With the United States, and especially the sunbelt states, being the world’s largest COVID-19 petri dish for the foreseeable future, Canadian snowbirds planning their annual migration south in early 2021 are having to rethink their warm, sunny vacation for a cool staycation.
Many, especially susceptible seniors, apparently are. Statistics released by Google Analytics, for instance, show that Canadians searching for house rentals in Florida are down a whopping 70 per cent from 2019; searches for apartment rentals in Arizona have dropped 75 per cent; homes owned by Canadians in Florida and Arizona are being put up for sale at a record pace; and searches for RV parks in Texas, Arizona and Florida have fallen between 50 and 60 per cent. Add to that, the prospect of having to face a lengthy quarantine upon returning from the U.S., Ottawa's warning to avoid all non-essential travel, plus the astronomical insurance costs associated with travelling during the pandemic, and you can see why the majority of snowbirds will be staying close to home this winter.

However, that doesn’t mean they have to freeze. There are places in Canada where, while not Miami hot, offer warmer temperatures than the rest of the Great White North in the winter months.
In fact, five cities in Ontario, four in British Columbia and one in Nova Scotia offer moderate temperatures throughout the winter months and rarely see freezing rain or snow.
Plus, because of climate change, Canada’s overall winter temperature is actually getting warmer — a 2019 report commissioned by the federal government’s Environment and Climate Change Canada agency concluded that the average annual temperature across the country has warmed by 1.7C degrees since 1948. That study also revealed the rate of warming is even higher in the Arctic, on the Prairies and in B.C.

Thanks to its “balmy” Pacific coast location, B.C .has always seen less snow than the rest of Canada, with Victoria, Vancouver, Abbotsford and Kelowna getting, on average, only five days of snowfall each winter.
The temperature in B.C.'s lower mainland rarely dips below the freezing mark and you can play golf every day of the year. Just don’t wear shorts.
For those living in the country’s eastern region, places like Niagara Falls and Windsor in Ontario offer the highest temperatures and sunniest days in the winter months, and the temperature in Halifax never drops below 3C between December and February.
Just think how much you’ll save on suntan lotion by staying in cool Canada this winter.