Ontario cottage country is not out of the woods yet

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It’s the traditional start of summer for Canadians lucky enough to have access to a cottage. But this year, the May long weekend will pass with the most populated province still under a stay-at-home order.

There’s hope for Ontario’s cottage country, though, along with its businesses that rely on seasonal visitors. The province on Thursday announced a reopening plan that could allow camping by June 14. Short-term rentals, which were largely banned under lockdown restrictions, would resume at the same time.

With international travel restricted, there should be few foreigners this summer. But stir-crazy urbanites are expected to make up for them.

Gord Baker, the assistant general manager of Algonquin Outfitters, a rental and guiding business, said that last year was a “very busy summer,” once it got going. He’s expecting the same this year. On some summer weekends, nearly all of the company’s 700-plus watercraft are already booked.

But there are nagging concerns, including that Ontario’s reopening plan relies on achieving benchmarks for vaccination and reduced hospital occupancy. June 14 is a target rather than a promise.

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And even if some form of normalcy does return next month, it promises to be a fraught summer. There’s an underlying fear that out-of-towners could bring COVID-19 health risks, and some locals are pleading with visitors to act responsibly. One major cottage rental firm is taking only bookings of at least a week in length, in hopes of not attracting a party clientele.

“There’s a bit of dread,” said Mr. Baker, the outfitter.

“Before we knew that we were going to be closed for the May long weekend, a lot of our staff here were quite nervous. They were, yes, excited that, okay, we’re going to be doing what we’re supposed to do. But on the other hand they were kind of nervous. Oh, man, all these people coming from away.”

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The Canadian wilderness is imprinted on the national mythology.

The rocks and trees of the Canadian Shield north of Toronto were the stomping ground of Tom Thomson and some of the Group of Seven painters. Wealthy residents were journeying to these areas already a century ago, visiting the grand lodges that sprang up to cater to them. Cabins now dot the shorelines of myriad lakes.

Although only a small minority of Toronto residents own second properties of any sort – about one in six, according to Statistics Canada – and federal data show barely one in five of us go paddling even once a year, heading “up north” remains an annual ritual for many families. Some go to their own properties and others rent cabins, pouring money into local tourism economies that desperately need the trade.

A few good summer months can carry the region through the rest of the year. The time from late June to the Labour Day weekend is crucial and those weeks were busy last year.

It was a tough year overall, though. Data from commercial real estate firm CBRE show that hotel occupancy in an area known as RTO12 – which includes Muskoka, Parry Sound and Algonquin Park – was down 25 per in 2020, compared to the previous year. Locals say that fewer visitors resulted in a knock-on effect, hurting retail and services-oriented businesses.

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As the second pandemic summer approaches, there have been casualties. The Olde Stone Brewing Company in Peterborough, in business 25 years, announced in March it was done. The Muskoka Maple Festival last month was cancelled.

Others are holding on – nervously.

Businesses are unsure when their regulars will show up, and if COVID-19 rules will discourage those who do come from doing their shopping locally. Rental providers are uncertain if they’ll be able to honour their summer bookings.

“We don’t know if that June the 14th [reopening] day is set in concrete,” said Heather Bayer, CEO of CottageLINK Rental Management. “Are they going to change the goal posts again?”

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Her firm, which manages the renting of around 170 properties on behalf of their owners, was in the process on Friday of cancelling or rescheduling dozens of bookings.

“Some of our guests, this will be the third time,” she said. “We’ve moved them from April, we moved them into May. And now we’re moving them into the end of June, if they want to do that.”

Other businesses, with few customers, are trying to put off hiring seasonal staff but are concerned that their prospective employees will give up and find work elsewhere. Some, with operations mothballed, won’t be able to open on short notice even once the government does loosen the rules. Employees will need to be found, food and drink bought, properties prepared.

Jillian Harrington, chair of the Kawartha Chamber of Commerce & Tourism, said that months of uncertainty over how long restrictions might last have been stressful for many. But one benefit of the pandemic is that it is heightening demand for cottage-country vacations.

“You want to be able to encourage people to come and remember what it’s like to be in the sun and have a chat with their friends and experience the water that we have here,” she said. “There’s so much that we have to offer, we want people to be able to come here and experience those things in a safe way.”

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Janet O’Connell, the executive director of Muskoka Tourism, says the region has been in a bit of a paradox: unable to welcome people but knowing there is massive interest.

“People are looking for something to do in their own backyard,” she said. “Everyone wants to get out of the city and rent a cottage.”

That looming demand is causing a mix of expectation and trepidation. The overarching message from locals is that they really want people to come this year, but they want any visitors to act safely.

Ms. Bayer, with the cottage rental firm, said they are insisting on guests who are all part of the same households and are not booking weekends. By having only guests who stay at least a week, they are hoping to minimize those looking to cut loose and get a bit too raucous.

“They’re going to want to head out and have some serious celebrations,” she said. “Unfortunately, that’s not the style that we really wanted at our properties, so we decided that we would not rent short breaks until September.”

A number of cottage-country townships also have regulations on their books to discourage – or in some cases ban – rentals shorter than 28 days. These generally predate the pandemic but have taken on added resonance in a summer when many locals want visitors, but not hordes of them. While such regulations tend to be spottily enforced – it is usually complaint driven – they offer a legal stick for townships to wield.

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Blue Mountains, Oro-Medonte and Seguin Township are among the communities restricting short-term rentals.

Seguin Township, at the north end of lakes Rosseau and Joseph, in Muskoka, has banned commercial activity in areas zoned residential since 2006. This includes renting out a cottage.

However, Mayor Ann MacDiarmid says they’re not sure if their ban would stand up in court. They’re interested in testing it and this year sent letters to known hosts, asking them to desist from future short-term rentals.

Those who ignore the municipality will get further attention, perhaps leading to fines.

She acknowledged that telling people how they can use their properties is divisive but argued there’s a greater good to be protected.

“In fairness, some of the people that rent for one and two days from other parts of the world have no idea about fire danger, septic issues, noise on the lakes, safe boating,” she said.

“We believe it’s our responsibility as a township council to try and keep [encouraging] all those things that have become good cottage behaviour. And it’s really hard to regulate when you’ve got different people every couple of days.”

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