Your first Toronto winter: heating bills, proper gear and keeping your head above the snow

Toronto winter is less brutal than its reputation, and much longer than you think. The cold is manageable. The dark is the bit that gets Aussies.

The short version

• In Toronto, landlords must keep rental units at 21°C or warmer from 1 October to 15 May, and fix urgent heat problems within 24 hours [1].
• If you pay your own electricity, Toronto Hydro's winter time-of-use rates run from 9.1 cents per kWh off-peak to 18.9 cents on-peak until 30 April 2027 [2].
• The City clears public sidewalks once 2 cm of snow has fallen; under that, the property next door has 12 hours to do it [3].
• Buy your parka and boots in Toronto, not in Australia. Proper winter gear is cheaper and better there.
• The PATH lets you walk more than 30 km underground downtown [4]. Use it.

What winter actually looks like

Expect snow from about late November to late March, with the coldest stretch in January and February. Days well below zero are normal, and wind off Lake Ontario makes it feel colder. Smartraveller notes that temperatures of minus 20 to minus 30 are common in parts of Canada in winter, with heavy snow, ice and severe cold creating dangerous outdoor conditions [6]. Toronto itself is milder than the prairies, but it has its moments.

What most Australians don't expect:

• The sun sets before 5 pm around the December solstice. You'll go to work and come home in the dark.
• Freeze–thaw. A mild day melts snow, it freezes overnight, and footpaths turn to ice. This is when people fall.
• Salt and slush. Roads and footpaths are salted, so boots get white tide marks and car bodies rust. Puddles at crossings can be ankle-deep grey soup.
• Dry air. Indoor heating dries everything out. Cracked hands and nosebleeds are common in the first winter.

For a Queenslander or West Aussie who's never lived below 10°C, the first cold snap is a shock. For a Hobartian, it's a bit worse than home, for longer.

Heating and hydro: what winter costs at home

Your landlord's heat obligation

Toronto's heat bylaw is one of the most useful things to know as a tenant. Landlords must heat rental units to a minimum air temperature of 21°C [1]. The standard heating period runs from 1 October to 15 May [1]. In the shoulder seasons, 15 September to 15 October and 1 May to 1 June, landlords can turn heat down if the weather keeps the building at 21°C without it [1].

If your place is cold:

1. Measure it. A cheap thermometer in the middle of the room gives you evidence.
2. Tell your landlord or property manager in writing. Landlords must respond to urgent heat requests within 24 hours [1].
3. If it isn't fixed within 24 hours, call 311 and the City will investigate [1].

Who pays for heat

This depends on the building, so ask before you sign. In many older apartment buildings heat is included in the rent. In condos and newer units you often pay your own electricity, and sometimes heat is electric (baseboard heaters or a heat pump), which makes winter bills climb. In houses and basement flats, heating is usually gas forced-air, and the gas bill may be split between tenants.

Toronto Hydro's winter rates, which apply from 1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027, are below [2].

Ontario lets you choose a plan. If you're home all day with electric heat, tiered pricing can work out better. If you can run the dishwasher, washer and dryer late at night, ultra-low overnight may suit, but that weekday evening on-peak rate is steep. Compare a few bills before switching.

Ways to keep the bill down:

• Seal draughty windows with plastic film kits from a hardware store.
• Run a humidifier rather than turning the heat higher; humid air feels warmer.
• Keep the thermostat steady rather than cranking it on and off.
• Get tenant insurance, because burst pipes happen when heating fails in a cold snap.

Snow: your obligations and the City's

You'll rarely have to shovel in a downtown flat, but if you rent a house you might, so check your lease for who's responsible. Here's what the City says [3]:

• Under 2 cm of snow. Residents and businesses must clear the sidewalk next to their property within 12 hours of the snow stopping.
• 2 cm or more. City crews clear all public sidewalks, starting once the snow stops. It usually takes about 12 hours and can take up to 72.
• Driveways, steps and ramps. Owners must clear these within 24 hours.
• Don't push snow onto the road, sidewalk or bike lane. It's illegal and carries a CA$500 fine plus a CA$110 victim surcharge.
• Keep fire hydrants and drains clear where it's safe to do so.

You can report an uncleared property to 311 [3].

What to buy, and what to skip

Don't bring a suitcase of Australian "winter" clothes. A Melbourne puffer is a Toronto October jacket. Arrive with one warm layer and buy the rest locally, ideally before December, when stock is best.

Worth the money

Skip or wait

• Umbrellas for snow. Nobody uses them. Wear a hood.
• Fashion boots with smooth soles. They're dangerous on ice.
• Expensive designer parkas in week one. Wait until you've felt January; you might want something warmer or less.
• A car, if you live downtown. See our Ontario licence guide for what winter driving and insurance involve.

Locals love second-hand winter gear. Facebook Marketplace and thrift shops are full of good parkas in autumn.

The PATH: walk downtown without going outside

The PATH is Toronto's underground walkway. The City says it spans more than 30 km and links about 1,200 restaurants, shops and services, with six subway stations and Union Station connected [4]. If you work in the Financial District, you can get from Union to King, Queen or St Andrew stations and into most office towers without touching snow.

It's a maze at first. Follow the PATH wayfinding signs installed in 2018 [4], and give yourself extra time in the first week. Shops in the PATH often close early in the evening and on weekends, so don't rely on it for a Sunday.

Keeping sane through the dark months

This is the real challenge. Many Australians handle the cold fine but feel flat by late January. Canadian Mental Health Association material puts major seasonal affective disorder (SAD) at roughly 2 to 3% of Canadians at some point in their lives, with around 15% having a milder form [5]. Light therapy, usually about 30 minutes a day with a special lamp, gives substantial relief to most people with SAD, but talk to a doctor before starting [5].

What works for a lot of newcomers:

1. Get outside at lunch. Daylight hours are short, so use them.
2. Book a winter sport. Skating at Nathan Phillips Square or Harbourfront, cross-country skiing in High Park after a big dump, or an indoor rec league.
3. Plan a trip home or somewhere warm for February. Even having it booked helps.
4. Keep a routine. Exercise, sleep and social plans you can't flake on.
5. Know your health cover. There's no reciprocal health care agreement between Australia and Canada, so if you're not yet on OHIP, make sure your private insurance covers GP and mental health visits [6].
6. Find your people. Cooee Canada, our Facebook group for Australians in Canada, is full of people who survived their first winter and organise catch-ups through it.

If low mood turns into something heavier, don't tough it out. See a doctor, or call or text 9-8-8, Canada's suicide crisis helpline.

Sources

1. Not enough heat or other vital services – City of Toronto
2. Residential rates and charges – Toronto Hydro
3. Clearing snow and ice from your property – City of Toronto
4. PATH: Toronto's downtown pedestrian walkway – City of Toronto
5. Light Reading comes to Kelty Resource Centre (seasonal affective disorder) – Canadian Mental Health Association, North and West Vancouver
6. Canada travel advice – Smartraveller, Australian Government

Keep reading

• Renting in Toronto as an Australian
• PRESTO, the TTC and GO trains: getting around Toronto cheaply
• Aussie life in Toronto
• The inner move: what moving abroad does to a family