It’s just another day at a dog park for Shannon Olsen and her dog, Johnny Hockey. But a recent encounter has left her more cautious after a tick made its way into her home after catching a ride on her dog. “It had gone on to my quilts. And then the next thing you know, it landed on me and it bit me,” Olsen said, adding she managed to kill the bug after shaking it off. Reports of ticks are on the rise across Canada. Data submitted to eTick, a website that allows citizens to upload photos of ticks and track potential health risks, shows a 38 per cent increase in reports compared with last year. Alberta had the second highest number of reports, behind Ontario. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, more than 7,100 cases of Lyme disease were reported in 2025 — the highest number on record. “We do see what we call adventitious ticks, which are ticks that aren’t necessarily established somewhere, but they move there on the backs of migratory animals,” said Justin Wood, a researcher with the University of Guelph’s G. Magnotta Research Lab and CEO of Geneticks. Wood’s company studies tick-borne diseases. He says the percentage of ticks carrying Lyme disease is continuing to rise. “In 2026 so far, compared with the spring of 2025, we saw almost a two to three per centage point increase in the number of black-legged ticks that came to us and tested positive for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease,” Wood said. Most ticks that test positive for Lyme disease are found in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. In Alberta, the Ministry of Primary and Preventive Health Services says “Lyme disease continues to pose a low risk.” “Surveillance shows fewer ticks of concern than last year, and those found in the province are often carried in by migratory birds or other animals,” the ministry said. Wood says climate change is also allowing more tick species to move north from the United States. “I think people should know that they have to be vigilant, not just for the diseases and pathogens that we know are in Canada right now, but also for those coming up from the States,” he said. For Olsen, the experience has been a reminder to stay alert when it comes to her dog. “It makes you more aware of the fact that you’ve got to keep an eye on your dog now,” she said.
