After an exceptionally cold and snowy winter, Canadians from coast to coast can expect yet another hot, sweaty summer, a new long-range forecast from Environment Canada suggests.

If the forecast for the month of June, July and August turns out to be correct, it would be the 19th summer of the last 25 to feature higher than average temperatures, Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips said Wednesday.

"Whether it's climate change, whether it's cyclical, whatever it is, it's a reality that our summers are warmer than our ancestors put up with," Phillips said.

The prediction is good news for farmers, since the heat would combine with the potential for above-average rainfall in the country's most fertile regions for what could potentially be a "banner year" for the nation's food producers, he added.

"If they get the rain now, in the early part of summer, and then have it dry in August, well, my gosh, you couldn't have manufactured a better situation for them."

Temperatures in southern Ontario are already on the rise, and are expected to skyrocket above 30 degrees Celsius this weekend.

There is, however, a major downside to the forecast: a sweltering summer means high demand for electricity as homeowners turn to air conditioners for relief, particularly in Ontario, said Terry Young of the province's Independent Electricity System Operator.

"If we do get that hot summer that's being predicted, then you will see an impact on electricity demand because of the air conditioning effect," Young said.

A new generating station recently came online in Toronto, and the outlook for power supply in Ontario this summer is "relatively positive," said Young.

"At this point in time, under normal weather conditions, we're looking fine," he said, adding that the province is prepared to import power from other jurisdictions in the case of extreme weather or service breakdowns.

A recent report released by the Ontario Power Authority indicates the average Ontario resident used 4.6 per cent less electricity in 2007 than in 2005.

Warm weather usually increases demand south of the border -- a major customer for Canadian utilities that export surplus power. Manitoba Hydro, which sells electricity to the midwestern U.S., will likely be facing an increase in cross-border demand, said spokesman Glenn Schneider.