Driving Across Canada in Winter: 2026 Safety & Route Guide

Driving across Canada in winter is a real undertaking, not a casual road trip. The country runs about 7,800 km from Cape Spear, Newfoundland to Mile 0 in Victoria, British Columbia, crosses six time zones, two mountain ranges, and a stretch of Lake Superior shoreline where the next gas station can be 150 km away. Add snow, ice, and a few hours of usable daylight in January, and the trip rewards planning and punishes improvisation. This guide is written for newcomers, snowbirds going the wrong way, and Canadians making a long winter drive for work or family. It covers the legal stuff (which provinces require winter tires and when), the practical stuff (route, fuel stops, mountain passes, daylight windows), and the survival stuff (what to put in the car and what to do if you get stuck). Numbers and rules are anchored to 2026 sources from Transport Canada, the Government of Canada Get Prepared program, CAA, ICBC, and each provincial Ministry of Transportation.

Key Takeaways

• Two provinces have winter tire laws. Quebec mandates 3PMSF tires from December 1 to March 15 ($200-$300 fine). British Columbia requires winter tires or chains on designated highways from October 1 to April 30 on most high-elevation routes. Every other province treats winter tires as recommended, not required.
• Every province runs a 511 road-condition service. Bookmark DriveBC, 511 Alberta, Saskatchewan Highway Hotline (1-888-335-7623), Manitoba 511, Ontario 511, Quebec 511, and the Atlantic 511 sites before you leave. Check them every morning before you start the day’s drive.
• Toronto to Vancouver is about 4,400 km and 45 hours of pure driving. In winter, plan 6 to 8 days, not 4 to 5. Daylight in January on the prairies is roughly 8 to 9 hours, and avalanche control can close Rogers Pass for 2 to 8 hours at a time.
• The Lake Superior gap is real. Between Pancake Bay and Wawa on Highway 17, you can go ~150 km with no gas station. Always fill up before this stretch.
• Pack a real emergency kit. Transport Canada and CAA both recommend visibility (flashlight, reflective triangles), traction (shovel, sand or kitty litter), warmth (blanket, extra clothes, candle in a tin), tools (booster cables, tow strap, multi-tool), and communication (charged phone, paper map, charger).
• If you get stranded, stay with the vehicle. Run the engine ~10 minutes per hour with the exhaust pipe clear and a window cracked. Tie something bright to the antenna. The car is easier to find than you are on foot.

Is It Safe to Drive Across Canada in Winter?

Yes, with the right tires, the right kit, and a flexible schedule. Thousands of Canadians make long winter drives every year, including truckers who do it weekly. The risk is not driving in snow itself; it is driving in snow without preparation. The fatal mistakes are usually one of these: bald or summer tires on icy pavement, an empty fuel tank in a remote stretch, no warm clothing in the trunk, or pushing through whiteout visibility because the schedule said so. Strip those four mistakes out and a cross-country winter drive is safer than a lot of summer drives, because traffic is lighter and you tend to slow down on principle.

The two riskiest stretches on the Trans-Canada Highway in winter are Highway 17 around Lake Superior (long sections of two-lane road, fast lake-effect snow, sparse cell coverage) and the mountain passes between Calgary and Vancouver (Kicking Horse Pass, Rogers Pass, Coquihalla, Allison Pass). Both can be driven safely. They just demand more time and a better-equipped car than the prairies or southern Ontario.

Winter Tire Laws by Province (2026)

This is the question that trips up newcomers and out-of-province drivers the most. The rule is not the same across Canada, and it is not the same across BC. Here is the current 2026 picture.

