Coldest Canadian Cities

The title of Canadian city with the coldest weather can be claimed by Saguenay, Quebec; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Sherbrooke, Quebec and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Each city excels in its own way at being really cold.

Saguenay has the coldest days. Its average of 8.2 degrees Celsius (46.8 degrees Fahrenheit) gives it the lowest daily maximum temperature among all of Canada's major cities.

Thunder Bay claims the title for Canada's city having the lowest daily minimum temperature with its annual average of just -3.4 °C (25.9 °F).

Winnipeg boasts the most days when the temperture never rises above freezing. It typically has 113 frosty days each year.

Sherbrooke and Thunder Bay share the title for shortest frost-free season, both averaging just 111 days.

Rounding out the top three in most categories is Regina, Saskatchewan. It ranks second for coldest nights and third for both measures of freezing weather.

The tables below list the major Canadian cities ranked for the lowest maximum and minimum temperature averages, the most freezing days and the shortest frost-free period.

The cities included in these rankings are all of Canada's large metropolitan areas. These are the 33 urban regions that had over 100,000 people according to the 2011 census by Statistics Canada. The temperature data are averages of weather measurements made from 1981 to 2010.

Coldest Climate

Canada's cities with the coldest daytime temperatures have an average high temperature that's below 10 degrees Celsius (50 ° Fahrenheit).

Average daily maximum temperature annually

City	High °F	High °C
Saguenay, Quebec	47	8.2
Winnipeg, Manitoba	48	8.7
Thunder Bay, Ontario	48	8.7
St. John's, Newfoundland	48	9.0
Sudbury, Ontario	49	9.2
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	49	9.2
Québec City, Quebec	49	9.2
Edmonton, Alberta	49	9.3
Regina, Saskatchewan	49	9.3

Canadian cities with the chilliest nights have an average low temperature that's below freezing. Ten of the country's large cities make this list.

Average daily minimum temperature annually

City	Low °F	Low °C
Thunder Bay, Ontario	26	-3.4
Regina, Saskatchewan	26	-3.2
Winnipeg, Manitoba	27	-2.7
Saguenay, Quebec	27	-2.6
Calgary, Alberta	29	-1.9
Sherbrooke, Quebec	29	-1.6
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	29	-1.5
Sudbury, Ontario	30	-1.0
Edmonton, Alberta	30	-1.0
Québec City, Quebec	31	-0.8

Most Freezing Weather

Canada's coldest cities have more than 80 days a year when the temperature never rises above freezing for the entire day.

Average number of days per year that the temperature stays below 0 °C (32 °F).

City	Days
Winnipeg, Manitoba	113
Saguenay, Quebec	105
Regina, Saskatchewan	103
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	103
Sudbury, Ontario	100
Thunder Bay, Ontario	96
Québec City, Quebec	89
Trois-Rivières, Quebec	88
Edmonton, Alberta	83

The growing season is the shortest at these major Canadian cities. They all have a frost free season that usually spans less than 130 days.

Length of frost-free season – average number of days

City	Days
Sherbrooke, Quebec	111
Thunder Bay, Ontario	111
Regina, Saskatchewan	115
Calgary, Alberta	117
Winnipeg, Manitoba	121
Saguenay, Quebec	123
Guelph, Ontario	125