If there’s one thing I know about Canada — from social media to speaking with friends from other countries to just living here my whole life — we’re notorious for our winters.
As a child, I remember trudging through fluffy white hills and buying at least two pairs of snow pants almost every November (because one wasn’t enough) to deal with the extreme weather that was soon to come. From picking a favourite sledding spot to having a surefire babysitter lined up for snow days, my family was always prepared for the 20 to 40-centimetre snowfalls of Canada’s past.
From being long-lasting, frigid, and significant enough to name us the coldest country, it’s unsurprising that some people shiver at the thought of the Canadian winter — or at least did shiver at it.
On Valentine’s Day weekend, Toronto saw more than 26 centimetres of snow and even more in surrounding areas. Though this snowfall broke the news for its sheer size and impact on the city’s transit, that wasn’t the only newsworthy thing about it.
The following Monday, whether I was speaking with Uber drivers or chatting with friends and family, I consistently heard the same comment from everyone: “I haven’t seen this much snow in ages.”
Though normally I might call that an exaggeration, the use of the word “ages” from each person in this case wasn’t really an overstatement at all.
According to a CBC News story from December 2024, since 2014, Toronto has lost 13 days of below 0 C weather throughout the winter months. More specifically, we’ve lost “more than two weeks of winter weather due to ‘human-caused’ climate change.”
“Human-caused” — let those words sink in.
It’s also important to note that these drastic climate changes aren’t just represented throughout the city of Toronto. They’re all over the country. Besides the lack of snow coverage in Ontario, the Government of Canada reports increasing snowfall amounts along southern Canada and British Columbia due to the irreversible climate shifts all around us.
When I first moved to Toronto for school, I thought the lack of snow was due to living in a more southern city by the waterfront. As I shuffled through the slushy streets of melted snow that refused to stay on the ground, I assumed that winter in the city would always be this way.
My friends who grew up in Toronto would tell me they never liked experiencing winter here because it was “always this gross.” At that time, however, I didn’t know they were just talking about the impact on city transit due to the narrow streets.
So, as I watched the snow flitter to the ground this past Valentine’s Day weekend and pile up, it was a huge surprise. Rather than it being a common, mundane occurrence, the snow took me back to ten years ago, playing and helping my dad shovel the driveway every hour, topping it all off with hot chocolate and an extra layer of socks to keep warm.
As I sat there and imagined better times, I questioned why I had to look back more than 10 years ago for such a comforting winter memory. And then it dawned on me that I had to look back that far because it’s been that long.
According to Toronto Weather Stats, the city hasn’t experienced a snowstorm of this magnitude since January of 2022. Before that, Toronto alone hadn’t seen that much snow since 2019, and before that, in 2014.
While many people may attribute this to shifting weather patterns — like the constantly recurring El Niño phenomenon we hear about in the news, the concern is that these patterns shouldn’t be occurring this frequently in the first place.
As much as I, and I’m sure many other Canadians, want to look back on this past snowstorm as a fond reminder of childhood experiences, that snow-filled weekend should be taken as a warning.
When so many things in our lives are unfathomable — like skyrocketing grocery prices, rent, and other unsustainable living conditions — it’s easy to get wrapped up in bubbly, comforting nostalgia. But, whether unconsciously or not, we owe it to ourselves to gain knowledge on our climate impact.
I now realize that although time is often the indicator and creator of nostalgia, this time, it’s our own selves. More specifically, it’s our own fault.
I’m not saying you can’t enjoy fond memories from the past; rather, when something that is supposed to be an integral part of Canadian living crosses the line into nostalgic territory, it should serve as a wake-up call.
Experiencing snowstorms is something we’re not accustomed to anymore, but it should serve as a clear indication of climate change and a larger problem at hand. Moving forward, we should channel these nostalgic yearnings for a better time and strive to make them part of our current reality.
We obviously can’t make 20 centimetres of snowfall appear on the ground again with the snap of our fingers — but it could be possible with more consideration for our planet.
There are countless resources for learning more about these drastic changes and how we can work to reverse them. From research and suggestions laid out by the Canadian Government to environmental activism organizations such as the David Suzuki Foundation’s work, plenty of websites outline how we can all take better care of our environment by making changes in our own lives.
At the end of the day, it’s simple. While the feeling of nostalgia and being reminded of some of our favourite moments can be wonderful, it’s important to keep in mind that our experiences should be evaluated carefully.
At the risk of sounding frantic — which I honestly am — I’ll only say this once. We all need to make a change, and we need to make it fast.
Do with that what you will, but whatever it is, we should collectively start now.