I think it depends where (big place...)
I have been to alpine lakes that would drive anyone crazy! I hear places in the prairies can get really bad too. But right here in the country there are a few, but I rarely bother with bug spray, they aren't that bad. And I live by a swamp...

Your question is a bit like asking "Is it cold in the USA?"

There aren't any flying mosquitoes anywhere in Canada right now, except in labs ;-) In some places, at some seasons they are terrible. Blackflies and no-see-ums can also make your life miserable, but it depends when and where you go.

Could you be more specific?

Sharon and Mountainman are right... depends where you are looking. For starters, which province? If Ontario, I can tell you that once you get onto the area covered by the Canadian Shield you will have blackflies and mosquitoes very badly from mid-April to mid-July. After that the blackflies are pretty well done, but the mosquitoes will continue in decreasing numbers until the first frost.

South of the Shield, there are fewer mosquitoes and the blackflies are rarely a problem. Swampy land anywhere will be worse, of course. Here we have strong breezes off Lake Ontario most of the time and that helps keep the mosquitoes away.

If you do move here, you will find that the first year or two the mosquito bites will bother you more than later on. One's system seems to build up a resistance to the local bugs after that.

I strongly suggest you visit the area you are interested in during May or June and check it out for yourself. Whatever bugs there are will be at their worst in late spring.

Thanks Everyone. Good point about the "Big" country! The area I am most interested in is due north of Toronto and in the general arear between Bracebridge and Huntsville. Maggie, please explain what the "Canadian Shield" is....maybe it should be easily understood, but not to me atleast. Thanks. Also, we hope to visit the area probably in early July.

Thanks All,
Joe

Hi Joe,

Ontario is dominated by two kinds of bedrock. In the southern areas there is a wide band of limestone, including the Niagara Escarpment and these areas have slightly alkaline soil, deciduous or mixed forests and tend to be more heavily populated. These are also the main agricultural areas. Think green and rolling.

North of this, is the volcanic rock (igneous and metamorphic) rock of the Canadian Shield. It is beautiful country, with interesting rock formations often in shades of pink and grey, mixed or coniferous forests and lots of lakes and rivers. There are pockets of good, if acid, soil but farming is marginal.

Huntsville and Bracebridge are on the shield, in a beautiful and dramatic vacation country known as Muskoka, near Georgian Bay. I know the area well from childhood summers. And yes, there will be mosquitoes and blackflies in spring into summer. Not so much in the towns or cleared areas or the waterfronts of larger lakes as in the woods, of course, but there will be enough.

Winters will be quite cold and long. Usually there will be lots of snow.

Unless you are seeking a vacation or retirement home, you need to consider what you will be doing to earn a living in an area like Muskoka. As I say, it is marginal for agriculture although there are areas you could homestead. Tourism is a big industry there and bed & breakfasts, restaurants, interesting boutiques and galleries abound in the towns and vacation resorts on the lakes. I am not up to date on current business conditions, so cannot comment in more depth, but some Google searches with the keywords Muskoka Ontario should help you out.

Good luck. If you come up to Canada we'll have you ending your sentences with "eh" in no time! ;-)

~ Maggie

I'll take a swarm of misquitos anyday to one one black flies...they are the nastiest little critters I ever experienced...

Blackflies are exceedingly nasty... but they do not bother you indoors (fly off harmlessly to the windows) or after dark, and they pretty much disappear for the season after the first one or two heat waves. Still... they are more irritating than mosquitoes, which one can at least swat!