No Rideau Canal skating season in sight as mild weather continues
Latest the skating season started on Feb. 2, 2002
The chalets may be in place on the Rideau Canal but with temperatures expected to soar to 15 C on Christmas Eve, a swim is far more likely than a skate any time soon.
The skateway typically opens in mid-January but has opened as late as Feb. 2 in 2002.
In the past decade, the latest start to the skating season was Jan. 26, in 2007.
The ice must be 30 centimetres thick before the National Capital Commission opens the skateway. It's currently a pool of water with no ice whatsoever.
National Capital Commission spokesperson Jasmine Leduc said it's "too early to speculate" when the Rideau Canal will open for skating.
"The NCC has lived some similar situations," she said. "It's not abnormal. As you know, Canadian winters tend to fluctuate and we're facing that at this moment."
'Winter will show its face'
The annual Winterlude festival, which centres around the Rideau Canal Skateway, along with nearby Confederation Park and Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau, is set to kick off on Jan. 29.
Jantine Van Kregten, the director of communications for Ottawa Tourism, said there's more than a month for the cold weather to kick in for the festival.
"I am confident that winter will show its face in Ottawa. I never bet against winter in Ottawa. It's always going to come," she said.
Waiting for the deep freeze means the BeaverTails stands that usually pop up along the canal are on hold, leaving just three stands in the city: in the ByWard Market, at City Hall and at the Tanger Outlets.
"How do we feel about this weather? Probably a lot like Ms. Colombia felt last night," BeaverTails founder Grant Hooker said, adding that "Mother Nature can turn on a dime."
The host of Miss Universe crowned the contestant from Colombia before realizing she was actually the first runner-up — and that the contestant from the Philippines had won.