Warmest Canadian Cities in Winter
For warm weather in winter, nothing beats three cities in southwestern British Columbia: Victoria, Vancouver and Abbotsford.
Daily highs for Vancouver and Victoria are typically around 7 °C (44.6 °F) , while dropping to 1 °C (33.8 °F) at night. Abbotsford is only slightly cooler.
Here's a list of the major Canadian cities with daily average temperatures in winter above -5 °C (23 °F).
Further down the page are rankings of the cities with the most days above freezing during winter. Below that are the highest temperatures ever recorded in Canadian cities during December, January or February.
Major cities included in the weather rankings are the 26 Canadian metropolitan areas with the largest populations, according to Statistics Canada's 2006 census.
| City | Daily Average °C |
|---|---|
| Victoria | 5.5 |
| Vancouver | 3.9 |
| Abbotsford | 3.4 |
| Kelowna | -2.6 |
| St. Catharines – Niagara | -2.9 |
| Windsor | -3.1 |
| Oshawa | -3.9 |
| St. John's | -4.1 |
| Hamilton | -4.6 |
| Halifax | -4.8 |
| Toronto | -4.9 |
| London | -4.9 |
Days Without Freezing
The three southwest BC cities are the only large centres in Canada where temperatures remain above freezing for most the winter. The next three warmest cities, in southeastern Ontario, average 10 to 12 entire days of thawing in a winter.
| City | Days |
|---|---|
| Victoria | 78.7 |
| Vancouver | 56.7 |
| Abbotsford | 49.1 |
| Windsor | 11.7 |
| St. Catharines | 11.5 |
| Oshawa | 10.4 |
Hot Winter Days
Despite a generally chilly climate, the temperature in these large cities has risen above 20 °C (68 °F) during winter.
| City | Highest °C |
Date |
|---|---|---|
| Calgary | 22.6 | Feb 27, 1992 |
| St. Catharines – Niagara | 21.9 | Dec 3, 1982 |
| Hamilton | 20.7 | Dec 3, 1982 |
| Abbotsford | 20.6 | Feb 27, 1968 |
| Windsor | 20.4 | Feb 26, 2000 |
| Toronto | 20.0 | Dec 3, 1982 |