This article is part of a series celebrating communities, culture, traditions, and adventure throughout Canada. We’re spotlighting exciting people and places across the country’s provinces, from British Columbia in the west to Newfoundland and Labrador in the east. Read more stories on our Canada guide page.
On a snowy afternoon in late February, I follow Mitchell Horne through his family’s maple forest in Kahnawà:ke, a Mohawk First Nations reserve about 20 minutes outside of Montreal. It has been a cold winter in Québec, and even though Horne has already tapped the trees and run the lines, the sap isn’t flowing yet. “This time of year always makes me think of my grandfather,” he says. “My earliest memories are of my grandfather teaching my brother and me to harvest maple syrup. When I start tapping, every step I take, he is always with me.”
Horne began producing maple syrup from the trees in his family’s backyard in 2016. His family bottles and sells Sweet Beaver’s Maple Syrup, a classic sweet maple syrup, and he gives tours of the sugar shack and the forest, but he doesn’t consider it a business. It’s an opportunity to share his culture, and a hobby that keeps him extremely busy when winter wanes and the weather begins to warm.
Canada produces 71 percent of the world’s maple syrup, with about 90 percent of that coming from Québec, and going to a cabane à sucre (sugar shack) has become a must for late-winter and early-spring visitors. There are more than 80 sugar shacks scattered across the province, and each is unique. Some are rustic, such as Au Bec Sucré in the Eastern Townships, and provide basic tours to show how the trees are tapped and the sap processed; others that I have visited, such as Érablière Charbonneau outside Montreal, offer maple-focused feasts and wintertime activities like snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Some, like Labonté de la Pomme outside Montreal, even kick it up a notch with gourmet prix fixe meals.
While most of these sugar shacks showcase French Canadian culture, maple syrup production predates the arrival of Europeans by centuries. In fact, Indigenous peoples taught the settlers how to harvest and concentrate the sweet sap of the sugar maples that grow across northeastern Canada and the United States.
Travelers can learn how Indigenous practices and customs differ by visiting Sweet Beaver’s Maple Syrup in Kahnawà:ke. It’s best to contact Kahnawà:ke Tourism, which can assist in organizing a sugar shack tour, along with visits to other places in the community, such as a tea shop or the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center, which houses historical photos, musical instruments, woven textiles, and more. Indigenous sugar shacks don’t typically have fiddle music, dancing, or a meal, but on my visit to Sweet Beaver’s, I was able to sample sweet corn mush, a smoky, salty, sweet dish (more dinner than dessert) that is served at ceremonies and powwows. I was also able to learn about maple syrup production and how it has changed over the years.
Mitchell Horne gives tours of his family’s maple forest that’s a short drive from Montreal.
Photos by Debbie Olsen
Before European settlers arrived, there were no official borders, and knowledge was shared freely, so it’s impossible to know which Indigenous group first discovered maple syrup. Each nation has its own legends and traditions. “In our story, maple syrup was discovered because a man saw a squirrel drinking from a tree,” explains Bronwyn Johns, a member of the Mohawk Nation and a tour guide and public relations officer with Kahnawà:ke Tourism. “We always follow what the animals do, because they lead us to good medicines.”
According to the traditional teachings of the Mohawk people of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (a constitutional democracy of Iroquois Nations that existed long before European contact), the sugar maple is the leader of all trees in the natural world and a gift from the creator—but there is a cautionary tale about consuming too much maple syrup. “The creator gave the syrup to provide sustenance for the people at the end of the long winter,” Johns says. “According to legend, it used to come out of the tree as syrup, but the people abused it and overconsumed it. After that, the rains fell and watered down the sap to make the people be more appreciative.”
Interestingly, the Wendat people of Wendake, Quebec, 175 miles northeast of Kahnawà:ke (who are my maternal ancestors), have a different legend explaining watered-down sap. The legend involves two central figures: twin brothers Iouskeha, who represents order and ease, and Tawiskaron, who brings chaos and challenge. “Iouskeha created the maple tree so that syrup came directly out of it, but Tawiskaron diluted maple water,” says Dominic Ste-Marie, a Wendat storyteller and sales and marketing coordinator with Wendake Tourism. “In our story, maple water was here before humans arrived on Turtle Island [the name for North America in the creation stories of many Iroquois Peoples]. Although we share the same kinship, our stories are very different.”
