Canadians: how does your country continue to run in the depths of winter?

Canadians have been dealing with "winter conditions " for over 400 years, EVERY YEAR. We dress for it, build our homes for it and of course, we have invented numerous things that help us live with it. Like snow plows, snow blowers and snowmobiles. Where I live, ihe largest city in Canada, Toronto, the city owns over 1100 snow plow and sanding /salting trucks, PLUS there are thousands of privately owned contractor trucks that plow private property, such as shopping mall parking lots and factories. The drivers are standing by at the "sand camps " so they are available on a 15 minute call , as soon as the snow is above 5 cm. . We also use "salt brine liquid " that is sprayed on the roads to prevent icing . Part of our being prepared is "attitude " about winter. We embrace it, have fun during it and find ways to make it easier to survive it. Winter carnivals, outside cooking competitions and sports all have the Canadians out side and laughing at the cold. Even a simple thing like how wide we make our roads, with lots of space on the sides, to pile the snow on, or the placement of sand boxes on hills, so the city workers can shovel sand on to the sidewalks, to make it easier for the pedestrians to walk on them. Snow tires on all four wheels, a snow and ice scraper in the car, a full jug of minus 45 C windsheild washer fluid, a set of battery cables, a warm hat andf gloves, and of course some energy food, is a standard in Canada, for the winter. Jim B. Toronto.

Well, it doesn't always continue as normal. If conditions are unusually severe, some things can shut down temporarily, or the police ask people not to drive unless they have to, roads get closed because they're too dangerous, schools close, people are late for work if they can get there at all, snow brings down trees on power lines. Doesn't happen often but it does happen. It's mostly a matter of being prepared. Cities that regularly get a lot of snow have the equipment to deal with it before it gets bad. In a big snowstorm, ploughs start before it even finishes snowing. They have things in place to deal with the snow. Same for individuals. You make sure you have a snow shovel, salt or sand for walkways, proper clothing, and that your car and house are ready for a normal winter where you live. There are also different kinds of cold and different kinds of snow. Snow and very cold weather are easier to deal with in many ways than conditions closer to above freezing. Dry fluffy snow is easier to drive in than thick wet snow. I live on Vancouver Island, where we don't get much very cold weather. But when we do, my car door locks freeze, the car door seals freeze. Our usual winter weather is rainy so everything is damp. But after a few days of below freezing weather, the locks and door seals dry out because there's no moisture in the atmosphere.

I'm in the UK, but you basically answered yourself - We are not used to it. In Canada or anywhere it snows regularly, snow ploughs or snow blowers are a basic part of life. From what I've seen on TV, as well as the big truck types for doing roads, there are lawnmower-size ones that people use for paths and drives. I've found a couple of links on youtube, below: (The second one is people messing about, but shows the machine).

You've gotten alot of good answers, I'll just mention that cars in Canada have block heaters, meaning we plug them in and the engine is kept warm so that your cars start even at temps of -40C.

When you live in a country that gets snow on a regular basis, you learn to be ready for it and expect it. So you adapt. Every Canadian city or town that I know of have either their own winter crews, or they hire companies under contract each year to handle snow removal and road de-icing. It is no surprise that the UK may have to close schools, airports, and roads are impossible to drive on since you are simply not equipped to handle those conditions. This is not meant in a mean or condescneding way, just as a fact. For the amount of times that London gets any significant accumulation of snow, it would be a huge waste of taxpayer dollars to have road crews and equipment paid and maintained each winter season for the one snowfall you may have every so often. In most responsible Canadian cities, someone at the public works department reviews the weather forecasts and has crews standing by on days when a snowstorm is expected. Within the first hour of the roads getting snow covered, snowplows are out to clear the snow from the road and lay down a thin layer or sand and salt mixture. At all major airports, de-icing crews are standing by and equipped to clean ice buildup off the wings of aircraft and ready to take off. It actually takes longer for the aircraft to taxi over to the de-icing area than it does to do the de-icing procedure itself. If we get serious snowstorms or freezing rain, Canadian schoolboards will make decisions to close certain schools, usually ones that have school bus service are the first to close, since the yellow schoolbuses are not able to safely make their routes. Inner city schools where public transit is available are usually the last to close. Many of us have two sources of heat at our home. Hydro electricity is pretty inexpensive here, so that is often our first source of heat. We also have gas, oil, or wood furnaces or fireplaces that we use if/when the power goes out. I have a home office set up, so luckily as long as my cable DSL service is not down and the power does not go out, I can work from home and never have to deal with the icy or snow-covered roads. But sometimes we do get some wild storms here too. I live in Montreal and about twice a season we get as much as 30cm (1ft) of snow in a single 12hr or 24hr period. If that happens while you are at work, it makes for a wonderful drive home (sarcasm used here). I once spent 3.5hrs driving home with snow piling on my car when it normally takes me about 30min. And in 1998, Montreal area experienced the worst ice storm in my lifetime, leaving hundreds of thousands of people with out power for anywhere from a few days to almost the whole cold month of January. Countries like Canada, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Russia...all have become accustomed to cold weather and snow after having experienced it for so many years. You just learn to deal with it.

