Canadian rodent forecasters ready for Groundhog Day

Details
Category: Canada News
Published Tuesday, February 2, 2016
CTV News

Thousands across the country will be turning to four-legged forecasters with names like Wiarton Willie and Shubenacadie Sam today to learn if spring is just around the corner.

See Full Article

According to tradition, if the groundhog sees its shadow when it emerges from its burrow on Groundhog Day there will be six more weeks of winter. But this year's festivities have already been marred by the death of one prognosticating marmot.

Groundhog Day celebrations have been cancelled in Manitoba due to the death of Winnipeg Willow, who died last Friday at the Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.

Wiarton, Ont., is holding a festival to celebrate 60th anniversary of predictions by the town's albino groundhog - Willie.

Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam has the honour of making the first North American prediction of the day due to the province's time zone.

Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil, arguably the best-known weather predicting woodchuck, noted Winnipeg Willow's passing with his handlers saying they were surprised by news of the death of Phil's colleague.



Advertisements

Latest Canada & World News

  • EU weighs Lukashenko sanctions, meets his Belarus opponent

    World News CTV News
    BRUSSELS -- European Union foreign ministers on Monday were weighing whether to impose sanctions on dozens of Belarus officials, including President Alexander Lukashenko, after holding talks with his exiled main opponent. The EU has drawn up a list of around 40 people it could hit with asset freezes and travel bans in response to irregularities in the Aug. Source

  • Hospitalizations, deaths will follow Ontario's COVID-19 surge, but how many remains unclear

    Canada News CBC News
    The fresh spike in new COVID-19 cases in Ontario is not yet bringing an equivalent spike in hospital patients or deaths from the coronavirus, but experts say it's too early to draw conclusions. Over the past week, as Premier Doug Ford and his government slapped new restrictions on private gatherings, Ontario reported an average of 335 new confirmed COVID-19 infections daily. Source

  • Pediatricians sound alarm on lack of support needed to meet flu shot demand amid COVID-19

    Canada News CBC News
    Ontario pediatricians say their calls for the financial and logistical support needed to do more flu vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic have so far gone unheeded and fear an "imminent crisis" lies ahead. "We … would like to express our urgent concerns regarding an imminent crisis in influenza vaccination," said an online petition launched on Change.org Saturday by the pediatrics section of the Ontario Medical Association. Source

  • Back to school means back to stress and anxiety for grandparents during coronavirus pandemic

    Canada News CBC News
    It's not only parents who are trying to navigate back to school for their children. Some grandparents are trying to figure out where they fit into the maze of modified classrooms, remote learning and home-schooling while many of their adult children work from home. Source

  • Liberals say a new climate plan is still in the works despite pandemic

    Canada News CBC News
    Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says he doesn't know why it was suggested recently that the Liberal government had shelved a green recovery plan ahead of Wednesday's throne speech. But he said he is working on an "ambitious" climate plan — just as the Liberals promised during last year's election. Source

  • Lessons from New Jersey's 'millionaires tax' for provincial governments: Don Pittis

    Canada News CBC News
    As revenue-hungry Canadian provinces line up cap in hand for federal dollars, a new tax on wealthy residents of New Jersey that was approved last week offers food for thought. Dubbed the millionaires tax, the new law is widely expected to pass through the Democratic-controlled state legislature now that its main opponent, New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, has come on side. Source

  • Call me Ka'nhehsí:io: Why I'm reclaiming my Kanien'kéha name

    Canada News CBC News
    I was named Ka'nhehsí:io bymy Tóta. My chubby cheeks and soft blond hair reminded my grandmother of a Cabbage Patch Kid. In the mid-1980s, the must-have toy launched a new line of dolls with nylon hair that could be combed rather than the standard yarn hair. Source

  • New tax on the rich in New Jersey may give provincial governments something to think about

    Canada News CBC News
    As revenue-hungry Canadian provinces line up cap in hand for federal dollars, a new tax on wealthy residents of New Jersey that was approved last week offers food for thought. Dubbed the millionaires tax, the new law is widely expected to pass through the Democratic-controlled state legislature now that its main opponent, New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, has come on side. Source

  • Pediatricians issue urgent call for help to get flu shot to more people this fall

    Canada News CBC News
    Ontario pediatricians say their calls for the financial and logistical support needed to do more flu vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic have so far gone unheeded and fear an "imminent crisis" lies ahead. "We … would like to express our urgent concerns regarding an imminent crisis in influenza vaccination," said an online petition launched on Change.org Saturday by the pediatrics section of the Ontario Medical Association. Source

  • ndia, China commanders again talk to end border standoff

    World News CTV News
    SRINAGAR, INDIA -- Senior Indian and Chinese military commanders are holding talks Monday to find ways to resolve a monthslong tense standoff between the rival soldiers along their disputed mountain border in mountainous Ladakh region. Details of the talks, which are happening on the Chinese side in Moldo area facing Indian-controlled Ladakh region, weren't immediately disclosed. Source