Tick-borne disease is spreading into new parts of Canada. Here’s where you’re at risk – CTV
June 01, 2025
As the weather gets warmer, public health experts are warning about the risk of tick-borne illnesses like lyme disease — a problem that’s spreading to new parts of the country.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has identified thousands of postal codes across more than 1,100 municipalities it considers “risk areas” for exposure to lyme.
As of the current list, high-risk areas are concentrated in communities along the U.S. border, as well as in major population centres.
In Western Canada, risk areas are concentrated on Vancouver Island, the coastal areas of B.C.’s Lower Mainland and river valleys across that province’s south, as well as nearly all of Manitoba from the north shore of Lake Winnipeg to the U.S. border.
Further east, much of southern Ontario’s Great Lakes coasts, including the entirety of the Greater Toronto Area, are within areas considered high risk by the agency. A corridor of risk areas also exists along the St. Lawrence River from Lake Ontario to the Atlantic coast, including Kingston, Ont., Ottawa and Montreal.