Province	Winter tire requirement	Dates	Penalty / notes
British Columbia	Required on designated highways (most mountain routes). 3PMSF or M+S with at least 3.5 mm tread. Chains required on some commercial routes.	Oct 1 to Apr 30 on most high-elevation routes; Oct 1 to Mar 31 on lower-elevation designated routes.	Fine ~$121. Source: gov.bc.ca, ICBC.
Alberta	Recommended, not mandatory.	Below 7 °C, roughly Oct/Nov to Mar/Apr.	No provincial fine. Source: Alberta Transportation.
Saskatchewan	Recommended.	Same as above.	No fine. Source: SGI.
Manitoba	Recommended. Manitoba runs a low-interest Winter Tire Program loan.	Same as above.	Source: Manitoba Public Insurance.
Ontario	Not mandatory. Insurers must offer up to 5% discount if you install four winter tires Nov 1 to Apr 1. Studded tires permitted only above the French River line in northern Ontario, Sep 1 to May 31.	Discount window Nov 1 to Apr 1.	Source: Government of Ontario, FSRA.
Quebec	Mandatory. All passenger vehicles registered in Quebec must have 3PMSF tires or studded tires.	December 1 to March 15.	Fine $200 to $300. Source: Quebec.ca, Highway Safety Code, CAA-Quebec.
New Brunswick	Recommended. School buses must use winter tires Oct 15 to Apr 15.	Same as above.	Source: GNB.
Nova Scotia	Recommended.	Same as above.	Source: NS Public Works.
Prince Edward Island	Recommended.	Same as above.	Source: PEI Transportation.
Newfoundland and Labrador	Recommended. Studded tires permitted Nov 1 to May 31.	Same as above.	Source: NL Digital Government & Service.
Yukon, NWT, Nunavut	Recommended. Studded tires legal year-round in NU and most of NT/YT.	Same as above.	Source: territorial transportation departments.

If you are driving across Canada in winter, set yourself to the strictest standard you will encounter, which means 3PMSF winter tires with at least 3.5 mm tread depth from December 1 onward. That puts you in compliance with both Quebec and BC’s designated routes and keeps your Ontario insurance discount intact.

What Is the 3PMSF Symbol?

The three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) is a small symbol on the sidewall: a snowflake inside a three-peaked mountain. A tire wearing this symbol has passed a packed-snow traction test (ASTM F-1805) administered under standards Transport Canada accepts. M+S (mud and snow) is an older, weaker label; many M+S tires are not true winter tires. Quebec law as of 2024 only accepts 3PMSF tires (or studded tires) for the December 1 to March 15 mandate. If you are buying tires for this trip, look for the 3PMSF stamp.

Plan Your Route: The Trans-Canada in Winter

The Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) is the spine. The full coast-to-coast run from St. John’s to Victoria is about 7,821 km by the official TCH route, but most cross-country winter drivers focus on Halifax to Vancouver (about 6,000 km) or Toronto to Vancouver (about 4,400 km). The numbers below are Google Maps estimates for the standard TCH route via Highway 1 and Highway 17, in good conditions. Add 20% to 40% to the driving time for January or February realities.

Segment	Distance	Pure driving time	Suggested winter days
St. John’s to Halifax (with ferry)	~1,500 km + 16-hour Marine Atlantic ferry	~16 hrs road	3 days
Halifax to Quebec City	~1,250 km	~13 hrs	2 days
Quebec City to Toronto	~800 km	~8 hrs	1-2 days
Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie	~700 km	~8 hrs	1 day
Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay (Hwy 17)	~700 km	~9 hrs	1-2 days (Lake Superior)
Thunder Bay to Winnipeg	~700 km	~8 hrs	1 day
Winnipeg to Regina	~570 km	~6 hrs	1 day
Regina to Calgary	~760 km	~8 hrs	1 day
Calgary to Vancouver (via Rogers Pass)	~970 km	~11 hrs	2 days (mountain passes)

A realistic Toronto-to-Vancouver winter itinerary is 7 days driving + 1 buffer day: Toronto → Sault Ste. Marie → Thunder Bay → Winnipeg → Regina → Calgary → Revelstoke → Vancouver. We cover the same drive in the opposite direction in Moving to Vancouver from Toronto.

The Lake Superior Stretch (Highway 17)

The 700 km of Highway 17 between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay is the single most underestimated section of a cross-Canada drive. It is two-lane, undivided, follows the Lake Superior shore, and gets some of the heaviest snow in Ontario. The town of Wawa averages over 350 cm of snow a year. The 150-km stretch between Pancake Bay and Wawa has effectively no gas stations. Fill up at Pancake Bay or Batchawana Bay before you head north, regardless of how much you have left in the tank. Cell service is spotty between Marathon and Terrace Bay. Download the route in Google Maps offline and have a paper map in the glove box.

