Canadians ring in 2026 with ‘invigorating’ polar plunges across the country
Global News
Hundreds across Canada marked the start of the new year by gleefully plunging into frigid lake and ocean water, some for their first time.
Hundreds across Canada marked the start of the new year by gleefully plunging into frigid lake and ocean water, some for their first time.
Alejandra Lopez, who’s visiting Nova Scotia from Mexico, said she likes to do cold dips in a tub with ice water back home, but she’d never done a polar plunge.
“One of my resolutions was to do something different every month, and I started on the very first day (of 2026),” said Lopez, who took her outdoor polar dip in Dartmouth’s frozen Lake Banook alongside hundreds of other people Thursday.
She said the dip was a lot of fun and made for a great way to start the new year. As she entered into the water, though, she said her “legs started burning.” She stayed calm, and managed to stay in the water.
“I was really excited, and I’m so proud of us,” she said. She managed to convince her brother-in-law, Brian Summerhayes, from Dartmouth, N.S., to join her in the excitement.
“It was very, very cold. I don’t know if I’d do it again, but I can cross it off the bucket list,” Summerhayes said with a laugh.
He said while submerged in the icy water he was thinking to himself: “Breathe. Breathe. What am I doing here? Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.”
Organizer Koko McNeill, who is part of the Darkside Dippers, a group that hosts regular polar dips in Dartmouth, said 550 people registered online to take part in Thursday’s dip. Many more came out to the beach to cheer on their loved ones and friends.
