Yes, Canada uses Celsius. Weather forecasts, road signs, schools, hospitals, government agencies, and almost every Canadian you meet will quote temperatures in degrees Celsius. The country switched on April 1, 1975, when Environment Canada moved its public weather forecasts from Fahrenheit to Celsius as part of the broader metric conversion that began with the 1970 White Paper on Metric Conversion. Fahrenheit still pops up in a few corners of daily life (older ovens, swimming pools, US-imported appliances, and conversations with Canadians over 60), but Celsius is the everyday scale.
If you are arriving in Canada from the United States, the Caribbean, or anywhere else that still uses Fahrenheit, the rest of this guide gives you the history in two paragraphs, a clean conversion reference you can bookmark, and the short list of places you will still hear “degrees” without the C.
When did Canada switch to Celsius?
Canada’s move to the metric system started in January 1970, when the federal government under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau released the White Paper on Metric Conversion in Canada. The policy goal was straightforward: align Canada with the international system of units (SI) used by roughly 90% of the country’s trading partners. Parliament amended the Weights and Measures Act in 1971 to make metric units lawful for commerce, and the Metric Commission was established that same year to manage the rollout.
Temperature came in stages. Environment Canada announced that weather forecasts would convert on April 1, 1975. Speed limits, gasoline pump displays, and food labels followed between 1977 and 1983. The Metric Commission was wound down in 1985, which is why Canada’s metric conversion is sometimes described as deliberately incomplete: Celsius, kilometres, and litres stuck cleanly, while pounds, feet, and inches survived in housing listings, recipes, and conversations.
For a 50-year retrospective, see The Weather Network’s coverage of Canada’s Celsius anniversary or Wikipedia’s Metrication in Canada entry.
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Where you’ll see Celsius every day in Canada
If you are new to Canada, here is what Celsius is used for, top to bottom:
- Weather forecasts on TV, radio, weather.gc.ca, and every smartphone app you’ll use
- Highway and electronic road signs showing road surface temperature and freezing-rain warnings
- Hospital and clinic readings for body temperature, fevers, and equipment settings
- Schools for science class and any classroom thermometer
- Heating and cooling thermostats, in modern homes and apartments
- Refrigeration in grocery stores, restaurants, and food-safety inspections
- Government data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, Statistics Canada, Health Canada
The federal weather service publishes both the air temperature and a “feels like” reading: in winter that is wind chill (how cold it feels with wind factored in), and in summer it is humidex (how hot it feels with humidity factored in). Both are reported in degrees Celsius.
Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion table
Print this, screenshot it, or memorize the rough mental shortcut at the bottom. These are the numbers a newcomer actually needs.
| Celsius (°C) | Fahrenheit (°F) | What it feels like in Canada |
|---|---|---|
| -40 | -40 | The two scales meet here. Bitter cold. Yukon, northern Manitoba, parts of Alberta in deep winter. |
| -30 | -22 | A cold prairie morning. Exposed skin freezes in under 30 minutes. |
| -20 | -4 | Standard winter day in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Quebec City. |
| -10 | 14 | Average winter day in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax. |
| 0 | 32 | Freezing point. Roads can be icy even when there is no visible snow. |
| 10 | 50 | Cool spring or fall day. Light jacket weather. |
| 20 | 68 | Room temperature. Comfortable indoors and out. |
| 25 | 77 | Warm summer day across most of Canada. |
| 30 | 86 | Hot summer day. Common in Toronto, Montreal, southern BC, southern Ontario. |
| 37 | 98.6 | Normal human body temperature. |
| 40 | 104 | Heatwave territory. Unusual but not unheard of in Ontario, Quebec, BC. |
| 100 | 212 | Boiling point of water at sea level. |
The exact conversion formulas
- Celsius to Fahrenheit: °F = (°C × 9/5) + 32
- Fahrenheit to Celsius: °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9
The mental shortcut
If you do not have a calculator, double the Celsius number and add 30. It will be off by a few degrees but close enough to know whether to grab a coat. So 20°C ≈ 70°F (actual 68°F), and -10°C ≈ 10°F (actual 14°F).
Where Canadians still use Fahrenheit
Celsius dominates, but Fahrenheit hangs on in five specific places. None of them will trip you up day to day, but it helps to know they exist.
1. Cooking and ovens. Many Canadian recipes, especially baking blogs and cookbooks, list oven temperatures in Fahrenheit. This is partly cultural inertia and partly because most kitchen appliances sold in Canada are made for the North American market and ship with both scales printed on the dial. A 350°F oven (177°C) is the most common baking temperature you will see written.
2. Swimming pools and hot tubs. Pool thermometers, hot tub controllers, and aquatic centre signs frequently show Fahrenheit. A pool at 80°F (27°C) is comfortable; a hot tub at 102°F (39°C) is standard.
3. HVAC and older furnaces. Some thermostats, especially in older homes, default to Fahrenheit, and HVAC technicians sometimes quote system temperatures in °F because their training and equipment manuals were written for cross-border use.
4. US-imported appliances. Anything bought from the United States, or made primarily for the US market, may default to Fahrenheit. Most modern devices let you toggle between scales in the settings.
5. Older Canadians. People who grew up before 1975 sometimes still describe weather in Fahrenheit out of habit, especially for hot days (“it’s 90 out”) or extreme cold. This is generational, not regional. You’ll hear it more in conversation than in any official setting.
