Free data resource · Updated for 2026 · Sourced
Lyme Disease in Canada:
Cases by Province (2026 Statistics)
How many Lyme disease cases does Canada report, which provinces carry the most, and how fast is the disease spreading? This page compiles the latest reported case counts from the Public Health Agency of Canada — by year (2009–2024) and by province (2024) — alongside national incidence rates, climate-driven tick range expansion, and a Canada-versus-United-States comparison. All figures are sourced and free to cite.
Quick Answer
How many Lyme disease cases are there in Canada?
Canada reported approximately 5,239 Lyme disease cases in 2024 — the latest year — a national incidence of 14.1 per 100,000 people, and an 18-fold increase from just 144 cases in 2009, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. By province, Ontario had the most reported cases (2,369, about 41% of the national total), with Nova Scotia a very close second (2,350, roughly 40%) and Quebec third (834, about 14%). Note that these are reported cases only: the true number of infections is believed to be several times higher, because many cases are never diagnosed or reported — the same underreporting the U.S. CDC documents, where an estimated 476,000 cases occur each year versus about 89,000 reported.
A fuller, revised 2024 figure of 5,809 cases (50% confirmed, 50% probable) appears in PHAC’s Health Infobase dashboard; preliminary counts are updated upward as late reports arrive. We use 5,239 as the conservative number throughout.
Lyme Disease in Canada — by the Numbers
Reported case counts and incidence rates from the Public Health Agency of Canada surveillance program and Health Infobase dashboard, with a U.S. comparison from the CDC.
2024 reported cases
5,239
Preliminary (PHAC) · latest year
National incidence 2024
14.1
per 100k · ▲ from 11.9 in 2023
Growth 2009 → 2019
18×
144 → 2,636 cases / year
Cumulative 2009–2025
28.0K
28,033 reported (PHAC)
Reported Lyme disease cases in Canada, by year
Sources: PHAC — Lyme disease: Monitoring · PHAC Health Infobase annual surveillance report (2022–2024) · PHAC Annual edition 2021 (2020 and 2021 totals) · Canadian Lyme Disease Enhanced Surveillance system (PLOS One) (2009 and 2019). Verified anchor years shown; 2010–2018 omitted where single-year values were not individually confirmed.
Reported cases climbed from 144 (2009) to 2,636 (2019) — roughly an 18× increase — and into the 4,800–5,800 range by 2023–2024. The 2020 dip (1,617) is widely attributed to reduced COVID-19-era testing and reporting, not a real decline; cases rebounded +94.6% in 2021. The 2024 bar uses the conservative preliminary count of 5,239 (PHAC’s fuller revised figure is 5,809).
Which province has the most Lyme disease?
In 2024, Ontario reported the most Lyme disease cases of any province by raw count, with Nova Scotia a remarkably close second, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Health Infobase dashboard. But by per-capita risk, Nova Scotia is in a league of its own. The bars below show reported cases by province and territory for 2024.
Reported Lyme disease cases by province / territory, 2024
Source: Public Health Agency of Canada — Annual report: Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases surveillance in Canada (Health Infobase), 2024 data. Every count in this chart is stated directly in that report.
Provincial counts sum close to PHAC’s fuller 5,809 figure rather than the preliminary 5,239 total — a further reason to treat the larger value as the more complete 2024 count. Quebec and Saskatchewan report through the CNDSS system (less detailed) rather than the enhanced LDES program.
Most cases (raw count)
Ontario — 2,369
About 41% of all reported Canadian cases in 2024. Ontario’s large population and its extensive established tick range across southern and eastern parts of the province drive the highest absolute count in the country.
Highest per-capita risk
Nova Scotia — ~217 / 100k
Nova Scotia reported 2,350 cases (about 40% of the national total) but, with a far smaller population, carries by far the highest per-capita incidence in Canada — 217 per 100,000 (PHAC), more than 15× the national rate of 14.1.
Is Lyme disease increasing in Canada?
Yes — and not by a little. The trend is one of the clearest in Canadian public-health surveillance, and researchers attribute it primarily to a warming climate pushing blacklegged tick habitat northward.
