Cold by SW BC standards, but not cold by what winter is for most of Canada.
The first half of February means cold and crappy weather for Vancouver & Victoria. However, the latter half of February is expected to be more fall like than winter. Then by March, its back into spring, even if some days in March might seem more like autumn. As the population grows, more people might want to avoid most of the harsh Canadian winters & opt for SW BC instead. However, the scale of BC infrastructure is so far behind what Alberta & Washington State have. The antigrowth mentality has been very entrenched in backwater BC for generations.
Despite the size of Canada, there is only the Vancouver, Surrey & Abbotsford area that usually has mild winters. The same for Victoria, Nanaimo & Comox. Yet, there seems to be a multigenerational mentality or agenda to not build a series of bike & bus-bridges & efficient rail corridors.
There has been a multigenerational resistance to have the Vancouver to Chilliwack corridor, or the BC Lower_Mainland becoming the 2nd largest urban region in Canada. Just like a resistance to have the Victoria to Comox corridor rivaling the population of Greater Montreal or Greater Seattle. Thus, backwater BC remains in a perpetual half-assed urban planning trap. Allowing anything on a big scale would be too symbolic of planning for growth on a world that is mostly non-white.
There should have been a double track intercity passenger train corridor between Vancouver & Mission several decades ago, with a counterpart south of the Fraser River. Plus, a double track freight version as well. Also, a 4 track rail corridor between Abbotsford & Mission in the Fraser_Valley_Regional_District.
There should have been an intercity passenger & freight train service between Victoria, Nanaimo & Comox for decades. A minimum 4 track, grade separated rail corridor could efficiently move people & freight very efficiently.
Canada as a multicultural nation, still has less than 1% of the worlds population.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Canada#British_Columbia
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Abbotsford+and+Mission