By Terrilyn Kunopaski | Tante Consulting Inc.
I don’t have to look too hard to find a miniature version of myself, arm around my best friend striking a pose outside of the Rogers Centre in Little Canada. We opted to get “littlized” upon our first visit there, which represented a monumental event in our lives. At least, that’s how it felt at the time.
It was our first real hangout since Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, and to celebrate her birthday, she was eager to check out this new Toronto attraction. (The choice may or may not have been influenced by the obsession she developed during lockdown with CBC’s “Best in Miniature.”)
I remember the joy and awe we felt, giggling—and sometimes, tearing up—as we discovered the creativity, detail and “je ne sais quoi” of this unexpected world. There was something really special about being there with her—out in the wild with this person that I love after a long period of connecting exclusively through screen time. Thinking back, it marked a new sort of beginning, and it’s a memory we still talk about today.
Our “Little Mes” are among 40,000 figures that call Little Canada home—about 6,000 of whom are guests who decided to stay behind in this unique way, and with many of our stories connected by love as a common thread.
Here are a few other little love stories from inside Little Canada, highlighting how the experience brings people closer to places, moments in time, and each other—whether through friendship, family bonds, or a deep connection to the spaces they cherish.
Sierra
Sierra’s grandparents had heard about Little Canada long before they ever stepped inside. As part of the team that brought the experience to life, Sierra had shared behind-the-scenes photos of the build process with them, and in the summer of 2022, they finally got to see the real thing for the first time. While there, they were scanned in the Littlization Station and Sierra placed their “Little Mes” in front of Little Québec’s Sainte Anne-de-Beaupré. It’s a place she says they had visited many times and one that had a special place in their hearts.
“My grandfather passed away in April 2023 and my grandmother passed last March,” Sierra shares. “They were married 68 years, had four children, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren, and truly shared a wonderful life together. Although they are gone, I love that they are still standing together in Little Canada, where I can visit them at any time.”
Roy and Carrie
If you look closely at the Shaw Festival stage in Little Niagara, you’ll find a couple hanging onto each other. It captures a beautiful memory for Roy and Carrie, who were engaged there thanks to some creative thinking. “Because Carrie had just graduated from the University of Buffalo with a degree in Sociolinguistics, the Shaw Festival’s 50th Anniversary production was the perfect venue for my proposal,” Roy says. “There was an element of risk because we had not talked about the prospect of marriage at any point in our five months of cross-border dating.” With permission from the stage directors to propose during the intermission, Roy just needed a ploy to surprise Carrie with tickets to the show.
“She didn’t prior know we were even going to see the production, but because of the unfortunate mess I made on my hands due to melted ice cream in the park, I needed a bathroom to wash my hands, and it ‘happened’ to be at the time the production was opening for seating,” he shares. “She knew she’d been set up when she found a fresh bouquet of peonies, her favourite flower, on her seat when we went in.” In case their placement in Little Canada doesn’t give it away, she said yes!
Jeremy
“Eric and I have been together for 11 years. We first met in a pub in Toronto, where we instantly connected over our shared upbringing and East Coast roots. Since then, we’ve loved traveling to the East Coast with our dog, Basker, to visit friends and family.”
Jeremy and Eric’s love story is captured in their special moment dancing together on the boardwalk outside the Quidi Vidi Brewery in St. John’s, Newfoundland, in Little Canada’s Little East Coast.
Claudia
“My husband and I got married in New York City on Feb. 11, 2021, after not being able to see each other for a whole year due to Covid lockdown,” Claudia recalls. Travel restrictions had kept the pair apart—her soon-to-be husband in Toronto, she in the U.S.—so during this reunion, they managed to find a judge who would marry them. They tied the knot in his chambers, joined virtually by family and friends. “Two months later, I left New York for the last time,” she says, reflecting on her move from The Big Apple to The 6ix where she landed a job at Little Canada.
“For our second wedding anniversary, I had myself littlized in my wedding outfit: an ivory-coloured lace top, purple dress pants, and my mom’s locket.” While she brings her artistry to Little Canada in the Makers Studio, Claudia is also an illustrator and documented her wedding experience and move to Canada via a comic book/graphic autobiography.
Alex
In addition to his work as a professor in business, creative arts and tourism programs, Alex has been a private tour guide in Toronto for 15 years. His tours are hyper-localized, sustainable and on-foot, venturing through the city’s streets and exposing guests to lesser-known stories—or, “easter eggs,” as he calls them. “As you probably understand, Little Canada speaks very closely to what I love about discovery, visual storytelling, and connections, and how I share that with my guests and students,” Alex shares.
During his tours, he stops on the storied steps of Old City Hall and says that standing right near the clocktower makes a great connection looking down south along Bay Street—the urban stretch of the center of Canadian Economy. “Since pointing around kind of comes with the job of a guide, my “Little Me” is definitely pointing at the tower.”
Danielle and Ryan
When thinking about where to take Danielle on her first trip to Canada, Ryan decided that Little Canada was a natural option. Navigating the early stages of their love story long-distance, the two originally met in an online writing forum—Ryan in Ontario, Danielle in Southern California. Danielle initially didn’t know much about Canada outside of Toronto, so Little Canada was the perfect place to learn more about the country that would eventually become her home. It was a regular destination during her visits north of the border, where they would participate in special edition scavenger hunts and discover something new with every return.
Two years after their first in-person meeting, the pair got married a few blocks away at Toronto’s City Hall, and eventually made their way to Little Canada to be littlized in their wedding attire. Their “Little Mes” can now be found in an eternal embrace on the steps of Old City Hall in Little Toronto, with their miniature wedding party cheering them on.
Meg
Meg may be the newest member of the Little Canada Marketing team having just joined this January, but she’s been a citizen of Little Niagara since 2023. “2022 was the first year of celebrating my boyfriend Alex’s birthday, and I surprised him with a trip to Niagara Falls to experience Clifton Hill in all its kitschy glory,” she says. “He is very supportive of my borderline obsession with all things miniature, so when we visited Little Canada in early 2023, we had a lot of fun finding the mini versions of the upside-down house, the Frankenstein Burger King, and all the campy landmarks we saw during one of our first trips together.”
The pair struck a classic prom pose in the Littlization Station and were placed on Clifton Hill in Little Niagara for their first official Valentine’s Day together. “He lives in midtown and I’m a Queen West gal, so it’s basically a Toronto long-distance relationship,” she jokes, “but now, whenever I’m at work, I can visit us anytime, in our little home away from home.”
Feeling inspired by these stories?
Learn more about how you can create your own “Little Me(s)” and become part of the magic at Little Canada.