You will not hear Fahrenheit on a weather forecast, see it on a road sign, or find it on a hospital chart in Canada.
Does this vary by province or region?
Officially, no. Every province and territory uses Celsius for government, weather, education, and healthcare. Provinces near the US border (southern Ontario, southern BC, parts of New Brunswick) receive American TV channels and radio stations that report in Fahrenheit, so residents in those areas may be more comfortable with both scales. But the road sign outside their house still reads in Celsius.
Canada also uses metric for most other measurements: kilometres for distance, litres for fuel, kilograms for weight at the grocery store. Imperial units survive in three notable places: human height (still quoted in feet and inches), human weight (still quoted in pounds), and real estate (homes are still listed in square feet, not square metres).
What the temperature actually feels like across Canada
If you are deciding between cities or planning a move, a Celsius reading on its own does not tell you the whole story. Wind, humidity, and elevation change how a number actually feels.
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- Vancouver, Victoria, coastal BC: Winters rarely drop below 0°C. Summers around 22–26°C. Wet, mild, and the Canadian climate most similar to Seattle or Portland.
- Toronto, Hamilton, southern Ontario: Winters average -5 to -10°C with cold snaps to -20°C. Summers run 25–32°C with high humidity, so the humidex often pushes feels-like temperatures into the high 30s.
- Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City: Colder than Toronto in winter (-10 to -20°C is normal) and slightly less humid in summer.
- Calgary, Edmonton, prairies: Cold and dry in winter (-15 to -25°C is normal, with cold snaps below -30°C). Summers are warm (22–28°C) and dry. Chinook winds can swing temperatures 20°C in a few hours in southern Alberta.
- Halifax, St. John’s, Atlantic Canada: Maritime climate, milder winters than the prairies (-5 to -10°C), cool summers (20–24°C), and a lot of weather coming off the ocean.
- Yukon, NWT, Nunavut: Arctic and subarctic. Winter temperatures of -30 to -40°C are routine. Summer days can still hit 25°C in Whitehorse or Yellowknife.
If you are deciding where to settle, our guide to weather in Toronto year-round and the broader moving to another province in Canada checklist break down what each city’s climate means for daily life.
Why this matters for newcomers
Reading temperature correctly is a real safety issue, not a trivia question.
Driving. A weather report of 1°C means surface temperatures may already be at freezing. Black ice forms most commonly between -3°C and 1°C, when surfaces look wet but are actually iced. If you grew up reading Fahrenheit, “34°F” feels merely cool; the Celsius equivalent reframes it as risky.
Dressing for the cold. Canadian winter clothing is rated in Celsius (some down jackets are sold with comfort ratings down to -25°C or -30°C). Buying gear without understanding the scale leads to under-dressing.
Cooking. A recipe that says “bake at 180” means 180°C (356°F), not 180°F. Mixing the scales up is the kind of mistake every newcomer makes once.
Health. A Canadian doctor will tell you a fever starts at 38°C (100.4°F). A child’s temperature of 39°C (102.2°F) is the threshold for calling a clinic. Knowing the Celsius numbers cold matters in any healthcare setting.
The shift is not difficult. Most newcomers stop converting in their head within two to three weeks, especially after one full Canadian winter. The conversion table above is enough to get you through the first month.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Canada use Celsius or Fahrenheit?
Canada uses Celsius for all official purposes: weather forecasts, road signs, schools, hospitals, government, and modern thermostats. Fahrenheit shows up only in cooking, pools, US-imported appliances, and casual conversation with older Canadians.
When did Canada switch to Celsius?
Environment Canada switched its public weather forecasts to Celsius on April 1, 1975. The broader metric conversion began with the 1970 White Paper on Metric Conversion and the 1971 Weights and Measures Act amendments.
What is the easy conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit?
Multiply by 9/5 and add 32. The mental shortcut: double the Celsius number and add 30. It gets you within 2 to 3 degrees of the exact answer.
Is 0°C the same as 32°F?
Yes. Zero degrees Celsius equals 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the freezing point of water at sea level. The two scales also meet at -40, where -40°C equals -40°F exactly.
What is normal room temperature in Celsius?
Around 20°C (68°F). Most Canadian homes set winter thermostats between 19°C and 22°C.
What is body temperature in Celsius?
Normal human body temperature is approximately 37°C (98.6°F). A fever in Canada is generally defined as 38°C (100.4°F) or higher.
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Why does Canada still use Fahrenheit for some things?
Two reasons: most kitchen appliances are imported from or built for the North American market and ship with both scales; and Canadians born before 1975 grew up with Fahrenheit, so it survives in casual speech.
Do Canadian recipes use Celsius or Fahrenheit?
Both. Older Canadian cookbooks and many baking blogs still use Fahrenheit for oven temperatures (350°F is the most common baking temperature). Newer Canadian-published cookbooks, government nutrition guides, and most restaurant kitchens use Celsius.
Next Steps
Knowing how Canada measures temperature is one of the smaller adjustments of moving here, but it is one of the first ones you’ll make. The bigger questions, which province, which city, and what the winter actually involves day to day, are covered in the rest of our living-in-Canada guides.
- Should I move to Canada?
- Moving to another province in Canada checklist
- Moving to Toronto from the US
- Simplified moving checklist for Toronto
- Weather in Toronto year-round
Last reviewed: May 5, 2026 against Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Weights and Measures Act, and historical sources from The Canadian Encyclopedia and Wikipedia’s Metrication in Canada entry.