The Mountain Passes (BC)

West of Calgary the TCH climbs through the Rockies and Selkirks. Three passes do most of the closures.

• Kicking Horse Pass (Field, BC): Highway 1 between Lake Louise and Field. Steep grades, frequent black ice. Slow down on the descent.
• Rogers Pass (Glacier National Park): This is the busy one. Parks Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces run a mobile avalanche control program over 135 avalanche paths in 40 km. Closures of 2 to 8 hours are routine in deep-snow weeks. Check DriveBC before you leave Revelstoke or Golden, and never try to time-trial a closure window.
• Coquihalla (Highway 5, Hope to Merritt to Kamloops): Not on the TCH, but it’s the alternate route between the Lower Mainland and the Interior. Higher elevation than Highway 1 and frequently the first to close in a storm.

If a pass is closed, stop and wait. Do not park on the highway shoulder; pull off into the nearest pullout, gas station, or town and check DriveBC for the reopen time. The avalanche control teams are good at their job, but no schedule is worth being in the way.

Daylight and Time Zones

In late December, Winnipeg gets sunrise around 8:25 a.m. and sunset around 4:35 p.m., so you have roughly 8 hours of usable daylight. By the time you set out and finish breakfast you are looking at 7. Plan each driving day to start at first light and finish before sunset, especially on Highway 17 and the mountain passes where black ice and wildlife are harder to see at dusk. The country also crosses six time zones (Newfoundland, Atlantic, Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific). Keep your watch and your engine clock honest about which one you’re in.

511 and DriveBC: Real-Time Road Conditions

Every province operates a 511 service for road conditions, closures, and weather alerts. These are free and current, and they’re the difference between learning about a closure 100 km early or 10 km early. Bookmark each one for the route you’ll cross.

Province / region	Service	Phone	Web
British Columbia	DriveBC	n/a (web/app)	drivebc.ca
Alberta	511 Alberta	511 in AB / 1-855-391-9743	511.alberta.ca
Saskatchewan	Highway Hotline	511 in SK / 1-888-335-7623	hotline.gov.sk.ca
Manitoba	Manitoba 511	511 / 1-877-627-6237	manitoba511.ca
Ontario	Ontario 511	511 in ON / 1-866-929-4257	511on.ca
Quebec	Quebec 511	511 in QC / 1-888-355-0511	quebec511.info
New Brunswick	511 NB	511 / 1-800-561-4063	511.gnb.ca
Nova Scotia	511 Nova Scotia	511 / 1-888-432-3233	511.novascotia.ca
Prince Edward Island	511 PEI	511	511.gov.pe.ca
Newfoundland and Labrador	NL Roads	n/a	511nl.ca
Yukon	511 Yukon	511 in YT / 1-877-456-7623	511yukon.ca

Most of these have apps. Most also pipe the same data into Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze. But on the official sites you also get pavement-condition reports (bare and dry, partly snow-covered, snow-packed, ice-covered) that the consumer apps don’t always show.

Get the Car Ready Before You Leave

A long winter drive exposes weaknesses your daily commute would never find. Two weeks before the trip is the right time for the shop visit, not the day before.

• Battery test. Cold cuts cranking power roughly 30% to 40% at -18 °C. Any battery older than 4 years should be load-tested. Replace it if it’s marginal; you do not want to find out near Wawa.
• Tires. Confirm 3PMSF or M+S with at least 3.5 mm tread depth (the BC legal minimum). New winter tires have ~10/32″ of tread; replace them when they wear below 6/32″.
• Coolant and antifreeze. Test the freeze point with a hydrometer; it should protect to at least -40 °C.
• Windshield washer fluid. Use winter-rated fluid (-40 °C). Highway spray can blind you in seconds; an empty reservoir is genuinely dangerous.
• Wiper blades. Winter blades have a rubber boot over the frame. Replace if they streak.
• Block heater. If you’re driving through the prairies in January, a block heater plugged in for 2 to 4 hours before a cold start makes the difference between starting and not. Hardware-store outlet timers cost $10 to $20.
• Fuel. Keep the tank above half full at all times. Condensation forms in low tanks; full tanks also act as ballast and as a backup heat source if you get stuck.
• Fluids spare. A small bottle of fuel-line antifreeze (methyl hydrate) can save a no-start if water gets in the line at a remote pump.
• Lights. Replace any bulb that’s dim. Mountain passes and Highway 17 are dark.

