TORONTO - After an exceptionally cold and snowy winter, Canadians from coast to coast can expect yet another hot, sweaty summer, a new long-range forecast from Environment Canada suggests.

If the forecast for the month of June, July and August turns out to be correct, it would be the 19th summer of the last 25 to feature higher than average temperatures, Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips said Wednesday.

"Whether it's climate change, whether it's cyclical, whatever it is, it's a reality that our summers are warmer than our ancestors put up with,'' Phillips said.

The prediction is good news for farmers, since the heat would combine with the potential for above-average rainfall in the country's most fertile regions for what could potentially be a "banner year'' for the nation's food producers, he added.

"If they get the rain now, in the early part of summer, and then have it dry in August, well, my gosh, you couldn't have manufactured a better situation for them.''

It's about time farmers had a good year, said Bob Friesen, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

"We need the optimum growing season this summer,'' Friesen said. "The input costs for grains and oilseeds producers has gone up so much that their investment in planting a crop this year is probably higher than it's ever been before.''

High fuel and fertilizer costs mean farmers will need a good year if they have any hope of recouping their costs and making a profit, he added.

There is, however, a major downside to the forecast: a sweltering summer means high demand for electricity as homeowners turn to air conditioners for relief, particularly in Ontario, said Terry Young of the province's Independent Electricity System Operator.

"If we do get that hot summer that's being predicted, then you will see an impact on electricity demand because of the air conditioning effect,'' Young said.

"When the heat wave lasts longer and longer, it seems the air conditioner has to work harder and harder and you see higher demands for electricity.''

A new generating station recently came online in Toronto, and the outlook for power supply in Ontario this summer is "relatively positive,'' said Young.

"At this point in time, under normal weather conditions, we're looking fine,'' he said, adding that the province is prepared to import power from other jurisdictions in the case of extreme weather or service breakdowns.

A recent report released by the Ontario Power Authority indicates the average Ontario resident used 4.6 per cent less electricity in 2007 than in 2005.

It's a sign that attitudes in Canada are beginning to shift towards conservation -- a move that can only continue in the face of high energy prices, said Chris Winter, executive director of the Conservation Council of Ontario.

"Rising energy prices are only going to make conservation more dominant as a response,'' Winter said.

"Gas prices are going up, people are buying smaller cars, and I think energy prices will probably go up as well as we get into greater demand, which will fuel conservation, ironically.''

Not everyone in the power generation industry is nervous about the forecast, however. Warm weather usually increases demand south of the border -- a major customer for Canadian utilities that export surplus power.

Manitoba Hydro, which sells electricity to the midwestern U.S., will likely be facing an increase in cross-border demand, said spokesman Glenn Schneider.

For people hoping to save energy -- and money -- this summer, Winter recommends shutting all windows and blinds during the day to keep the heat out, and then opening them up in the evening.

He said two fans -- one to suck in cool air, one to expel hot air -- can be just as effective as an air conditioner in the early days of a heat wave, and will save a tremendous amount of energy.

The only exceptions to the projected heat wave are the Far North and some coastal areas.

Temperatures in southern Ontario are already on the rise, and are expected to skyrocket above 30 degrees Celsius this weekend.