A popular portrayal of Canada is as the “Great White North” – a land of perpetual winter. Most people know that’s simply not the case, but many are likely unsure about what Canadian weather is actually like. Even fewer are likely to know that Canadian weather might actually provide a benefit to your business.
“Take off, to the Great White North, take off, it’s a beauty way to go.”
That’s the first line on a comedy song from Bob and Doug McKenzie – a famous Canadian duo portrayed by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas – that played directly on the Canadian stereotype: this is a land of long winters and cold weather. And while you may not have heard that song, plenty of people did – the album sold at least a million copies and the song hit #16 on the Billboard 100 singles chart.
While this depiction of Canadian weather is the perfect fodder for comedy, it doesn’t exactly give you a clear view of the Canadian reality. But even if you don’t believe Canada is a land of perpetual ice and snow, there’s a good chance you don’t know that Canadian weather isn’t all that bad. In fact, we think it’s good for business.
Don’t believe us? Read on.
Key Takeaways
- “Canadian weather” isn’t a thing – you’ll find weather that runs the full gamut across this massive country.
- Choosing a location like Waterloo means getting the opportunity to test your products in a wide variety of weather types – from snowstorms to heatwaves. For companies working in robotics, defence or automotive, this is the perfect testing ground for real-world conditions.
- If you pick the right location, you get the sweet spot weather-wise that delivers the best of each season. For employees who love a wide variety of sports and recreation, this means an incredible quality of life.
- A wide variety of weather doesn’t necessarily mean extreme weather. A place like Waterloo can deliver many types of weather without the extreme weather you might find in California, Texas, Florida or the American south.
There is no such thing as “Canadian weather”
First, we do need to make something clear: there is no such thing as Canadian weather. This is a massive country. Our southernmost point is farther south than Chicago or Detroit and our northernmost point is just short of the North Pole. Winter in Edmonton might be very cold and dry, while in Vancouver it’s temperate and wet. Northern Ontario can get many, many feet of snow, while southern Ontario gets just a bit (though it feels like a lot when you’re clearing your driveway).
It’s the same in the summer – in the furthest reaches of the north the warm weather is… still quite chilly. In southern Ontario, summer is hot – if you don’t have a frame of reference, you might be surprised to learn that the mean daily maximum temperature in Waterloo is warmer than San Francisco and only slightly cooler than Los Angeles or Atlanta.
In other words, if anyone says “Canadian weather is bad,” they don’t know what they’re talking about. For the rest of this article, we’ll use the weather you’d find in the Waterloo area as the example.
The perfect place for product testing
In Waterloo, we get a lot of weather. In the summer, we get truly hot weather – usually, but not always, humid – with more temperate weather following occasional heavy thunderstorms. In the winter, we often kick off the season with heavy snowfall, due to the “lake effect” – cold air hitting warm water in Lake Huron and carrying it right over Waterloo. Our autumn is often pretty mild and our spring… barely seems to exist. Most years it feels like we go from winter to summer within about a week.
And for some businesses, this is great news.
In a recent interview with a senior leader from a local drone manufacturer, we heard that they love the weather variability in the Waterloo area because it gives them a chance to test their products in all types of weather. Will their drone fly in a snowstorm? Heavy rain? Baking heat? Can it operate at -34 degrees Celsius (-29.5 degrees Fahrenheit)? Or what about 38 degrees Celsius (101 degrees Fahrenheit)?
Waterloo is a place where they can find out.
And that same insight goes for a whole host of companies with a wide variety of products. While this drone company might be concerned about achieving objectives in a warzone, another might be worried about whether their robot can deliver packages in all types of weather. An automotive company might want to identify whether their autonomous driving technology works in a snowstorm. Yet another might want to know how their new battery chemistry holds up in blistering heat and freezing cold.
These are things you simply can’t test – in the real world, at least – in a place that doesn’t have weather variability.
Researchers from the University of Waterloo testing autotech in the wintertime
Experience the best every season has to offer
Weather variability doesn’t necessarily mean harsh weather. Yes, we have cold snaps and heat waves like everyone else, but variety doesn’t mean we live at the extremes.
And that’s important for your workers.
We don’t get the heat of the southern United States, or the cold you’ll find in other parts of Canada (or the northern US states like Minnesota or North Dakota). The way we look at it is that Waterloo gets the best every season has to offer, and as an employee that makes Waterloo a great place to live.
In the summer, we get hot weather that’s perfect for a drink on the patio, every outdoor sport you can imagine, long days at the park with your kids and everything in between. We’re 60-90 minutes away from beautiful beaches on Lake Huron and Lake Erie. The best part? No sharks. Take that, San Francisco. Oh, and because we’re a bit farther north, our summer evenings are light until 9pm or later.
In the winter, you get mild temperatures – relative to those cold places we’d already mentioned – but enough snow to make it an absolute winter wonderland. Perfect for skiing – cross-country or downhill – or skating at one of our many outdoor rinks.
The autumn is where it’s at, though. People always talk about the changing leaves in New England, but just wait until you experience fall colours in southern Ontario. The temperate weather is perfect for the annual Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest – one of the world’s largest – and Halloween. It might actually be the best time of year.
If you think variety is the spice of life, this is a great place to live, which means it’s a great place for your employees to work, too.
Reduce your weather-related risk
In California, they get wildfires (and earthquakes). In Texas or Florida, a hurricane can disrupt power infrastructure, wipe out roads or worse. In the south, extreme heat can threaten lives.
And climate change is making this all worse.
In Waterloo, you won’t find nearly as much extreme weather. As noted, we get heat waves and cold snaps. Increasingly, we get tornado warnings, though they usually don’t amount to much. We did have a few days with smoke in the air from wildfires, but they weren’t anywhere near us – there was no real danger if you stayed inside.
As weather goes, this is a low-risk zone. It’s the kind of place where you don’t need to worry about your capital investment – it’ll be fine – or the health and well-being of your employees due to increasingly difficult weather. You can operate knowing that weather poses a minimal risk to your operations and necessary infrastructure like power and roads. Your employees will be able to get to work, your products will be able to ship and your plan for business continuity following a weather event can gather dust in a closet somewhere.