Manitoba Merv has predicted an early spring for our province.

Jacques Bourgeois at Oak Hammock Marsh says the groundhog puppet made his appearance Tuesday morning and looked around but did not see his shadow. According to tradition, that means we can expect spring to arrive early.

"I hope he's going to be right," says Bourgeois. "He's only been wrong once and that was in 2014 when he predicted an early spring and we had a pretty long winter that year."

Manitoba Merv has been making his bold predictions for 22 years now.

It wasn't a unanimous decision among some of the more famous groundhogs Tuesday morning. Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam and Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil also did not see their shadow. However, Ontario's Wiarton Willie did see his, meaning another six weeks of winter for that part of the country.