Canadian Cities With Most Uncomfortable Temperatures

One large Canadian city stands out from the rest for its frequent nasty temperatures.

Here you'll find temperature data and rankings for the major cities in Canada that least often have mild temperatures. These cities endure the greatest number of days with temperatures that are unpleasantly cold or uncomfortably hot.

There are also lists here of Canadian cities that put up with the most cold nights and the shortest frost-free season. (You can also see rankings for Canada's cities with the mildest temperatures.)

Among the top ten cities for all three measures of harsh weather are Regina, Saskatchewan; Saguenay, Quebec; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Thunder Bay, Ontario; and Winnipeg, Manitoba. But just one city ranks consistently among the top three for unpleasant temperatures: Thunder Bay.

Thunder Bay has more nights than any large Canadian city when the temperature drops below 2 °C (35.6 °F). It also ties for the shortest period between the last frost of spring and the first frost of fall, at 111 days. Plus it comes in third for the most days a year when the highest temperature is outside the comfortable range of 10 to 30 degrees Celsius (50 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit).

The cities included in these rankings are Canada's largest 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.

Most Days With Unpleasant Temperatures

From the east coast to the Rocky Mountains are Canadian cities where at least half the days have high temperatures that fall outside the mild zone of 10 to 30 °C. Their days often are either too hot for comfort, or more likely, are anything from brisk to freezing.

Total days a year on average with a maximum temperature below 10 °C (50 °F) or above 30 °C (86 °F)

City	Days a Year
Saguenay, Quebec	200
St. John's, Newfoundland	200
Thunder Bay, Ontario	195
Winnipeg, Manitoba	194
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	194
Regina, Saskatchewan	193
Sudbury, Ontario	191
Québec City, Quebec	187
Trois-Rivières, Quebec	184
Edmonton, Alberta	181

Most Cold Nights

Night-time lows below 2 °C are more common than not for Canada's large cities with the least comfortable temperatures. The top ten all have more than 200 nights a year when it's that chilly.

Average number of days annually when the minimum temperature is below 2 °C (35.6 °F)

City	Days a Year
Thunder Bay, Ontario	227
Calgary, Alberta	221
Regina, Saskatchewan	220
Saguenay, Quebec	214
Winnipeg, Manitoba	212
Sherbrooke, Quebec	208
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	205
Edmonton, Alberta	204
St. John's, Newfoundland	202
Sudbury, Ontario	202

Shortest Frost-Free Season

The frost free growing season is usually over in less than four months at some Canadian cities. These ten have the shortest period between their last spring frost and the first fall frost.

Average length of frost-free season plus mean dates of when the no-frost period begins and ends

City	Days	Last Frost	First Frost
Sherbrooke, Quebec	111	May 28	Sep 17
Thunder Bay, Ontario	111	May 30	Sep 19
Regina, Saskatchewan	115	May 20	Sep 12
Calgary, Alberta	117	May 21	Sep 16
Winnipeg, Manitoba	121	May 23	Sep 22
Saguenay, Quebec	123	May 22	Sep 23
Guelph, Ontario	125	May 18	Sep 22
Moncton, New Brunswick	131	May 23	Oct 2
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	131	May 11	Sep 20
Trois-Rivières, Quebec	132	May 17	Sep 27