Click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.
Prince Albert's Michelle McKeaveney is vacationing in Mexico and on Sunday this was the view from her condo. (Image Credit: Submitted/ Michelle McKeaveney)
International incident

Sask. residents vacationing in Mexico making best of a bad situation

Feb 23, 2026 | 2:45 PM

Hunker down and keep a low profile.

Those are the instructions that have been provided to Saskatoon’s Darwin and Vanessa Gardiner who are at a resort outside Puerto Vallarta, one of several regions in Mexico subjected to retaliatory violence after the killing of a cartel leader on Sunday.

Darwin recalled how he and a number of other Canadians gathered at a local sports bar to watch the gold medal men’s hockey game between Canada and the United States.

“We headed to the beach and we could see smoke coming from the burning vehicles and hearing explosions on both sides,” he recalled.

Foreign Affairs minister Anita Anand has instructed Canadians in Mexico to follow local instructions, and register with the Canadian government. So far more than 26,000 Canadians in Mexico have registered with Global Affairs Canada. All flights home are suspended.

Darwin who said they feel safe and well looked after by the staff at their resort, added they are scheduled to fly home Wednesday.

“From my gut instincts, we’re probably going to be delayed,” he said.

Darwin added his thoughts are with the staff who have family in the danger zones and yet still come to work to help the visitors.

Prince Albert’s Kelly Fraser is in Mexico with her mother and celebrating her 50th birthday. They are located about eight minutes south of Puerto Vallarta.

“We feel very lucky to be where we are and not located directly downtown Puerto Vallarta. We can’t imagine how scared everyone is down there. We have received a lot of care and concern from loved ones and we appreciate it,” she said.

“It is just a strange eerie feeling here today. There are little to no boats on the ocean, nobody at the beach, nobody in the pools and no traffic on the roads. It’s very quiet and unsettling.”

A view from Fraser's condo.
A view from Fraser’s condo. (Image Credit: Submitted/ Kelly Fraser)

Fraser also confirmed receipt of an email from the federal government, stating they were to lock ourselves in their condo and not to go outside. Their landlord has since informed them they are able to stay there as long as needed.

“Not going to lie. It’s not exactly how I wanted my first international trip to go,” she said.

North Battleford’s Janaya Pollard is on vacation with her husband.

“Our hearts are just heavy for this beautiful city and the people who live here. It’s hard to see a place we love going through this,” she said.

Pollard recalled her Sunday morning started peacefully with a walk on the beach. Everything felt normal until they looked up and saw multiple columns of thick, black smoke rising in the distance.

“By the time we turned back toward our resort, the energy was changing. Returning back to our resort, the staff here moved incredibly fast—they cleared everyone off the sand and out of the ocean immediately.”

Pollard explained there are people at their resort who were supposed to fly home today. The earliest they’ve been rebooked is Thursday.

And while acknowledging activity in the city has slowed down, the alerts are still recommending people stay sheltered and safe. She said due to staffing issues, their resort ended up closing a couple pools and bars.

“The biggest concern right now is access for trucks to be able to bring in food and water while everyone waits this out. Some resorts that aren’t overly stocked are in shortages so we are told. Thankfully where we are staying we have not noticed a change and seem to be able to have full access to everything as it was before this happened.”

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell

— with files from the Canadian Press and Alyssa Rudolph