per board (2025)
year: 2025
source: https://www.airline-baggage-fees.com/sports/kitesurfing/air-canada.html (third-party aggregator, not the airline's own page)
airline: WestJet
policy: Kiteboards attract a special handling fee; unlike golf equipment, kiteboards are not exempted from oversize/special-handling charges
fee: CAD/USD 50 special handling fee (2025)
year: 2025
source: https://www.airline-baggage-fees.com/sports/kitesurfing/westjet.html (third-party aggregator)

Open questions

ATM fees/network availability not researched this session.
Whether a formal Canadian digital nomad visa exists (as opposed to a visitor-status remote-work allowance) not confirmed against IRCC.
Kite-specific national or BC-provincial regulation (e.g. launch-site rules, right-of-way law) not researched this session.
Hospital standard in Squamish specifically, and IDP requirement for BC, not verified against primary sources this session.