Canada is in for a snowy winter. Should you book your ski vacation?

Last year, a combination of El Niño and climate change meant a warm winter for much of Canada. For the winter tourism industry, a snowy forecast has brought hope.

After a string of warm winters, much of Canada is in for some snowy months.

For the country’s winter tourism industry, hit by climate change and warmer than usual winters, this has brought hope.

In 2022, Ottawa’s iconic Rideau Canal Skateway, for the first time in its 52-year history, failed to freeze and open for the public. Last year, the impact was felt out west, with several ski areas in British Columbia struggling with warm weather.

Last year, a combination of El Niño and climate change meant a warm winter for much of Canada. Paul Pinchbeck, president and CEO of the Canadian Ski Council, said the winter tourism industry felt the effects of that.

“We hit nearly three million Canadians who took to the slopes in each of the two years prior to last year. Last year, our estimated number fell to 2.4 million, and it really shouldn’t be a surprise. The weather was highly variable,” he told Global News.

Pinchbeck added, “In Ontario, in particular, we were down nearly 14 per cent in terms of skier visits and participation.”

For many parts of Canada, the forecast this winter is for below-normal temperatures. Global News chief meteorologist Anthony Farnell said part of what will drive winter conditions is La Nina.

That flow of warmer water in the Pacific Ocean typically brings lower temperatures and higher precipitation, an opposite to the El Nino weather pattern seen last winter, which caused higher temperatures from coast to coast to coast.