Canada’s Best Places to Live for Weather 2018

By Claire Brownell on July 31, 2018
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Canada isn't famous for its balmy conditions. But some spots are less awful

City of Edmundston, New Brunswick (Wikipedia)

Let’s face it — no one moves to Canada for the weather. The winters are long, cold and snowy. The summers can get downright fiery. And for those of us on the coast or near bodies of water, it rains — a lot. But there are certainly some parts of the country with better conditions than others. And we’ve got a list of cities where the weather is, well, the least terrible.

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In rainy B.C., consider Kamloops, where you can expect precipitation just 106 days a year. In the cold prairies, Moose Jaw, Sask. boasts a not-too-shabby 115 days with a high above 20C in an average each year.

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It’s hard to avoid the snow in Quebec, but in l’Assomption, and nearby Lavaltrie, just north of Montreal, you only have to deal with precipitation an average of 137 days a year. Likewise, in rainy Atlantic Canada, Edmunstun, N.B. is the closest thing to warm and dry. To rank the cities with the best weather, we look at Environment Canada’s climate normals data, which are based on three-decade averages of statistics on temperature and precipitation. Living through a drought brings as many problems as living through a constant deluge of rain, so we reward cities that have few rainy days, but a total amount of rainfall that’s as close as possible to an ideal of 700mm. We also reward cities with lots of days with a minimum temperature above 0C and a high temperature above 20C. The weather is worth 10 per cent of the main Best Places to Live ranking. For more information, please see the methodology page.

The Top 10: British Columbia

Rank in B.C.	City	Province	Annual days with rain or snow	Annual days above 20C
1	Kamloops	BC	105.58	131.99
2	Summerland	BC	119.2	129
3	Penticton	BC	119.22	128.98
4	West Kelowna	BC	119.9	123.8
5	Vernon	BC	135.78	107.54
6	Lake Country	BC	131.4	115.4
7	Coldstream	BC	140.5	121.9
8	Kelowna	BC	136.64	123.46
9	Salmon Arm	BC	137.96	104.5
10	Nelson	BC	162.53	115.19

The Top 10: Alberta

Rank in Alberta	City	Province	Annual days with rain or snow	Annual days above 20C
1	Medicine Hat	AB	94.73	120.41
2	Lethbridge County	AB	105	112.1
3	Brooks	AB	92.41	115.39
4	Foothills No. 31	AB	110.7	95.3
5	Okotoks	AB	110.67	95.3
6	Calgary	AB	111.77	87.21
7	Strathmore	AB	111.77	87.21
8	Chestermere	AB	111.8	87.2
9	Rocky View County	AB	111.8	87.2
10	Airdrie	AB	111.8	87.2

The Top 10: The Prairies

Rank in the Prairies	City	Province	Annual days with rain or snow	Annual days above 20C
1	Winkler	MB	102.7	108.8
2	Selkirk	MB	89.89	102.09
3	St. Andrews	MB	102.1	106.5
4	Moose Jaw	SK	110.16	115.14
5	St. Clements	MB	101.3	105.4
6	Portage la Prairie	MB	97.71	104.45
7	Springfield	MB	121	102.2
8	Estevan	SK	116.39	113.46
9	Winnipeg	MB	125.34	109.65
10	Steinbach	MB	111.06	106.62

The Top 10: Ontario

Rank in Ontario	City	Province	Annual days with rain or snow	Annual days above 20C
1	Thorold	ON	119.7	115.3
2	Toronto	ON	145.49	117.23
3	Oakville	ON	117.55	107.18
4	Uxbridge	ON	143.1	118.74
5	Mississauga	ON	126.19	102.78
6	Brampton	ON	145.94	122.26
7	Burlington	ON	135.77	125.32
8	Kingsville	ON	129.3	123.7
9	Leamington	ON	129.33	123.67
10	Vaughan	ON	137.43	116.77

The Top 10: Quebec

Rank in Quebec	City	Province	Annual days with rain or snow	Annual days above 20C
1	L'Assomption	QC	137	113
2	Lavaltrie	QC	137	113
3	Mercier	QC	139	117
4	Saint-Charles-Borromée	QC	127	113
5	Joliette	QC	127	113
6	Sorel-Tracy	QC	148	113
7	Gatineau	QC	161	117
8	Westmount	QC	163	117
9	Mont-Royal	QC	163	117
10	Saint-Constant	QC	163	117

The Top 10: Atlantic Canada

Rank in Atlantic Canada	City	Province	Annual days with rain or snow	Annual days above 20C
1	Edmundston	NB	128.33	92.6
2	West Hants	NS	134.8	99.2
3	Kings, Subd. A	NS	134.8	99.2
4	Kings, Subd. B	NS	134.8	99.2
5	Riverview	NB	143.7	91.8
6	Fredericton	NB	148.93	104.38
7	Paradise	NL	209.9	45.5
8	Mount Pearl	NL	209.9	45.5
9	Moncton	NB	160.77	99.12
10	New Glasgow	NS	158.7	89.25

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