Groundhog Day may not be an official holiday in Canada, but the country does have several groundhogs who forecast the weather every year on February 2nd.

According to legend, if the groundhog sees his shadow on the 2nd of February, it means that winter will last for six more weeks.

While Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil may be the best known weather-predicting groundhog in the U.S., Canada’s most famous may be Wiarton Willie, who looks for his shadow on Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula. This year, Willie saw his shadow, so winter in Ontario is not yet over.

The town of Wiarton hosts an annual Wiarton Willie Festival during the first week of February. Wiarton Willie even has his own Facebook page.

Other Canadian groundhogs include Schubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia, who also says that this year’s winter will last six more weeks, and  Balzac Billy in Alberta, who is predicting an early spring.

In Manitoba, both Brandon Bob and Manitoba Merv seem to be competing for the official provincial groundhog designation, and both apparently indicated that spring is on the way.

You can read the full 2010 groundhog report from the Canadian Press here.

Photo by Barbara L. Hanson (flickr)