Let it snow: Some Sask. businesses welcome return to normal winter conditions
CBC
People who sell snowmobiles, offer dog-sled tours or just generally rely on a good snowpack for their livelihood say this year's frigid temperatures and heavy snowstorms have been great for business.
"We are so thrilled to have the snow conditions that we have," said Shelley MacLean, park manager for Echo Valley Provincial Park, about 70 kilometres northeast of Regina.
For the last few years, Echo Valley has focused on winter tourism, creating an outdoor skating loop that runs through the treed campground and is lit at night for skaters.
The park also offers winter camping, snowshoe rentals, cross-country ski tours and a heated sauna.
But last year's warm weather and nearly non-existent snowpack hampered some activities like snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
"This winter, the weather conditions for us have been truly a gift after coming through last winter where we had very little snow and very mild temperatures," MacLean said.
This year the park added dog-sled tours to its roster of winter activities.
Aaron Campbell brought his team of Alaskan sled dogs to the park last weekend and said he was nearly fully booked for tours, unlike last year, which saw most of his tours and several races cancelled because there wasn't enough snow.
"We need snow to generate income," Campbell said.
MacLean said the number of visitors to the park this winter is up about 12 per cent from last year, which she credited to the snow and cooler weather.
Over in Yorkton, Sask., about 190 kilometres northeast of Regina, snowmobile sales are also rebounding from last year, when many trails across the province didn't even open because there wasn't enough snow.
"We're a big seller of outdoor gear for the wintertime, and December was our biggest month we've probably ever had," said Rick Bradshaw, an owner and general manager of Schrader's in Yorkton.
Bradshaw said last year, sales were down, with about 50 per cent fewer people pre-buying sleds for this season.
He said people didn't want to pre-purchase snowmobiles because they were worried it might be another bad snow year.
Quebec Premier François Legault is warning that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's threatened tariffs would hurt not only the Canadian economy — but the U.S. economy as well.
A national Muslim advocacy organization says it's "deeply alarmed" a candidate to lead Manitoba's Progressive Conservative Party shared a Facebook entry that declared his Muslim rival must be prevented from winning the race.
People who sell snowmobiles, offer dog-sled tours or just generally rely on a good snowpack for their livelihood say this year's frigid temperatures and heavy snowstorms have been great for business.
Islanders woke up Wednesday morning to snow-covered roads with icy patches and slush, creating challenging travel conditions.
A non-profit that provides a portion of Alberta's legal aid budget is concerned about potential funding changes imposed by the provincial government.
Anna Ho begins her videos with the phrase, "So I live in Vancouver, and I have no friends."
On cold nights, it's hard to find safe places to discharge unhoused patients, Hamilton emergency-department doctors say.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants a fresh start with President-elect Donald Trump — but also warns that she won't back down over tariffs that she believes would hurt the auto industry in her state.
A former Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will serve four years behind bars after pleading guilty last year to child sexual exploitation and child pornography offences.
Leaders in Fort Resolution, N.W.T., say they have concerns about the response to an extended power outage in the community on Saturday.
The premiers will gather in Ottawa Wednesday to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and discuss a looming threat that has the potential to throw the economy into a tailspin: president-elect Donald Trump's promised tariffs on all Canadian goods.
This story is part of Welcome to Canada, a CBC News series about immigration told through the eyes of the people who have experienced it.
Two more children have died following a duplex fire early Saturday morning in Lower Sackville, N.S., according to a GoFundMe page set up by a family friend to support the family.
Irving Oil has announced the company will not be put up for sale, a possibility it had raised in 2023.
Quebec's education minister is asking a high school in the Charlevoix region to reconsider its decision to force students to choose between sports-oriented programs and advanced math and science.
A program at the University of Winnipeg to help international and domestic students improve their English skills is being shut down and the school's administrators are blaming Ottawa's crackdown on the number of international students allowed to study in Canada.
Outside a rural Saskatchewan elementary school on a fall morning in 2020, Paul Wilson and three others parked their truck and called 911 as a woman they were with experienced a fentanyl overdose.
B.C. Premier David Eby hinted B.C. could slap an export ban on critical minerals produced in the province Tuesday if U.S. president-elect Donald Trump goes ahead with his proposed tariffs.