In the several months after I moved to British Columbia, I have noticed many differences between this province and my old province of Alberta - regional districts, more mountains and winter tires.
It’s that time of the month when British Columbians have to change their tires from summer to winter (unless you are in the Lower Mainland, mostly, but the government still advises you to do it.) This is because of a rule that between Oct. 1 and April 30 (March 31 in some parts), requiring you to have winter tires or chains at all times while driving. Failure to do this will lead to you losing $121 in fines. In 100 Mile House, both Highway 97 and Highway 24 require you to have winter tires until April 30.
I found this to be a unique rule myself, so I did some research. Turns out B.C. is not the only province that has this rule. La Belle Province (Quebec) requires you to have “four winter tires that meet established standards and are in good condition”, but the French-speaking fleur-des-lis enthusiasts are more merciful: they give their citizens until Dec. 15. Once that passes, however, anyone in contravention of this rule can be fined up to $300. It also expires earlier on March 15.
Other provinces merely recommend you have winter tires - and even the territories, which I find odd. The Yukon does not have any sort of winter tire law despite being to the north of B.C. I’m not the only person who thinks this: in 2013 the Yukon RCMP recommended the territory institute a mandatory winter tire law. Neither do the Northwest Territories or Nunavut, which is baffling because I am pretty sure during winter they become real-life quick ice generators when they get so cold.
As for when I will take my winter tires off, well, it’s probably going to be around April 30. And it probably will be that way throughout my time in British Columbia because, well, better safe than sorry. I mean, I could end up somewhere just like 100 Mile House, and I could end up doing a winter road trip to Prince George from Vancouver. You never know what the future brings.
I also personally believe that such a rule is kind of necessary in British Columbia - most of the landscape is mountainous and having summer or all-season tires that could fail would be horrendously bad for the driver. Some government regulation is better than no government regulation.
