Being Canadian entails weathering some harsh winters. Canadians from coast to coast find methods to deal with whatever Mother Nature throws their way when winter hits. Now that most of Canada is firmly immersed in winter weather, let’s look at 12 facts and trivia about Canadian winter that you might not know. Let’s get started!
Regina is both the coldest and warmest city in Canada.
Saskatchewan, stand tall! Regina has some of the lowest recorded temperatures in Canada (—50oC on February 1, 1893) and the highest (43.3oC on July 5, 1937).
Nunavut is the coldest territory in the winter is fact
Brrr. Nunavut is the coldest territory in the world, with an average daily temperature of -33.4oC. What about provinces? Manitoba has the coldest temperature at -25.1oC!
Wind chill record: -91 degrees Celsius
We Canadians understand that normal measured temperature generally conceals something worse: windchill. Pelly Bay in the Northwest Territories set a record low of -91C with the windchill in January 1989. Yikes.
The season with the most snowfall: 2,446.5 cm
Although the Atlantic provinces receive the most steady snowfall, Revelstoke, British Columbia, received almost 24 metres of snow in the winter of 1971-72 in fact. What a ski season to remember!
Canada’s lowest temperature: -63 degrees Celsius.
Do you believe your winter is going poorly? Back in 1947, the small Yukon hamlet of Snag was blasted with a severely cold day of -62.8 degrees Celsius. Even thinking about it makes our bones hurt.
Maximum single-day snowfall: 145cm
BC has broken yet another snow record. Tahtsa Lake in British Columbia’s interior received 145 cm of snow in one day. That occurred in February 1999, yet it’s safe to presume folks are still shoveling now.
Plaster Rock is the world’s largest pond hockey competition.
This should not come as a surprise. The World Pond Hockey Championships are held in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, and are played on a frozen surface large enough to accommodate 40 teams at once.
Churchill, Manitoba is the world’s polar bear capital.
Churchill, Manitoba has a unique claim to fame: it is home to the world’s most numerous polar bear populations. In fact, if you want to make some bitey friends, you may book a “polar bear hotel” vacation.
The greatest temperature change in Canada: is 41 degrees.
Alberta features a phenomenon known as a “chinook,” which causes enormous temperature changes at any time of year. For example, at the town of Pincher Creek in 1962, the temperature rose from -19 to +22 degrees Celsius in one hour. That’s a 41-degree difference in just 60 minutes! To say the least, insane.
Rideau Canal has the world’s largest naturally frozen skating rink.
In fact, every winter, Ottawa’s Rideau Canal freezes over and creates the world’s largest skating rink. It’s beautiful, very Canadian, and a lot of fun. After all, not all winter statistics are discouraging!
The Grand Banks is the world’s foggiest winter location.
Have you ever visited the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland? In fact, It’s the world’s foggiest spot, with 40% fog cover in the winter! If you think that’s extreme, they can reach 84% in the summer.
Ottawa is the world’s snowiest capital city.
Many people believe that Ottawa is the coldest capital, however in terms of mean daily winter temperature, it is really the third coldest. Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar and Kazakhstan’s Astana claim the top spots, but they don’t compete when it comes to snow!
That’s all there is to it, guys! See, we’re more than just maple syrup and polar bears. We also experience bizarre winter with amazing facts! Tell us about your favorite fact on our Instagram page; we enjoy hearing from you.
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