Canada鈥檚 famous prognosticating rodents appeared to reach a consensus on Groundhog Day, as furry forecasters spanning three provinces predicted an early spring.

Ontario鈥檚 Wiarton Willie, Nova Scotia鈥檚 Shubenacadie Sam and Quebec鈥檚 Fred la Marmotte all reportedly did not see their shadows on Friday morning. According to centuries-old folklore, that鈥檚 good news for Canadians tired of wintry weather.

The tradition holds that if a groundhog doesn鈥檛 see its shadow on Groundhog Day, springlike weather will soon arrive. But if a shadow appears, winter鈥檚 icy grip won鈥檛 let go for quite some time.

The consensus on spring鈥檚 early arrival extended to western Pennsylvania鈥檚 Punxsutawney Phil, whose annual declaration exploded in popularity after the 1993 movie 鈥淕roundhog Day鈥�.

As usual, Shubenacadie Sam was the first groundhog in North America to make a prediction. But Nova Scotia鈥檚 famed meteorological marmot did not appear to be in any rush.

At 8 a.m. local time, the door to Sam鈥檚 enclosure was opened by Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton, but Sam 鈥� or Samantha 鈥� did not come out.

鈥淐ome on, woodchuck!鈥� shouted one youngster who was among a group of bundled-up onlookers at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park north of Halifax.

About five minutes later, Sam took a few tentative steps outside, then immediately ducked into a thicket of evergreens and disappeared.

Folklorists say the Groundhog Day ritual may have something to do with Feb. 2 landing midway between winter solstice and spring equinox. In medieval Europe, farmers believed that if hedgehogs emerged from their burrows to catch insects, that was a sure sign of an early spring.

After a streak of untimely deaths and controversy, the festivities in Ontario and Quebec appeared to go off as planned.

The successor to Fred la Marmotte in Val d鈥橢spoir, Que., emerged after daybreak into falling snow, and there was no shadow to be seen.

Last year, the late Fred was found dead shortly before the Groundhog Day festivities. He was hastily replaced with a child plucked from the event crowd, who held up a stuffed toy groundhog and declared that spring would be delayed.

鈥淏ut it鈥檚 all relative, like they said in the time of kings: 鈥楾he king is dead, long live the king,鈥� so we鈥檙e starting again with a new groundhog,鈥� said Roberto Blondin, an organizer of the event and the mayor of Sainte-Th茅r猫se-de-Gasp茅, Que.

Those keeping the Wiarton Willie tradition alive in Ontario鈥檚 South Bruce Peninsula had also been seeking a fresh start in the aftermath of controversy.

The white-haired groundhog was wheeled out onto a stage around 8 a.m., resting on a bed of straw inside a see-through box. The mayor, who per local tradition is the only person who can speak 鈥淕roundhogese,鈥� put his ear to the box and then relayed Willie鈥檚 prediction of an early spring to the crowd.

The groundhog was nowhere to be seen at the festivities held virtually in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It took nine months for the town to acknowledge the albino rodent had died.

Willie鈥檚 handlers brought in an understudy the following year, but in a break from long-standing tradition, that animal was the usual brown colour. A white-haired replacement Willie was finally procured from Ohio for Groundhog Day in 2023.

Meanwhile, the most famous prognosticator in the United States is also forecasting an early spring.

Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring Friday at Gobbler鈥檚 Knob in Pennsylvania, the scene of the largest and best-known U.S. Groundhog Day celebration.

The annual event is a tongue-in-cheek ritual in which Phil鈥檚 handlers, members of a club with roots in the late 19th century, reveal whether the groundhog has seen his shadow.

Just after sunrise Friday, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club announced Phil did not see his shadow, which will usher in early springlike weather. The groundhog seeing his shadow presages six more weeks of winter, according to the group.

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