Hottest Places in Canada

A heat dome hanging over British Columbia in late June 2021 melted Canada's long-standing record high temperature. Up until then, the highest temperature officially recorded in Canada was 45 °C (113 °F) on July 5, 1937 at Midale and at Yellow Grass, two small towns in southeastern Saskatchewan.

That record high lasted nearly 84 years and was rarely approached. Temperatures above 43 °C hadn't been felt anywhere across Canada since the 1940s.

The 2021 BC heat wave suddenly pushed temperatures well past the previous record and into the upper 40s Celsius. Several weather stations across the southern BC interior repeatedly topped the long-standing national high. Kelowna, Kamloops, Ashcroft, Lytton and Lillooet all saw their temperature climb above 45 °C on one or more days from June 27 to 30, 2021. A new highest temperature for Canada was set at 49.6 °C (121.4 °F) recorded on June 29, 2021 at Lytton, BC. The next day a wildfire raged through Lytton, destroying most of the town.

Western Canada's Highest Temperatures

The hottest places in Canada are in the southern prairies and the southern interior of British Columbia.

Heat waves of over 40 °C (104 °F) have repeatedly swept through towns and cities in southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the driest regions of British Columbia.

Canada's hottest days ever include July 11 and 12, 1936 in Manitoba and Ontario; July 5, 1937 in Saskatchewan; July 16 to 18, 1941 in BC and Alberta; and June 27 to 30, 2021 in BC and AB. Each of these extreme hot spells set records in several towns and cities.

Local heat records got smashed in late June 2021 across an exceptionally large swath of BC and Alberta. Temperatures above 40 °C were recorded from Port Alberni on Vancouver Island to Quesnel in central BC to Cranbrook in southeastern BC and to Grande Prairie in northwestern Alberta.

Highest temperatures recorded for some of the hottest places in western Canada. Many of these spots have topped 40 degrees Celsius on more than one day.
Location °C Day
Lytton, British Columbia 49.6 June 29, 2021
Ashcroft, British Columbia 48.1 June 29, 2021
Kamloops, British Columbia 47.3 June 29, 2021
Lillooet, British Columbia 46.8 June 29, 2021
Kelowna, British Columbia 45.7 June 29, 2021
Osoyoos, British Columbia 45.0 June 29, 2021
Midale and Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan 45.0 July 5, 1937
Clearwater, British Columbia 44.9 June 30, 2021
Summerland, British Columbia 44.7 June 30, 2021
Merritt, British Columbia 44.5 June 29, 2021
St Albans, Manitoba 44.4 July 11, 1936
Emerson, Manitoba 44.4 July 12, 1936
Vernon, British Columbia 44.2 June 29, 2021
Penticton, British Columbia 44.2 June 30, 2021
Princeton, British Columbia 44.0 June 29, 2021
Brandon and Morden, Manitoba 43.3 July 11, 1936
Regina, Saskatchewan 43.3 July 5, 1937
Fort Macleod, Alberta 43.3 July 18, 1941
Pemberton, British Columbia 43.2 June 28, 2021
Castlegar, British Columbia 43.1 June 30, 2021
Squamish, British Columbia 43.0 June 28, 2021
Abbotsford, British Columbia 42.9 June 28, 2021
Whistler Village, British Columbia 42.9 June 29, 2021
Oliver, British Columbia 42.8 July 27, 1939
Port Alberni, British Columbia 42.7 June 28, 2021
Spences Bridge, BC 42.5 July 23, 1994
Medicine Hat, Alberta 42.2 July 12, 1886
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan 41.7 August 6, 1949
Quesnel, British Columbia 41.7 June 29, 2021
Grande Prairie, Alberta 41.5 June 29, 2021
Creston, British Columbia 41.4 June 29, 2021
Hope, British Columbia 41.4 June 28, 2021
Jasper, Alberta 41.2 June 30, 2021
Golden, British Columbia 40.9 June 30, 2021
Winnipeg, Manitoba 40.6 August 7, 1949
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 40.6 June 5, 1988
Cranbrook, British Columbia 40.1 June 29, 2021
Fort McMurray Airport, Alberta 40.1 June 30, 2021

Hottest Temperatures in Eastern Canada

A few places in Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador have also recorded temperatures over 40 °C. Unlike elsewhere in Canada, the other maritime provinces have yet to top 40 °C.

The hottest two days for Canada's maritime provinces were August 18 and 19, 1935 when records were set in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The temperatures of mid-August 1935 set many records that have remained unbeaten for over 70 years.

Highest temperatures recorded for places in eastern Canada.
Location °C Day
Atikokan, Ontario 42.2 July 11 & 12, 1936
Northwest River, Labrador 41.7 Aug 11, 1914
Thunder Bay, Ontario 40.3 Aug 7, 1983
Windsor, Ontario 40.2 June 25, 1988
Temiscamingue, Quebec 40.0 July 6, 1921
Woodstock, New Brunswick 39.4 Aug 18, 1935
Rexton, New Brunswick 39.4 Aug 19, 1935
Collegeville, Nova Scotia 38.3 Aug 19, 1935
Charlottetown, PEI 36.7 Aug 19, 1935
Back to Top