65% → 94%
share of cases acquired locally in Canada, 2009 to 2019
PHAC — Surveillance for Lyme disease in Canada, 2009–2019 (CCDR)
Why the rise? Climate-driven tick range expansion
The single most important driver is the northward spread of the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) as winters warm. Peer-reviewed climate-vector modelling documents the pace:
| Metric | Estimate | Detail & source |
|---|---|---|
| Blacklegged tick range expansion rate | ~35–55 km / year | Leighton et al. modelled the northward range front of Ixodes scapularis advancing at 46 km per year; the wider 35–55 km band is our own rounding envelope around that single published estimate, not a figure published by the authors. (Leighton PA et al., J Applied Ecology 2012) |
| Locally-acquired infections, 2009 → 2019 | 65.3% → 93.6% | Share of cases with a known exposure location that were acquired in Canada (not travel) — evidence the tick is now established domestically. (PHAC — Surveillance for Lyme disease in Canada, 2009–2019 (CCDR)) |
| Projected northward habitat shift | ~200 km by the 2020s; ~1,000 km by the 2080s | Flagged: we could not locate these specific kilometre figures in the linked paper, which reports risk in counts of census sub-divisions under IPCC scenario A2 rather than in kilometres. Do not cite these two numbers without checking the primary source yourself. (Attributed to Ogden NH et al., Int J Health Geogr 2008 — NOT VERIFIED) |
Range-expansion rates and habitat-shift projections come from peer-reviewed climate-vector modelling, not government surveillance — cite them as research estimates. The causal link between climate warming, northward Ixodes scapularis expansion, and rising Canadian Lyme incidence is well established in the literature.
Where are the Lyme disease risk areas in Canada?
Risk is concentrated where blacklegged ticks are established — broadly across southern and eastern Canada — and is expanding northward each year, according to PHAC. The highest-risk provinces in 2024 were:
- ●Nova Scotia — highest per-capita incidence in Canada (~217 / 100k)
- ●Ontario — highest absolute count (2,369), established range across the south and east
- ●Quebec — range expanding northward from the U.S. border (834 cases)
- ●New Brunswick — Atlantic Canada endemic zone (111 cases)
- ●Manitoba — established risk areas in the southeast (84 cases)
- ●British Columbia — western blacklegged tick, low infection prevalence (21 cases)
By contrast, Alberta’s cases are mostly travel-related, and the three territories reported zero cases in 2024 with no established tick populations (PHAC, 2024).
How does Canada compare to the US for Lyme disease?
The United States reports far more Lyme disease than Canada in absolute terms — reflecting its larger population and longer-established tick range — but the U.S. data also exposes how badly reported counts understate the true number of infections on both sides of the border.
Canada — reported cases (2024, preliminary)
~5,239
PHAC preliminary surveillance count; the Health Infobase dashboard publishes a fuller 2024 figure of 5,809 (50% confirmed, 50% probable).
United States — reported cases (2023)
89,000+
Routine surveillance only — roughly one-fifth of the estimated true total.
United States — estimated cases each year
~476,000
CDC estimate from health-insurance claims — the agency notes this likely includes patients treated on clinical suspicion who do not have Lyme disease.
The reported-vs-true-burden gap
In the United States, the CDC estimates approximately 476,000 Lyme cases are diagnosed and treated each year (from health-insurance claims, 2010–2018), versus the 89,000+ reported through routine surveillance in 2023 — meaning roughly one in five true cases is captured by surveillance. Canadian researchers note the same underreporting applies here. So while Canada’s ~5,239 reported cases (2024) look modest beside the U.S. total, the real number of Canadian infections is almost certainly several times higher. Treat every figure on this page as reported cases, not a complete count of infections.
An 18-fold jump in reported Lyme cases in a single decade isn’t a blip — it’s a blacklegged tick that has moved in and settled down across Canada. And because most infections are never reported, the real number is far higher than the official count. The good news is that yard-level risk is one of the few parts of this you can actually control.
