Air quality advisories issued in 5 provinces, 1 territory
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
There’s an old adage in Ontario cottage country that God isn’t making any more waterfront. It’s a truth that’s particularly relevant in 2021 as demand for lakeside retreats has been understandably high.
“People booked up very early because last year they found if they were last minute they were not getting places. So people were much more proactive this year about booking early so we were mostly booked up for the summer by January or February,” William Wallace, who runs Muskoka-focused rental agency cottagevacations.com, told CTVnews.ca in an interview.
With provincial travel restrictions loosening and Canada set to lift most international travel restrictions for vaccinated Canadians on July 5, the possibility of a summer trip may seem within reach for Canadians who have spent the winter riding out the pandemic at home.
However, travel agents say July and August are shaping up to be a summer of driving rather than flying, as Canadians book summer cottage and house rentals, or focus their vacation efforts on family visits.
“There's a lot of demand for visiting friends and relatives. It’s the easy thing to pull off and the least complicated because you're not arranging hotels and wondering what's open and all of that,” said Richard Vanderlubbe, president of Tripcentral.ca.
Ontario opened its borders with Quebec and Manitoba to non-essential travel on Wednesday, and there are few travel restrictions in Western Canada. A quick perusal of booking sites shows cheap air fares between many Canadian cities.
But with indoor dining still restricted in many parts of the country and many attractions closed, the appeal of many typical travel destinations is greatly reduced, says Vanderlubbe. He also noted the Canadian government still officially recommends avoiding non-essential travel, which is putting a chill on bookings.
Lesley Paull, president of Paull Travel in Edmonton, said most of her booking activity has also been for driving vacations and largely limited to Alberta and British Columbia destinations, such as Jasper, the Okanagan, and Vancouver Island. She said she has been struggling to find cottage and house rentals for clients looking for destinations within driving distance of their homes.
“A lot of that is full right now and there [are] certainly not any deals. Everything is regular price or higher,” she said.
She said most of the international travel demand she’s seen has been for the late fall and 2022, but the announcement on Monday that the Canadian government will allow fully vaccinated Canadians to return to the country without quarantining starting July 5 may start to open the door to U.S. travel.
“I know a lot of people going back to their homes in Phoenix and Palm Springs that haven't been there all winter, and also Hawaii is a big destination,” she said.
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
For her latest column on CTVNews.ca, royal commentator Afua Hagan writes about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent visit to Nigeria, calling it a 'deeply meaningful campaign' that was about aligning their ongoing efforts to foster mental-health awareness and promoting the Invictus Games.
Ontario will need 33,200 more nurses and 50,853 more personal support workers by 2032, the government projects — figures it tried to keep secret but were obtained by The Canadian Press.
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Thousands have been forced to flee a wildfire burning near Fort Nelson. Meanwhile, some experienced volunteers are staying behind to fight the fire.
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
Kansas could soon offer up to US$5 million in grants for schools to outfit surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence systems that can spot people carrying guns. But the governor needs to approve the expenditures and the schools must meet some very specific criteria.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'