Fred the groundhog predicts early spring in Quebec, aligning with fellow Canadian rodents

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Locals in Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula gathered early Monday morning ahead of the sunrise for the honour of announcing the prediction of Fred junior, the famous Gaspésien groundhog.

He emerged from his wooden log cabin and did not see his shadow, which, according to tradition, predicts an early spring. The opposite would have meant six more weeks of cold weather. This prediction is in line with a slew of Fred’s colleagues, including Wiarton Willie and Shubenacadie Sam.

Roberto Blondin, the mayor of Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé and founder of the Groundhog Day festival in nearby Val-d’Espoir, asserts that among all the groundhogs in North America, Fred has the best prediction rate. He did, however, mention that the stakes remain fairly low since the groundhog has a 50/50 chance of being wrong.

So far, Fred’s success rate is at 75 per cent, according to his spokesperson Renée Laurendeau. But she notes they’re never truly certain when the rodent predicts an early spring, since that would mean it would have to warm up by March 21 — when it’s typically “not really spring yet,” she said.

“But we’ll see what’s going to happen, and we’ll see if we can keep our average” she said.

Fred Sr. chosen 18 years ago

Blondin first organized the Groundhog Day event to save the village school. He said he had the idea while he was eating breakfast on Groundhog Day 18 years ago and decided to find a groundhog with a “sixth sense” capable of predicting the start of spring.

The quest didn’t take long, says Blondin. 

“In Val-d’Espoir, there are many small farms; it wasn’t a problem to find our first Fred. We found him right away. “

A year later, Groundhog Day became a fixture in Val-d’Espoir.

But in a tragic turn of events, the original Fred passed away three years ago — making headlines across the province. 

The famous rodent was found mere hours before he had been expected to predict whether it would be an early or late spring. 

Mayor Roberto Blondin helped announce Fred Jr.’s prediction early Monday morning. (Martin Toulgoat/Radio-Canada)

His successor, Fred Jr., took over and Blondin says he is treated just as well — living in an enclosure in a controlled environment. 

Laurendeau says he has a little cabane — where he will return to rest.

“He’s back in his condo and he’s asleep until spring,” she said.

Fred Jr. has now returned to rest in his cabane. (Martin Toulgoat/Radio-Canada)

Groundhog Day has become a project for the entire community in Val-d’Espoir and puts the Gaspé Peninsula in the spotlight, says Blondin. 

“We are proud in Gaspésie and Val-d’Espoir to have this little animal that gives us so much visibility and positivity to winter.”

Elsewhere, in Pennsylvania, where the tradition first began, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter.