It's also 24 C (75 F) on average this time of year, and you can fly there in less time than it takes to drive from Toronto to Montreal.
What's more, since Canada has become home to so many Jamaicans -- including boxing phenom Lennox Lewis and sprinters Donovan Bailey and Ben Johnson -- the balmy Caribbean island nation offers a welcoming holiday for Canadians.
Remember, it was in Canada at the 1988 Calgary Olympics where the Jamaican bobsledders, a wildly popular home team who are celebrated in namesake bars and roller-coaster rides, broke onto the scene.
Look deeper, like on the windy, orange-grove lined road that links Montego Bay with the south coast and you'll find the Toronto Vibes Restaurant.
Inside, nailed to the clapboard walls is memorabilia from the big smoke -- Blue Jays and Raptors items mostly. Even if the food isn't great, tell them you're Canadian and the service is exceptional.
Not surprisingly, given our winters, Canadians have been flocking to the Commonwealth country in greater numbers every year.
In the first three months of 2007, nearly 71,000 Canadians visited Jamaica, a 33 per cent increase over the first quarter of 2006. Overall, the number of Canadian visitors to Jamaica grew 28 per cent in 2007 over 2006.
"It is a very important market for us that has been growing tremendously," Claudia Cole of the Jamaican Tourism Board said about Canadian tourists. Airlines, too, have been facilitating our southern migration with more flights to Montego Bay. A Canadian firm has even bought the airport.
Regardless of where you stay in Jamaica, the island is small enough that you can visit most of the attractions from anywhere. (Courtesy Jamaica Tourist Board)
GM Canada delivers their plan to Ottawa
If these walls could talk
