Well you will need to worry about the tide in the sense that if you want to swim at say 8 am and it is low tide, you may have a loooong walk through the tidal flats (very heavy mud) before reaching the water. That would be a workout in itself. But if there is a long pier or rock jetty, that may not be an issue since it may extend out to the water even at low tide. In terms of the workout, the tide won't make a difference once you are in the water. You are thinking of the current. The current will be traveling one direction, so you will be swimming against it either out or back. Some spots have stronger currents than others, so I would be careful on your first swim to not go too far one way since you may have a trailing current and end up with a very hard swim back if it is a strong current. Once you figure out the direction of the current, you will be able to judge how far you can go in future workouts. Ocean swimming is a great time, have fun!

Thanks for the advice! Being in the exact center of Canada (Toronto, of course) I don't know a whole lot about ocean swimming. I'm going to stick close to shore until I get the hang of it. :-)

You'd be well advised to talk to the locals, they'll know of any dangers\perils.
MY 1st ever ocean tri was off Locarno Beach in Vancouver, the tide was flowing pretty strong, which meant the middle leg of the triangular swim course was hard against the tide & the 1st and 3rd leg was swimming in a fast cross-current.
It took me 18 minutes [I learned to swim late in life] to do 600Metres! I got pushed way off course in the 1st leg, swam "uphill" in the middle, got pushed way off course in the 3rd leg- whew, it was the worst 600 m swim of my life.

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res, non verba

talk to the locals, ask if there are rip currents on the particular beach (if you get caught in one, swim PARALLEL to shore, not toward it)

if you're not used to ocean swimming, start at a beach with a lifeguard, and do "laps" that don't bring you very far out.

but talk to the locals :-)

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Thanks to everyone for the advice!

In the end, it turns out that I was out there during jellyfish breeding season and they were all in along the shore. I was going to try and swim anyways, until my wife got stung in the face.

I did find a freshwater lake and managed to swim exactly once in 2 weeks. It didn't work out as I hoped, but the cycling made up for it. Riding around the Cabot Trail is now on the bucket list.

Thanks again!

I think you meant centre of the universe, not canada. Centre of canada is more like Winnipeg. :)

Pfft. That's the geographical centre of Canada. Everyone knows that the Country revolves around Toronto! :-p