However, those with less space may opt for a swim spa instead, which is about 4 to 6 meters long (12 to 19 feet) and offers the benefits of both a pool and hot tub.

Syal says she has seen some elaborate backyard pools installed over the pandemic, from infinity edge designs to pools with waterfall features. “ just wanted that feeling of being on a vacation but in your own residence.” Ms. “Everybody was working from home, and on the weekends, you were home,” she says. By 2021, that number more than doubled to 679,453 permits registered.Īman Syal, manager of programs and marketing for the Pool & Hot Tub Council of Canada, says the desire to create backyard escapes amid the pandemic fuelled a high demand for pools and hot tubs in the past two years. According to Statistics Canada data, in 2019, 306,969 permits were registered for residential inground swimming pools. Szabo yearned to create private refuges in their backyards to enjoy throughout the crisis and beyond. The pool and hot tub industry saw a huge spike in demand over the pandemic as Canadians like Ms. “I lucked out that they actually had something in stock, and it was the last one.” She was soaking in her new hot tub by May, 2022. Szabo, who purchased her hot tub in January, 2022. “They were saying that hot tubs were six months out from the period of order,” says Ms. Szabo opted for a four-person hot tub with jets, paying about $12,000 in total for delivery, installation and a cover. She enjoyed regular dips in the hot tub and was determined to have one in her new home. She moved to Canoe from Vernon, B.C., where she lived in a condo building with a shared outdoor hot tub. “I extended the back deck, but I also had to reinforce it to be able to hold the weight of the hot tub once it was full,” Ms. Log In Create Free AccountĪfter purchasing a three-bedroom bungalow in Canoe, B.C., in July, 2021, health care operations manager Ange Szabo was sure to make room for a hot tub in her backyard when undertaking a full renovation of her new home.

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