Canadian city takes top spot for pollen count as allergy season starts fast
Are your allergies acting up? A delayed start to warm weather could lead to a pollen explosion across the country. We detail the outlook for Canada this spring, and reveal which community has had it the worst so far.
The 2026 allergy season in Canada is off to a fast start for some locales.
Pollen counts from cedar have been high recently, and that’s why Hamilton, Ont., saw such intense pollen grains during early April. Hamilton has got a lot of cedar.
"Hamilton has taken the top spot for pollen grains for cubic metre across Canada. In one week alone, we saw close to 6,000 pollen grains per cubic metre. For this time of year, that is a lot of pollen," said Daniel Coates, director of Aerobiology Research Laboratories.
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According to Coates, we're going to see the presence of maple, alder, birch, oak, elm, pine and willow in late April and early May. Meanwhile, expect pine and cedar to be present for the entire months of April and May.
The weather obviously plays a big role in the pollen counts. When we have that delayed, warm start, and all the warm air rushes in at the same time, that means everything is blooming together. As you can imagine, that is a lot of allergies happening in unison.
"We anticipate over the next few weeks, as heat rises, you will see a short period of intense releases of pollen. So, pollen numbers will skyrocket over the next few weeks," said Coates.
These numbers are determined by collecting air samples, and the aerobiology lab counts the pollen grains.
You can keep up to date on the pollen releases while using The Weather Network app. The aerobiology lab is expecting May to be an intense pollen season for the Canadian Prairies since the snow in April has delayed the bloom.
Ontario and Quebec are also in line for high pollen concentrations in the coming weeks.
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