If you’re newly arrived in Canada and don’t yet own a car, our How to Buy a Car in Canada (2026 Newcomer Guide) walks through new versus used, financing for newcomers, sales tax by province, and registering the vehicle. If you’re driving on a US licence, the rules change once you become a resident; our Can You Drive in Canada with a US License? guide has the province-by-province exchange windows.

The Winter Emergency Kit: What CAA and Transport Canada Recommend

Both Transport Canada and CAA publish recommended kits. They overlap heavily. The combined list below is what we actually pack for a long winter drive. Keep it in the cabin or behind the back seat, not in a sealed cargo box you’d have to dig out from under snow.

Visibility and signalling

• LED flashlight (preferably crank-powered; cold kills batteries fast) plus spare batteries
• High-visibility reflective triangles or LED road flares (3 minimum)
• Reflective vest
• Bright cloth or scarf to tie to the antenna or door handle if stranded

Traction and recovery

• Compact shovel with collapsible handle (avalanche shovel works well)
• Bag of sand, kitty litter, or fine grit (avoid road salt; it rusts the body)
• Tow strap or recovery rope rated to your vehicle’s weight
• Tire chains if you’re crossing BC’s designated chain-up routes

Warmth and survival

• Wool or thermal blanket per occupant
• Mylar emergency blankets (lightweight, retain ~80% body heat)
• Spare warm clothing: hat, gloves, wool socks, insulated boots, thermal layer
• Hand and foot warmers
• Long-burn candle in a deep tin can plus waterproof matches (a single candle generates enough heat in a closed cabin to keep the temperature above freezing)
• Insulated thermos with hot water or soup
• Non-perishable food: granola bars, nuts, dried fruit, jerky (rotates every 6 months)
• 4 L drinking water (rotates monthly; will freeze, so keep insulated)

Tools and parts

• Booster cables (4 gauge, 4 m minimum) or a portable jump pack
• Multi-tool or pocketknife
• Tire pressure gauge
• Spare washer fluid (-40 °C rated)
• Duct tape and zip ties
• Small first-aid kit (CSA Type 1 or equivalent)

Communication

• Charged mobile phone with a 12-volt charger and a power bank
• Printed paper map of the route (Backroad Mapbooks publish provincial atlases)
• Permanent marker and notepad
• Optional but worth it on Highway 17 and the mountain passes: a satellite communicator (Garmin inReach, Zoleo, or SPOT) for areas with no cell coverage

For the canonical kit lists, see the CAA Emergency Kit guide, Transport Canada’s Winter Driving Emergency Kit, and the Government of Canada Get Prepared vehicle kit.

How to Drive in Snow and Ice

A few habits separate drivers who finish winter trips without incident from drivers who don’t.

• Slow down before the corner, not in it. Braking on ice mid-corner is how most spinouts start.
• Increase following distance. The standard 3-second rule should become 6 to 8 seconds on snow-covered roads.
• Smooth inputs. Brake gently, accelerate gently, steer gently. Sudden anything is the enemy.
• Look where you want to go. In a slide, your hands follow your eyes. Look at the exit, not the ditch.
• Skip the cruise control. On any wet, snowy, or icy surface, cruise control can spin the drive wheels in a slip and pull you off line.
• If you slide, ease off everything. For a front-wheel skid (understeer): ease off the gas, do not brake hard, look toward where you want to go. For a rear-wheel skid (oversteer): ease off the gas and steer gently into the slide. Once grip returns, straighten the wheel.
• Bridges and overpasses freeze first. Cold air hits both sides of a bridge deck, so it can be ice while the road on either end is wet.
• Black ice is invisible by definition. If the spray from cars ahead suddenly stops, the road is no longer wet; it’s iced over. Lift off the gas and avoid steering inputs.

If you do have a collision, our ‘How to Report an Accident in Canada’ guide walks through the steps for each province.

What to Do If You Get Stranded

The official guidance from the Government of Canada Get Prepared program and the RCMP is consistent and unambiguous: stay with your vehicle. The car is bigger and easier to find than you are on foot, it provides shelter and signalling, and walking for help in cold and low visibility is the single most common way winter stranding turns fatal.

