Kulkarni: We’ve seen a dramatic increase in tick populations across Canada in the last decade, especially the blacklegged ticks (deer ticks) that can carry Lyme disease. Ten years ago, there were established tick populations in defined pockets of southern Manitoba, southern and eastern Ontario, southern Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but since then we’ve seen an expansion of these populations further north in all provinces, including around major population centres like Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.