Alberta’s “prairie prophet” emerged from his burrow, popped his glasses and predicted six more weeks of winter on Monday.

On the 23rd annual Groundhog Day, at about 8:10 a.m. at Bluegrass Garden Center in the Rocky View Area, a costumed Balzac Billy dug himself out of a mound of dirt in front of a crowd, stretched and twisted before looking at the ground and showing dismay at the revelation.

He was helped off the mound and later posed for photos with event observers with his thumbs down and his sunglasses on.

Balzac Billy bucked other trends canadian prophetWireton Willie of Ontario and Fred La Marmot, the famous groundhog of Quebec’s Gaspésie region, reportedly did not see their shadows.

However, he agreed that: punxsutawney phil South of the border, it is said that someone saw his shadow. The history of the U.S. event at Gobbler’s Knob dates back more than a century, and the festival has grown in size since the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day.”

Balzac Billy predicted an early spring in 2025, an additional winter in the previous year, and an early spring in 2023.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie Sam, one of Canada’s most famous groundhogs, did not perform her usual forecast event because of another winter storm forecast for the eastern provinces.

According to Groundhog-Day.comthe consensus after 67 forecasts was essentially divided, with only 52% predicting more winter in 2026. The consensus for 2025 is early spring, with 55% agreeing.

With files from The Canadian Press