The prevalence of watered-down sap in both legends stems from the effortful concentration process: It typically takes about 40 gallons of sap to yield one gallon of maple syrup. Before Europeans arrived, First Nations peoples would allow the sap to sit out overnight to freeze the water content and separate it from the sweeter sap. They concentrated it further by placing heated stones into the birch bark and clay containers that held the sap.
Europeans introduced the method of boiling sap in a metal pot over an open fire, which was more efficient, but the adoption of metalware resulted in a tragic side effect: the loss of traditional pottery skills and practices. “Mohawk women had been making pottery for thousands of years before European contact,” Johns explains. “We’ve lost some of the language connected to the pottery, but there are people who are working hard to revive the connection.”
Some traditions have survived, however. Every spring, the people of Kahnawà:ke gather for a sacred music and dancing ceremony to give thanks to the creator for providing the sweet sap of maple trees and for good health and fortune. (While this celebration is not open to the public, visitors are welcome at Kahnawà:ke’s annual Maple Food Fest.) “We’ve been holding this celebration every year for thousands of years,” Horne says. “Each person gets a little cup of maple syrup, and they stand up and say what they are thankful for in general. Then they do a pigeon dance to celebrate that the pigeons have returned after the long winter.”
Sugar shacks in Québec range from woodsy retreats to pop-up stands in Old Montreal.
Photo by Debbie Olsen
Three more ways to discover the Indigenous history of maple syrup around Montreal
Maple syrup and its production are essential to Québec. If you’re looking for a classic French Canadian sugar shack, here are five of our favorites; on the other hand, if you want to dig deeper into the First Nations connection with maple, here are three ways to do so.
La Maison des Peuples Autochtones puts on demonstrations of how to make maple syrup from its on-site forest by boiling sap over an open fire.
Courtesy of La Maison des Peuples Autochtones
Visit La Maison des Peuples Autochtones
This museum in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, about a 45-minute drive from Old Montreal, has artifacts and displays that explain the importance of maple syrup to the region’s Indigenous peoples. There’s also an on-site maple forest; during sugaring season, visitors can walk among the tapped trees and watch the processing of sap over an open fire. Every Saturday from March 15 through April 5, the museum hosts ticketed lively maple syrup dinners that feature Indigenous cuisine, maple taffy, storytelling, and entertainment. “Maple embodies the deep connection between First Nations peoples and the land, an ancestral knowledge passed down through generations,” explains Chantal Millette, the museum’s general director. “Every drop of maple sap tells a story of resilience, sharing, and respect for nature. La Maison Autochtone is committed to honoring this heritage by celebrating and transmitting these precious traditions.”
Go to the Maple Food Fest
Kahnawà:ke’s annual Maple Food Fest celebrates the cultural significance—and great taste—of maple syrup. This year’s edition runs the length of March, with participating businesses making special maple dishes and drinks. The highlight is the Maple Fest (March 23), a community event featuring maple taffy, horse-and-buggy rides, syrup competitions, vendors selling maple-themed products, a craft corner for kids, and a social dance. “In our culture, it’s really important to give thanks,” Johns says. “This celebration is our opportunity to share our thanks with visitors.” For those who can’t make it during maple season, the annual Echoes of a Proud Nation Powwow (this year’s edition is July 12 to 13) is the community’s largest event, at which you can listen to drums, watch dancing, sample food, and peruse crafts.
Eat at a maple-forward restaurant in Kahnawà:ke
As long as you’re in Kahnawà:ke, enjoy breakfast with maple syrup at Two O Seven or dinner at Screaming Chef Cuisine. “Maple syrup is our traditional sweetener, and it’s the only sugar I use in my dishes,” explains Screaming Chef Cuisine owner Ryland Diome, a Mohawk Cordon Bleu–trained chef. “It’s in our popular strawberry juice, moose chili, and the haskap berry sauce that is served with some dishes.” I enjoyed the crepes with maple syrup at Two O Seven, and I had a delicious salad with a hint of maple in the dressing at Screaming Chef Cuisine.