The protocol:

1. Pull off the road if possible. Get as far from the travel lane as you can without getting stuck deeper.
2. Turn on hazards. Tie a bright cloth to the antenna or the driver-side door handle.
3. Stay buckled in if traffic is moving. A second collision is a real risk on a snow-blind highway.
4. Run the engine roughly 10 minutes per hour. Crack a window for ventilation.
5. Check the exhaust pipe. Snow drift can block the tailpipe and push carbon monoxide into the cabin. Clear it before each engine cycle.
6. Conserve battery. Use the cabin lights only when you need them.
7. Stay warm. Layer up, light the candle in the tin, and share blankets between occupants. Move arms and legs to keep circulation going.
8. Call for help. Dial 911 if you have signal. If you don’t, a satellite communicator is the next best option. If neither, wait for traffic and signal with the flashlight or reflective triangle.
9. Do not drink alcohol to feel warmer; it accelerates heat loss.
10. Don’t fall asleep with the engine off, especially at night. Set a timer to wake every 30 to 60 minutes to check exhaust and run the heater.

The exception to “stay with the vehicle” is when you can clearly see help (a building, a vehicle stopped behind you) less than 100 metres away in good visibility. Otherwise, sit tight.

Travel Insurance and Coverage Across Provinces

Your provincial health card covers emergency medical care across Canada under inter-provincial billing agreements (Quebec is the partial exception; some out-of-province bills require you to pay and claim back). Auto insurance is more variable. BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec run public auto insurance systems (ICBC, SGI, MPI, SAAQ); Ontario, Alberta, and the Atlantic provinces are private. If you’re driving a car registered in one province through another, your existing policy generally follows you, but call your broker before you go to confirm out-of-province coverage and the towing add-on. CAA membership covers towing and battery boosts across most of the country; the basic plan tops out at ~10 km of towing, which is usually not enough on the prairies. Plus or Premier (160-320 km) is the upgrade we recommend for cross-Canada winter driving. For trip-cancellation and medical extras, see our ‘Canada Travel Insurance’ guide.

Check Out 3 Tips For Safer Driving in Canadian Winters

Sample 7-Day Toronto to Vancouver Itinerary (Winter)

This is one we’ve actually driven, and the day-by-day mileage assumes you’ll lose time to weather at least once.

1. Day 1: Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie. ~700 km, 8 to 10 hours. Highway 400 to Sudbury, then Highway 17 to the Soo. Stop at North Bay for fuel.
2. Day 2: Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay. ~700 km, 9 to 11 hours. The Lake Superior day. Fill up at Pancake Bay before the Wawa gap.
3. Day 3: Thunder Bay to Winnipeg. ~700 km, 8 to 9 hours. Mostly two-lane until Kenora, then four-lane into Manitoba. The drive is flat and fast if the weather cooperates.
4. Day 4: Winnipeg to Regina. ~570 km, 6 to 7 hours. Open prairie. Watch for whiteouts when wind crosses the open fields.
5. Day 5: Regina to Calgary. ~760 km, 8 to 9 hours. Drumheller is a worthwhile stretch break. Calgary’s Chinook winds can flip ice to bare pavement in an hour, then back. Check 511 Alberta.
6. Day 6: Calgary to Revelstoke. ~410 km, 5 to 7 hours over Kicking Horse Pass. Stay in Revelstoke if Rogers Pass is closed for avalanche control.
7. Day 7: Revelstoke to Vancouver. ~570 km, 7 to 9 hours over Rogers Pass and the Coquihalla (or via Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon if Coquihalla is closed). Check DriveBC at breakfast and again at lunch.

You arrive in Vancouver. The first thing you’ll want is a hot shower and the second thing you’ll want is your tires balanced and rotated. Both are reasonable.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to drive across Canada in winter?

Plan at least 6 to 8 days for Toronto to Vancouver (~4,400 km), and 9 to 12 days for Halifax to Vancouver (~6,000 km). Pure driving time is ~45 hours and ~60 hours respectively, but winter conditions, daylight windows, and possible mountain pass closures consistently add 30% to 40% to the total trip.

