Let us rejoice. Spring is around the corner and all over Canada the potholes are in bloom. Like crocuses and the return of Canadian geese, the arrival of these tire-killing crevices pocking our roads heralds the arrival of warm temperatures. A clarion call rings throughout this great land: “Hello, I need a tow, I have a flat tire.”
The city of London, Ont., has already received around 1,000 pothole sighting reports through its online portal. In New Brunswick, potholes scar the local roads. One Saint John resident told CTV News some of that city’s potholes “are so big you can bath a baby.” The potholes in Moose Jaw, Sask., are so daunting the city and its surrounding area have been declared a “soupy mess.” The roads in our nation’s capital resemble cheese that hails from Switzerland. The City of Ottawa says crews have filled 8,286 potholes since the year began. Montreal has deployed a mini fleet of pothole patching trucks.
And in Toronto, 61,606 potholes (and counting) have been filled so far in 2025. That is a large number, but fewer than it filled through this date last year and many more are being created every day. Toronto appears to be using the same strategy to patch potholes as it did to remove record February snowfalls: time. After being hit with astronomical snowfalls, Toronto city workers removed significant amounts of snow, but on many streets the city applied an innovative approach to snow removal called “waiting for spring.” Looks like the city may follow this trend and cure the pothole problem by “waiting for winter to cover them up.”
Few realize it but Canada is the world’s leading producer of naturally occurring potholes. Our ferocious winters provide the perfect habitat. Potholes take root when water expands as it freezes and snow and rain seep into porous roads. As the ice expands, the asphalt puckers up and the weight from automobiles driving over it breaks apart the surface. When it melts, the gaps created by the ice collapse. This process gradually tears the asphalt apart until finally, in spring, potholes appear fully grown.
Despite their natural beauty, there are those who would do potholes harm.
Scientists from Swansea University and King’s College London, working with scientists in Chile, are designing self-healing asphalt that “can mend its own cracks without the need for maintenance or human intervention.” Researchers used artificial intelligence to study organic molecules in complex fluids such as bitumen – the sticky black material in the asphalt.
According to a news release, researchers incorporated “tiny, porous materials known as spores, which are smaller than a strand of hair and produced by plants. These spores are filled with recycled oils, which are released when the asphalt begins to crack, helping to reverse the process. Laboratory experiments showed that this advanced asphalt material was shown to completely heal a microcrack on its surface in less than an hour.”
Why do researchers in England and Chile want to destroy a symbol of Canadian pride? What do they know about real potholes, ones so wide and gaping they could house an entire curling team. Be careful what you wish for. Sure, potholes puncture countless tires, bend untold rims and ruin wheel alignments, but we might miss their springtime mischief if we eliminate them.
Rather than waging an unholy war against potholes, we should instead find inspiration.
Isn’t Canadian nationalism a lot like a pothole? It lies dormant but expands as external threats seep into the porous Canadian consciousness. When antagonistic forces threaten to roll over us, Canadian nationalism puckers up and breaks to the surface. As it heats up, it tears the “asphalt” that divides Canadians apart and manifests itself a thousand times over.
The United States of America wants to roll over Canada in a trade war. I can only presume President Donald Trump thinks Canada will be an easy win. He thinks he can jump in a Tesla or his 2007 Ferrari F430 Coupe (which was recently put up for auction) and roll right over us. We’re nothing. We’re asphalt.
Well guess what my merry mercantilists. You may find that Canada is one big “America-sized” pothole. President Trump, you might think you are rolling over Canada and everything is fine, when all of a sudden “BANG.” Then Vice-President JD Vance, who’s been rocking in the passenger seat, sheepishly says, “Donald did you hear that?”
And you say, “It didn’t sound good.”
And when you and Vance get out and look around you find that your front and back right tires are blown, and the rims look like Mighty Thor took his hammer to them. Forget MAGA, thanks to a Canadian pothole it’s time to MAGITRA (“Make America Get Its Tires Repaired Again”). In 1775, the Gadsden Flag – with its rattlesnake and slogan “Don’t Tread on Me” – symbolized America’s determination.
Perhaps we should unfurl a new Canadian banner. It could display a giant pothole and bear the slogan “Don’t Roll Over Us.”
To some it’s a pothole. To me it’s a pothole full of gold.