Cold Weather in Canada

Coldest Canadian Cities in Winter

Winnipeg has the coldest winter weather of any major Canadian city. Other chilly centres during the three winter months are located in the prairie provinces and Quebec. Eight large cities in Canada have average daily temperatures during winter of less than -10 °C (14 °F).

Daily average temperature in December, January and February for Canada's coldest cities.
City Daily Average °C
Winnipeg-15.3
Saskatoon-14.8
Saguenay-13.9
Regina-13.8
Sudbury-11.5
Quebec-11.0
Trois-Rivieres-10.3
Sherbrooke-10.1

Average daily high and low temperatures during winter span about ten degrees Celsius in Canada's cities with the coldest climates. In ten of the largest 25 cities, the temperature never gets above -4.0 °C (24.8 °F) on a typical winter's day.

Average daily temperature extremes for December, January and February.
City Maximum
°C
Minimum
°C
Winnipeg -10.3 -20.2
Saskatoon -9.6 -19.9
Regina -8.4 -19.1
Saguenay -8.4 -19.2
Sudbury -6.5 -16.4
Quebec -6.3 -15.7
Edmonton -5.4 -14.3
Trois-Rivieres -5.2 -15.3
Ottawa -4.4 -13.2
Sherbrooke -4.1 -16.1

Fewest Winter Thaws

Although temperatures do fluctuate from the averages, several major cities in Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta rarely have a complete day of thawing from December to February.

Average number of days that the temperature stays above 0 °C (32 °F) in December, January and February.
City Days
Saskatoon0.1
Regina0.1
Saguenay0.5
Winnipeg0.5
Quebec1.0
Sudbury1.1
Trois-Rivieres1.7
Edmonton1.8