Cross Canada cyclist returns to Maple Creek for showing of documentary

Posted on August 31, 2026 by Ryan Dahlman

By Marcus Day

Maple Creek News

Paul Perrier, a photographer, filmmaker, and author from Toronto, was in Maple Creek last week, promoting his 39-minute documentary, My Own Private Pilgrimage, about his 2024 cross-Canada cycling trip, which opened his eyes to the country’s jaw-dropping natural beauty, as well as addiction and homelessness. On Tuesday, August 18, Perrier was at the Jasper tavern for a screening of the documentary. Perrier, who visited Maple Creek during his cycle trip and included a clip on the town in his film, also promoted his memoir, Cracked Wide Open.

Canada, a land of contrasts – from the beauty of landscapes to the ugliness of addiction and homelessness.

One day you could be marvelling at mountains, lakes or prairies, the next you could be witnessing addicts on the street, bent over from the depressing effect of fentanyl on their central nervous systems.

As many in Maple Creek will be aware, fentanyl, along with amphetamines and cocaine, has been cited by the RCMP as part of this area’s drug problems.

To photographer, filmmaker, and author Paul Perrier, Canada’s bleak side has a nightmarish, filmic quality.

Nowhere was worse than Hastings Street in Vancouver. There he saw concentrated areas of homelessness and addiction in one of the most stunning coastal cities in the world, framed by the Pacific Ocean and towering green Coast Mountains.

“It looked like Night of the Living Dead. It was straight out of a horror movie.”

Perrier saw the two Canadas during a cross-country cycle tour in 2024, covering more than 5,500 kilometres in 66 days.

The motivation for the epic adventure was multifold: to explore Canada after the COVID-19 lockdowns, to see the state of addictions and homelessness, to free himself from the confines of Toronto after 33 years as a commercial artist, and promote his memoir, Cracked Wide Open.

Experience in addiction documentation and filmmaking served him well.

He set off on Canada Day with two bags on a secondhand gravel bike, and a pannier on the back.

Thanks to modern technology, all he needed for documentation were an iPhone and 360-degree camera.

The journey began with a ride from Toronto to St. John’s, Newfoundland.

He then flew from St. John’s to Vancouver, for the return trip to Toronto.

Early morning starts meant capitalizing on calmer conditions, and being able to complete eight to nine hours of cycling each day.

Riding along the Trans-Canada Highway was nerve-racking initially, with semis thundering by at 120kph.

The more he did it, however, the easier it became. Those passing semis even unwittingly lent a hand – creating a breeze that pushed him forward.

“After a while, I didn’t have much fear. I trusted I was going to be safe.”

Occasionally, he tried the back roads, which could be hard on his bike.

In New Brunswick, he got lost on an old logging road, which was filled with potholes and rocks.

“How my bike made it through there was a miracle.”

After not seeing a car for hours, he had to make a decision: return 20 kilometres or press on.

Fortunately, he ran into three hunters, who got him back on track.

Each province had its own characteristics. When he entered Saskatchewan, for instance, he was met by powerful headwinds, which was akin to cycling into an invisible wall.

Remarkably, said Perrier, the weather proved cooperative throughout the two-month trip. He experienced only one day of rain, and only one flat tire.

Being on a tight budget, Perrier avoided staying at hotels, alternating instead between camping and modest motels.

Sleeping cheaply meant he often found himself near the bleaker areas of a town or city.

It was here that he found levels of homelessness and addiction that shocked him.

People shared their stories of struggle and recovery, adding to his documentation of social challenges.

One story in the film demonstrated the potential dangers of a pain reliever, said Perrier.

It was told by a young man, about 22 years old, who said that he began taking Tylenol 3 after oral surgery. The medication gave him a nice feeling of drowsiness, something he wanted to replicate.

Fortunately, his awareness saved him from being drawn into a world of addiction all too visible in places like Vancouver’s Hastings Street.

Here, Perrier was taken aback by raw scenes of social struggle, which he found mind-blowing and sobering.

The theme of addiction has become a big one in Perrier’s life. His understanding of it runs deep.

In 2005, he produced a film, Cracked Not Broken, an unflinching look at the life of his ex-wife’s oldest friend, Lisa, who spiralled into prostitution to feed her crack cocaine addiction.

Captured in a sparse Toronto hotel room, it testifies to his dedication to truth-telling with a camera. He used a Canon camera, and the film cost $45.

Lisa agreed to make the film as a wake-up call to herself.

The documentary led to an appearance by Perrier and Lisa on The Oprah Winfrey Show and a deal with HBO for its addiction series.

Perrier’s wish is for the film to inspire addicts to get off drugs.

For ten years, he then devoted himself to a memoir, Cracked Wide Open, which revolves around Cracked Not Open, and details his life as an artist, photographer and documentary film-maker. In it, he writes about the reaction his documentary on Lisa received.

He believes the book could serve as useful source material for anyone thinking about filmmaking as a career.

It is this book that Perrier is promoting, along with My Own Private Pilgrimage, during his Social Impact Film Tour 2026, which he started on Canada Day.

On Tuesday, August 18, Maple Creek was the latest stopping-off point in his cross-Canada tour.

More than 20 people showed up at the Jasper Lounge & Liquor Store for a screening of My Own Private Pilgrimage and to ask Perrier questions.

“The screening went really well,” he told the Maple Creek News, adding with a smile: “I should have offered free hotdogs!”

Among those who attended were Rob Stewart, principal at Maple Creek Composite School, and his family.

Perrier pointed out that he stopped in Maple Creek during his 2024 cycle tour.

“It makes a brief appearance in the film, although it doesn’t really touch on the addiction issues here.”

Although he has seen the darkest corners of human experience, Perrier believes art has the power to shine a hopeful light.

It is what motivates him: to inspire addicts to follow a different path.