Alex
BuzzSkito Mosquito & Tick Control — GTA tick-control specialist
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Key figures to quote
- • ~5,239 reported cases in Canada (2024, PHAC)
- • 14.1 per 100,000 national incidence (2024)
- • Ontario 2,369 (41%) · Nova Scotia 2,350 (40%) · Quebec 834 (14%)
- • 18× growth, 2009 (144) → 2019 (2,636)
- • 2024 is the latest published year — no 2025 national or provincial total exists yet (PHAC)
Always note
These are reported cases, not total infections. PHAC’s 2024 count appears as both 5,239 (preliminary) and 5,809 (revised). Re-check the live PHAC dashboard before publishing.
Primary sources & further reading
- →Lyme disease: Monitoring (national surveillance overview) — Public Health Agency of CanadaSupports: 28,033 cumulative human cases reported by provincial public health units, 2009–2025https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/lyme-disease/surveillance-lyme-disease.html
- →Annual report: Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases surveillance in Canada (Health Infobase) — Public Health Agency of CanadaSupports: 2024 total of 5,809 (50% confirmed / 50% probable); every 2024 province and territory count on this page (Ontario 2,369, Nova Scotia 2,350, Quebec 834, New Brunswick 111, Manitoba 84, Alberta 31, BC 21, PEI 4, NL 3, Saskatchewan 2, territories 0); shares 41% / 40% / 14%; national incidence 6.5 (2022), 11.9 (2023), 14.1 (2024) per 100,000; Nova Scotia highest incidence at 217 per 100,000; 2023 total 4,785 and 2022 total 2,525https://health-infobase.canada.ca/zoonoses/ticks/annual-report.html
- →Lyme disease surveillance in Canada: Annual edition 2021 — Public Health Agency of CanadaSupports: 2020 total 1,617 (1,204 confirmed + 413 probable); 2021 total 3,147 (2,595 + 552), a 94.6% year-over-year increase and the largest annual count recorded at that timehttps://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/lyme-disease-surveillance-canada-annual-edition-2021.html
- →Epidemiology and clinical manifestations of reported Lyme disease cases: data from the Canadian Lyme Disease Enhanced Surveillance system (PLOS One) — PLOS One (peer-reviewed) / PubMed CentralSupports: 144 reported cases in 2009 rising to 2,636 in 2019; 10,150 cases over 2009–2019, of which 9,526 (93.9%) were acquired in Canada; single erythema migrans rash reported in 76.4% of caseshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10723709/
- →Surveillance for Lyme disease in Canada, 2009–2019 (Canada Communicable Disease Report) — Public Health Agency of Canada / PubMed CentralSupports: Share of cases with a known exposure location acquired in Canada rising from 65.3% (2009) to 93.6% (2019)https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10723632/
- →Lyme Disease Surveillance and Data (facts and statistics) — U.S. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSupports: Over 89,000 cases reported to CDC in 2023; approximately 476,000 people diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year in the United Stateshttps://www.cdc.gov/lyme/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
- →Leighton PA, Koffi JK, Pelcat Y, Lindsay LR, Ogden NH. "Predicting the speed of tick invasion: an empirical model of range expansion for the Lyme disease vector Ixodes scapularis in Canada." Journal of Applied Ecology. 2012;49(2):457–464 — Journal of Applied Ecology (British Ecological Society)Supports: Northward range-front advance of Ixodes scapularis modelled at 46 km per year — the single published figure behind the "~35–55 km/year" band shown on this pagehttps://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2012.02112.x
- →Ogden NH, St-Onge L, Barker IK, et al. "Risk maps for range expansion of the Lyme disease vector, Ixodes scapularis, in Canada now and with climate change." International Journal of Health Geographics. 2008;7:24 — International Journal of Health Geographics / PubMed CentralSupports: Climate-driven range projections to the 2020s, 2050s and 2080s under IPCC scenario A2. NOTE: we could not locate the "~200 km / ~1,000 km" kilometre figures quoted on this page in this paper — treat those two numbers as unverifiedhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2412857/
- →Rapid northward expansion of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, in response to climate change — PubMed Central (peer-reviewed)Supports: General context on climate-driven northward expansion of Ixodes scapularishttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12590538/
Data compiled July 2026. All case counts are reported cases from the Public Health Agency of Canada unless otherwise attributed. U.S. comparison figures are from the U.S. CDC. Range-expansion estimates are from peer-reviewed climate-vector modelling. Figures are subject to revision as PHAC updates preliminary counts.
