Wiarton in Bruce County, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
Willie Emerging
Photographed by Kevin Westell, 2004/08
1. Willie Emerging - Marker
Part of the plaque (represented by the left, light blue part) was obscured by a human.
"Willie Emerging"
Sculptor: Dave Robinson
Medium: Adair dolomitic limestone
Donated by
Arriscraft Corporation
To honour the 40th annual groundhog weekend celebrations 1956-1996
Commissioned by
The Wiarton and District Lions Club
with thanks to Tom and Dee Cherrie-Ashman
Wiarton Willie, a genuine albino groundhog (marmota predictica) is Wiarton's mascot. He is known internationally as Canada's foremost weather prognosticator.
Erected 1996 by The Wiarton and District Lions Club.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Entertainment. A significant historical year for this entry is 1956.
Location. 44° 44.652′ N, 81° 8.205′ W. Marker is in Wiarton, Ontario, in Bruce County. It can be reached from William Street north of Brown St, on the left when traveling east. The marker is mounted low on a rock, at the foot of the 2+metre Wiarton Willie statue, 100 metres north-east of the stone building at where William St turns into Brown St, between a visitor information centre and the parking lot for the boat launch. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address:
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Georgian Bay Country and in Southwestern Ontario. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Ruperts Land.
Other nearby markers. At least one other marker is within 26 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Survey of the Great Lakes / Le levι des Grande lacs (approx. 25.2 kilometers away).
Regarding Willie Emerging. 1. The last of the long line of albino groundhogs (each known as "Wiarton Willie") died in 2021. In 2022, Wiarton used a brown groundhog. In 2023, they used a newly acquired albino groundhog.
2. While the plaque claims that the Wiarton Willie groundhogs were of species "Marmota predictica", the American Society of Mammalogists does not recognize this species. Instead, all these groundhogs were merely an albino but otherwise typical groundhog, "Marmota monax".
Photographed by Kevin Westell, 2004/08
2. Willie Emerging - Marker in context
Wiarton Willie's giant statue is at Bluewater Park, 30 metres from the shore of Colpoy's Bay. There is a memorial stone (out-of-frame left) to a particular Wiarton Willie. [Note: AI was used to remove a human from this photo - I intentionally left their ghostly outline, sitting left of the plaque.]
Photographed by Kevin M Klerks, March 25, 2019
3. Wiarton Willie memorial
This stone remembers one particular Wiarton Willie that died in September 2017, at the extreme age of 13 years. Licensing: CCBY2.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wiarton_Willie_Park_%2847456351312%29.jpg
Credits. This page was last revised on November 28, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 3, 2025, by Kevin Westell of St. Catharines, Ontario. This page has been viewed 101 times since then and 53 times this year. Last updated on November 26, 2025, by Kevin Westell of St. Catharines, Ontario. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 3, 2025, by Kevin Westell of St. Catharines, Ontario. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. Full close-up of marker • Can you help?
