My favourite place in Canada is in the stern of any canoe I happen to be in, anywhere. I can’t tell you my favourite place because there are so many more lakes and rivers that I hope to paddle — maybe the next one will be my favourite!

But if I’m describing the perfect stretch, I picture not full-on rapids. It’s ripples. Nice rapids around the bend, but we’re not quite there yet. I don’t see any signs of habitation. I’ve got packs in front of me and I’m in my canoe with someone I love. Maybe my daughter in the bow. And we’re excited about what’s around the bend and looking forward to whatever it is we’re going to mess up on the campsite for dinner that night.

The image of paddling down rapids is, for me, a way to understand how you navigate through life — the currents bring you one direction and you can sometimes eddy out and pause a little bit and catch your breath. You don’t decide where the rocks are; you just decide how to make it around them. And you have to respond to what life throws at you as you keep paddling down the river.

In this era of social media and everything digital and tech, getting out there is all the more important — getting out there into something that requires your presence and your peacefulness at the same time, even as there are moments of adrenaline. There’s a concreteness about canoeing and a spirituality about it that I think is just foundational for the soul.

Listen to the full conversation between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and David McGuffin in episode 64 of Canadian Geographic‘s Explore Podcast.