Do you need winter tires to drive across Canada?

Yes, in practice. Quebec legally requires 3PMSF tires from December 1 to March 15, and British Columbia requires winter tires or chains on designated highways from October 1 to April 30. If your route crosses either province in those windows, you need them. Even on routes that don’t, your insurance, your stopping distance, and your stress level all improve with proper winter tires.

What is the safest month to drive across Canada in winter?

Late February through early March is usually the easiest of the cold months: days are getting longer, road crews have had months to refine plowing routes, and the worst storms typically taper off in the prairies. December has the holiday traffic and the shortest daylight. January is the coldest. November is unpredictable; you can hit a blizzard or 8 °C bare pavement in the same week.

What highway do you take to drive across Canada?

The Trans-Canada Highway (TCH), mostly Highway 1 with a stretch of Highway 17 around the Great Lakes. The full TCH runs from St. John’s, NL to Victoria, BC. There’s an alternate northern route via the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16) from Winnipeg to Edmonton to Prince George that avoids Rogers Pass; in deep-snow years some drivers prefer it.

What should be in a winter car emergency kit in Canada?

The non-negotiables: a flashlight with spare batteries, reflective triangles, a shovel, traction sand or kitty litter, wool blankets (one per occupant), warm spare clothing, a candle in a tin with matches, non-perishable food and water, booster cables or a jump pack, winter-rated washer fluid, a charged phone with charger, and a paper map of your route. Both CAA and Transport Canada publish formal kit lists; we use the union of both.

What do you do if you get stuck in snow on a Canadian highway?

Stay with your vehicle. Pull off the travel lane if possible, put on your hazards, tie something bright to the antenna, and run the engine ~10 minutes per hour with the exhaust pipe clear and a window cracked. Call 911 if you have signal; otherwise wait for traffic, signal with a flashlight or flare, or use a satellite communicator. The Government of Canada Get Prepared program is firm on this point: people who walk for help in winter often don’t make it; people who stay with the car usually do.

Are all-weather tires good enough for driving across Canada in winter?

All-weather tires marked with the 3PMSF symbol meet Quebec’s mandate and BC’s designated-route requirement, and they’re a reasonable compromise for drivers who don’t want to swap tires twice a year. They are not as good as a dedicated winter tire in deep snow, on glare ice, or below -20 °C. For a true cross-Canada winter trip through the mountains and the prairies, dedicated winter tires are the right call.

How cold does it get on a winter drive across Canada?

Cold. Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Edmonton routinely sit at -20 °C to -30 °C in January, with overnight lows occasionally dropping to -40 °C during arctic outflows. Wind chill on the open prairie can push effective temperatures another 10 °C lower. Vancouver and Victoria stay milder (typically +1 °C to +5 °C). The mountain passes can swing from -25 °C at Lake Louise to +5 °C in Hope on the same day.

Do I need chains to drive across Canada in winter?

Chains are not required everywhere, but they are required on some commercial routes in BC and they are very useful insurance on Rogers Pass, the Coquihalla, and steep grades east of Calgary. Carry one set of cable chains in the trunk even if you never put them on. Check BC’s chain-up zone signage; it’s posted on the highway.

Is the Trans-Canada Highway open in winter?

Yes, year-round. Closures are local and temporary, usually for avalanche control (Rogers Pass), weather (Highway 17 around Lake Superior), or accidents. Most closures last 1 to 8 hours. Plan slack into your itinerary so a single closure doesn’t cascade into a missed flight or a stress-driving night session.

A Final Word

Driving across Canada in winter rewards patience. The country is bigger than newcomers expect and the weather is exactly as serious as Canadians say. If you have the right tires, a packed kit, a flexible schedule, and the discipline to check 511 every morning and to stop driving when conditions tell you to, the trip is one of the more memorable things you can do in this country. And on the days when the prairie sun comes up at 8:30 over a snowfield, with no other car on the highway and Saskatchewan radio playing in the background, you will understand why people keep doing it.

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This guide was written by the OnTheMoveCanada editorial team. It draws on Transport Canada’s Winter Driving program, the Government of Canada Get Prepared resources, CAA, ICBC, and the provincial 511 services cited above. We update it before each winter season.