Where I have property in Northern Ontario, it usually snows quite a bit. In all my years there, my children's school had only closed once, for two consecutive days. It was due to extremely cold temperatures though....not snow. Our house is right on highway 66....I've never seen it closed except for when a logging truck hit a moose and then some trees. And once, over Christmas break, we couldn't get out of the front of our house, as the wind had pushed the snow drifts right up over the roof. We had to use the back door, and then wait on our neighbour to come by with his plow to pull the snow away from the garage so we could get our trucks out. But that was a rarity. It hasn't happened again since. We've never owned a plow, or even a snow blower. I guess you just get used to the weather, and adapt. If it is snowing, I know I have to get a bit earlier to ensure I get to where I am going on time......to allow to drive for the road conditions, to clean off my car...to plug in the block heater. School buses do the same things. Plows are out early. Roads sanded. I use good winter tires and drive a truck with four wheel drive......but there were many people I know up North that have only ever had a small car and they still get by just fine. That being said, where I am right now in Southern Ontario.....no snow....just wet, sloppy rain/sleet. Its disgusting. The weather eye is calling for a bit of snow today though.....hopefully some sticks. We had next to nothing here last winter.

good question!! I would also ask the Russians!!!!! :)

Where I live in the BC interior we are used to it. There are lots of plow and sand trucks, everybody has a snow shovel or snow blower, we make sure that outside hoses and sprinkler systems are purged, we put winter tires on our cars in October, we dress warmly and take extra time to go places. The BC coast is just like the UK though. The climate is very similar, wet, damp, and rain through the winter; sometimes with no snow at all at sea level. But when it does snow, well.... one inch of rain equals one FOOT of snow. The snow removal equipment can't keep up, yuppies who drive BMW or Mercedes convertibles with performance tires still feel the need to make it into the office. The snow quickly turns to slush, which is much worse to deal with, and storm drains get clogged. Black ice and freezing rain makes it especially treacherous.

We are prepared for it. For example, it is -40C as I write this (in the Yukon). My vehicle has a block heater, and is plugged in, so that when I try to start it, I am confident (well, hopeful!) that it will start. Most people have some sort of cover over their radiator so that the cold does not cool their engines too much. Some people also have battery warmers. I have to admit, I am having a bit of trouble with my well - my water line froze yesterday, and getting it thawed out has been a trial. My driveway is ploughed, and the road out to the highway is as well. The highway is maintained by snow ploughs and sand trucks regularly, so while it is snow covered, it is okay to drive on. In fact, this cold, it isn't even slippery. In the south in the cities, when it snows, they call in dozens of snow ploughs, sanding and salting trucks, etc. Major routes will be ploughed by early morning - 6am or so. Secondary roads by later in the morning. Even after a major snowfall, everything is pretty much running again by about noon. Some side streets in residential areas might not be ploughed for a day or two. When it is warmer than -20 to -25C, they put salt on the roads that melts all the ice and snow. So, a road may have some snow on it going to work, but the drive home will be on bare (perhaps a bit damp) pavement. Many people will have snow blowers to do their driveways with, or hire companies to clear them. Almost everyone will have snow shovels. A popular job for entrepreneurial kids is to go door to door offering to shovel walks and driveways. With all of this, a major snowfall, say 1' or so, is usually completely cleared up in a day or two - if that. Airports are the same - ploughs keep the runways clear, and de-icing equipment keeps the planes safe to fly. Of course, we expect this, and are used to it - mostly! In some areas, like Vancouver, they rarely get snow, and a 1' snowfall there will paralyze the city. I lived in Ottawa, and a bad snowfall would stop the school buses running, but there was an announcement system that had all the radio stations telling which schools or school boards would not have buses running - although schools would still generally be open. It would take a huge storm to actually close schools in Ottawa. Cities, and other municipalities have snow clearing budgets, equipment, and personnel, all on standby at this time of year. The system is designed to allow for normal day to day work, but also to ramp up when a big storm happens. Cities will have "snow dumps" - places to pile the snow that is removed from the streets. Often, the ploughs will go through first, to open up the roadways. But, the snowbanks can become very large, and at some point, this snow is collected, and taken to these dumps, where it is left to melt. I have seen snow still melting into July in some of the larger dumps in Ottawa - at temperatures well over 30C!