Intense heat is gripping much of the country. Many farmers are praying for rain while firefighters are working to keep forest fires under control.

Near Halifax, fire has consumed about 25 acres. The tinderbox conditions extend throughout much of the Maritimes.

"You can actually see that most of the material on the forest floor has absolutely no moisture whatsoever," said Ken Mayhew of the P.E.I. forest department. "It's just a fire waiting to happen."

In central Canada, it's been one of the driest Julys on record. The effects are starting to show.

Water levels are so low in Montreal that navigation in many marinas has become difficult. Even the St. Lawrence seaway is a metre lower than normal.

"One day you'll go over a rock and you clear it by an inch," said David Speak of the Beaconsfield Yacht Club in Montreal. "The next day, you'll run right into it."

Nearly a dozen Quebec municipalities have put out advisories warning people not to water lawns, wash cars or fill pools.

In Ontario, soy bean and corn crops have been particularly hard hit by lack of rain.

"The rains didn't come when the crops actually needed the moisture and so both the quality and the quantity of corn has suffered because of the Ontario drought," said David Phillips of Environment Canada.

Likewise in western Canada, the rains came too late for many pastures and gardens.

Environment Canada is forecasting a possibility of rain across the country, but meteorologists say it likely won't be much.