CBC News, on Climate, 5 November 2026

3.0out of 10Minor

Beach weather in November? In Canada? These photos prove it

Tap a highlight to see why it matters.1 finding

Beach weather in November? In Canada? These photos prove it Parts of Ontario and Quebec have been basking in summer-like weather this week Even at the best of times, it's hard to imagine swimming outdoors in November — no matter where you live in Canada. But 2026 is changing that conventional wisdom. Parts of Quebec and Ontario have been experiencing potentially record-setting summer-like temperatures this week, with highs over 20 C. Normal highs in major cities this time of year are around 10 C. In Montreal on Wednesday, it was 22 C, but felt like 24 C. Good enough for a trip to the beach.

Verdun Beach in Montreal attracted swimmers and sunbathers on Wednesday as temperatures reached 22 C. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press) According to the Weather Network, East Coast and a warm front associated with a Colorado low — a low-pressure area caused by the Rocky Mountains that tends to track northeastward. Those systems combined are pushing warmer air into parts of Canada.

Toronto has also been warmer than normal. With a high around 21 C in Toronto Wednesday, some people took to a hammock to enjoy the sunshine. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press) Wearing shorts in Toronto in November? Why not? This man took advantage of the warmth as he walked his dogs Tuesday. (Alex Lupul/CBC) El Niño effect This year's strong El Niño is probably part of the story, too. Bill Merryfield, a research scientist at Environment and Climate Change Canada, says El Niño usually affects Canada toward the end of the year, causing unusually mild fall and winter temperatures.

"This year's event is truly exceptional because this warming has already exceeded three degrees, which is well above that of any previous event and is expected to go even higher before the usual peak of El Niño in November or December," he said, referring to Pacific Ocean temperatures tied to the weather phenomenon. Two people take a break on Parliament Hill during an unseasonably warm Nov. 4. (Dan Taekema/CBC) It was a warm day under the fall foliage at Toronto's High Park. (Alex Lupul/CBC) A cyclist in Toronto took advantage of the delayed start of cooler temps, too. (Alex Lupul/CBC) People had the same idea in western Quebec, too.

With files from The Canadian Press

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What we found (1)

CBC runs a light photo gallery on record-threatening November warmth in Ontario and Quebec, crediting a Weather Network explanation and an Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist on El Niño. It explains the warm spell only through weather systems and El Niño and never says that warming makes hot extremes more frequent. That is a minor gap, since no source here ties this warm spell itself to climate change and no harm is reported.

  1. Leaves out the climate link

    Minor

    “the weather anomaly is due to a strong, high-pressure ridge off the U.S.”

    Why this matters
    With "the weather anomaly is due to", CBC gives the warm spell only weather-system causes, a pressure ridge and a Colorado low, and later El Niño.
    The impression it gives
    A reader comes away thinking temperatures about 12 C above normal in November are purely a product of natural weather patterns, with no link to the long-term warming trend.
    The context
    Human-caused warming has made hot extremes more frequent and more severe, and CBC itself reported a week earlier that most of Canada's 2025 heatwave days were attributable to climate change. No source here attributes this warm spell to warming, so the gap is minor: the piece misses one line of context. It is not a false account of the event.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

What it gets right

  • “According to the Weather Network, the weather anomaly is due to a strong, high-pressure ridge”

    CBC attributes its explanation of the warm spell to a named forecaster rather than stating a cause in its own voice.

  • “Bill Merryfield, a research scientist at Environment and Climate Change Canada”

    The El Niño explanation comes from a named government scientist whose role is stated plainly.

  • “potentially record-setting summer-like temperatures this week, with highs over 20 C”

    CBC hedges the record claim and gives the actual figures, which S5 then sets against normal highs of around 10 C.

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