Updated for September 2026
The Best Zoos in Canada
How this list is ordered: by how complete our listing is — how much we hold on opening hours, ticket prices, accreditation, photographs, animals and facilities. It is a measure of our own coverage, not a judgement of the venue. We hold no visitor scores or conservation assessments, so “best” here means every zoo in Canada that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.
Listed alphabetically
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PlaygroundGuided tourDisability admission concession
Assiniboine Park Zoo
Zoo in Winnipeg
Founded in 1904, the zoo is run by the Assiniboine Park Conservancy. It occupies 80 acres with over 160 species, and is accredited by both CAZA and AZA.
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Rides and attractionsParkingAccessible toilets
BC Wildlife Park
Zoo
BC Wildlife Park, opened in 1966, is a zoo in Canada. Animals on show include cougars, bears, wolves, birds of prey and Kermode bear.
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Animal encounterParking
Bird Kingdom
Zoo in Niagara Falls
Opened in May 2003 and billed as the largest indoor free-flight aviary in the world, it covers about 45,000 square feet with over 350 birds, mostly Australian, African and South American. Mammals, reptiles and amphibians are also kept and used in education work.
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Rides and attractions
Edmonton Valley Zoo
Zoo
Edmonton Valley Zoo, opened in 1959, is a zoo in Canada.
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Petting zooChild friendlyBehind-the-scenes tour
Greater Vancouver Zoo
Zoo in Langley Twp
The collection shown to the public covers 49 species, a figure counted in May 2026.
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Montréal Biodôme
Zoo in Montréal
Only two large sealed-ecosystem buildings exist in the western half of the globe; Biosphere 2, in Arizona, is the other. It was conceived as a museum, though, rather than as a genuinely closed ecological system. The indoor recreations range from a South American rainforest, in a gallery named for Aisha Savoie-Weider after a family donation, to a Quebec maple wood, the Saint Lawrence gulf estuary and a stretch of Labrador coast.
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Guided tourOn-site diningParking
Toronto Zoo
Zoo in Toronto
At 287 hectares this is the largest zoo in Canada, drawing about 1.2 million visitors a year. The grounds are laid out in seven zoogeographic regions.
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Parking
Zoo Ecomuseum
Zoo in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
The grounds lie at the western end of the Island of Montreal and hold 115 species native to the Saint Lawrence Valley of south-western Quebec. The site is run by the Saint-Lawrence Valley Natural History Society.
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Gift shopAssistance animal policy
Elmvale Jungle Zoo
Zoo in Springwater
Founded in 1967, the zoo was bought by the Persi family in 1972 and is run by Sam Persi. It began on just two acres with a collection of mostly reptiles and birds, and now holds over 300 animals drawn from Africa, Asia, Australia and South America. It operates seasonally, from the Victoria Day weekend to Canadian Thanksgiving.
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Behind-the-scenes tourAssistance animal policy
Magnetic Hill Zoo
Zoo in Moncton
Counted as the largest zoo in Atlantic Canada, it has been accredited by CAZA since 1993 and was placed fourth in a 2008 ranking of the country's ten best zoos. The wider site also holds the Magnetic Hill, Magic Mountain and Wharf Village.
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Parking
Miller Zoo
Zoo in Frampton
Wildlife rehabilitation underpins the whole operation, but it receives no state support and the costs of every animal fall entirely on the zoo.
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Animal encounterOn-site diningMobility equipment loan
Parc Safari
Zoo in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle
Established in 1972, it is one of the main draws in the Montérégie region and sits close to the border with the United States. Its long-time proprietor, Jean-Pierre Ranger, sold up in 2025. The buyers are linked to Batipart, a Luxembourg firm active in property, tourism and hospitality that also holds Parc Omega at Montebello, Quebec.
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Animal encounterOn-site diningParking
Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo
Zoo in Calgary
Much of the site lies on St. George's Island, reached by C-Train light rail, by car along Memorial Drive, and on foot or bicycle beside the Bow River. It is run by a not-for-profit that is the oldest registered charity in Alberta. Structured programmes reach over 575,000 people a year.
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Zoo de Falardeau
Zoo in St-David-de-Falardeau
Zoo de Falardeau, opened in 2009, is a zoo in St-David-de-Falardeau, Canada.
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Zoo sauvage de Saint-Félicien
Zoo in St-Félicien
The zoo is given over to conserving wildlife of boreal climates and is run by the Centre for Conservation of Boreal Biodiversity.
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African Lion Safari
Zoo in Flamborough
Seven game reserves cover roughly 740 acres and are toured by bus or private car.
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Keeper talk or showOn-site dining
Cochraine Polar Bear Habitat
Zoo in Cochrane
Cochraine Polar Bear Habitat, opened in 2004, is a zoo in Canada. Its exhibits include Heritage Village, Snowmobile Museum and Viewer's Building.
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Rides and attractions
Forestry Farm Park and Zoo
Zoo in Saskatoon
The site began life as the Dominion Forest Nursery Station, taking the name Sutherland Forest Nursery Station in later years. Between 1913 and 1966 it raised and sent out 147 million trees across the northern prairie provinces, the first of them reaching farmers in 1916. It carries designation as a National Historic Site of Canada.
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Rides and attractionsOn-site dining
Indian River Reptile Zoo
Zoo in Asphodel-Norwood
Describing itself as the largest not-for-profit reptile collection in Canada, it holds more than 200 native and exotic reptiles. In 2021 it took the name Canada's Dinosaur Park, dropping its earlier reptile-and-dinosaur title.
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Behind-the-scenes tourOn-site diningNight and evening opening
Jungle Cat World
Zoo in Clarington
Open throughout the year with more than 150 animals, it is reached from Highway 35/115, roughly 45 minutes east of Toronto. What began as a recreational attraction built around exotic animals has since taken on a larger teaching role, and a keeper leads a feeding tour each day past the big cats, wolves and primates. WAZA accreditation was lost in 2018, an inspection having led it to end its Canadian Association of Accredited Zoos and Aquariums membership; the World Animal Protection Association and other bodies have alleged mistreatment of animals.
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On-site diningParkingAccessible toilets
Killman Zoo
Zoo in Caledonia
Killman Zoo, opened in 1988, is a zoo in Caledonia, Canada. Animals on show include lion, Tortoise, ferret, turtle and rabbit.
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Keeper talk or showPlaygroundGuided tour
Reptilia
Zoo in Vaughan
The collection covers around 250 reptile species, spread across three sites in Ontario: Vaughan, Whitby and London. Curriculum-aligned teaching runs from kindergarten to grade 12, alongside post-secondary courses for first responders, teachers, animal control officers and vets, and staff also take reptiles into school classrooms. Sessions usually last an hour.
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PlaygroundOn-site diningAssistance animal policy
Riverviewpark Andzoo
Zoo in Peterborough
Ross Dobbin, at the time general manager of the Peterborough Utilities Commission, established it in 1933, his first exhibits being two alligators handed to him at a conference; that commission took over its running in 1968. Accredited since 1985, it is the only accredited Canadian zoo charging nothing for either entry or parking. Bactrian camel, Sichuan takin, Eurasian lynx, yak, caribou and Barbary sheep number among the mammals.
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Guided tourParkingWheelchair accessible routes
YWP
Zoo
YWP is a zoo in Canada. Animals on show include Arctic Fox, Arctic Ground Squirrel, Canada Lynx, Moose and Mountain Goat.
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Immersive media attraction
Zoo de Granby
Zoo in Granby
Founded in 1953 by the then mayor, Pierre-Horace Boivin, the zoo holds more than 1,800 animals covering 230 species. Stock is drawn from Africa, Asia, South America and Oceania, and 516,000 people visit each year.
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Keeper talk or showEducation program
Beacon Hill Children's Farm
Zoo in Victoria
Beacon Hill Children's Farm, opened in 1985, is a petting zoo in Victoria, Canada. Animals on show include goats, Donkeys, Chickens, Guinea Pigs and Pigs.
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Papanack Park Zoo
Zoo in Alfred and Plantagenet
The collection runs to 36 species, among them snow monkeys, cougars, a snow leopard and white lion cubs bred from resident African lions, the cubs losing their whiteness as they aged. Four white Bengal tigers are kept, one of them a snowball tiger called Venus. It opened in 1994 and passed to new owners in 2014, who intended to run it as a conservation park.
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Parc Omega
Zoo in Montebello
A 12-kilometre nature drive passes lakes, meadows, small valleys, forest and rocky hills. The park lies roughly 70 km from Gatineau and 110 km from Montreal, and annual attendance was around 280,000 as of 2019.
Zoos nearby
Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 29 venues above are listed alphabetically by name, the same order used throughout this site. We do not collect visitor reviews, star ratings, ticket-sales figures or a conservation-impact score, so none of those exist here to rank by — “best” in this page’s title means every venue that qualifies for this list, not first-to-last by quality. If we ever add a data source robust enough to support an honest ranking, this note and the order above will change together.