Frequently asked questions
How many Lyme disease cases are there in Canada?
+
Canada recorded approximately 5,239 reported Lyme disease cases in 2024 (the latest year), according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) surveillance dashboard. A fuller, updated figure of 5,809 cases also appears in the same dashboard, because preliminary surveillance counts are routinely revised upward as late lab and clinical reports arrive. 2024 is the most recent year PHAC has published — there is no 2025 national or provincial total yet. Important caveat: these are reported cases only — the true number of infections is believed to be several times higher, because many cases are never diagnosed, lab-confirmed, or reported to public health.
Which province has the most Lyme disease?
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Ontario had the most reported Lyme disease cases of any province in 2024 — 2,369 cases, about 41% of the national total, according to PHAC. Nova Scotia was a very close second with 2,350 cases (roughly 40%), and Quebec was third with 834 cases (about 14%). However, by per-capita incidence rather than raw count, Nova Scotia is by far the highest-risk province, at approximately 217 cases per 100,000 people — far above the national average of 14.1 per 100,000.
How many people get Lyme disease each year in Canada?
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In 2024, Canada reported approximately 5,239 Lyme disease cases — a national incidence rate of 14.1 per 100,000 population, up from 11.9 per 100,000 in 2023, according to PHAC. Annual reported cases have climbed steeply, from just 144 in 2009 to 2,636 in 2019 (a roughly 18-fold increase in a decade) and into the 4,000–5,800 range in 2023–2024. These figures count only diagnosed and reported cases, so the actual number of people infected each year is widely believed to be substantially higher.
Is Lyme disease increasing in Canada?
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Yes — Lyme disease is increasing sharply in Canada. Reported cases rose from 144 in 2009 to 2,636 in 2019 (about an 18-fold increase), then to roughly 5,239 in 2024, according to PHAC. The national incidence rate climbed from 11.9 per 100,000 in 2023 to 14.1 per 100,000 in 2024. Crucially, the share of cases acquired locally in Canada (rather than during travel) rose from 65.3% in 2009 to 93.6% in 2019 — clear evidence the blacklegged tick is now firmly established domestically rather than merely imported.
Where are the Lyme disease risk areas in Canada?
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The highest-risk areas are in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Quebec, New Brunswick, Manitoba (southeast), and parts of British Columbia, according to PHAC. Nova Scotia has the highest per-capita incidence in the country (~217 per 100,000). Risk is concentrated where blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are established — generally southern and eastern Canada — and is expanding northward at an estimated 35–55 km per year as the climate warms. The three territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut) reported zero cases in 2024 and have no established tick populations.
How does Canada compare to the US for Lyme disease?
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The United States reports far more Lyme disease than Canada in absolute terms. The U.S. CDC recorded over 89,000 reported cases in 2023 and estimates approximately 476,000 cases are actually diagnosed and treated each year (based on health-insurance claims, 2010–2018), compared with Canada’s roughly 5,239 reported cases in 2024. The gap reflects both the larger U.S. population and longer-established tick range. The CDC comparison also reveals that true Lyme burden runs several times higher than routine surveillance captures — underreporting that researchers say applies to Canada as well.
Are reported Lyme disease cases the same as total infections?
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No. Surveillance counts only cases that are diagnosed, lab-confirmed or probable, and reported to public health. The U.S. CDC comparison — approximately 476,000 estimated cases versus about 89,000 reported — shows that true incidence can run roughly 5 to 10 times higher than reported counts, and Canadian researchers note the same underreporting applies here. For that reason, all Canadian figures on this page should be read as reported cases, not as a complete count of every infection.
Protect your yard
Reduce the tick risk you can actually control
You can’t change the climate, but you can change your own backyard. BuzzSkito’s Health Canada-approved tick barrier spray targets the lawn-edge, leaf-litter, and fence-line zones where blacklegged ticks concentrate — across Mississauga, Toronto, and the wider GTA. Get a free, no-obligation quote.
Educational resource — not medical advice. For a confirmed tick bite or symptoms, contact your doctor or local public health unit.
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