Little Canada was first opened on the Isle of Wight in 1930 by a New Zealander named Mr Howarth. It was set in 36 acres of wooded land and was built to resemble a miniature Canadian village complete with 257 log cabin chalets made from Canadian red cedar.
It was used during the war as an army base and was subsequently taken over by the Polytechnic Touring Association who reopened it as a holiday camp in 1949. It was acquired by Fred Pontin in the 1950s but not transferred to Pontins Ltd until 1960. In 1961 a large totem pole was carved by Jack Whitehead.
During the early-1960s Fred Pontin lived nearby in a house named Holly Bush on Kite Hill in Wooton Bridge.
It was a full board site so all meals were included and were taken in the large communal dining room. The wooden chalets consisted of a bedroom, bathroom, kettle (Teasmade in the early days) and not much else. TVs in the chalets didn't appear until the 1990s. In 1972 a week in August cost £19.50 per person which had risen to £91 by 1982.
In 1994 the camp was transferred to Superchoice, a children's activity company owned by Pontins parent company Scottish & Newcastle. At the same time the Pontins camps at Osmington Bay and Barton Hall were also transferred.
In 2015 Superchoice was acquired by PGL and the site is still open today as a PGL activity centre. Some of the buildings have been repurposed, and the old outdoor pool has been filled in, but Little Canada looks much the same as it always did.