Record cold temperatures reported across several B.C. communities

A couple walks dogs along Middle Beach in Tofino, B.C., on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — The recent stretch of sunny and clear weather in British Columbia has also brought unseasonably cold temperatures to several communities, breaking several records.

Environment Canada says eight B.C. communities stretching from Vancouver Island to the south coast and the Interior broke or matched their daily low temperature marks on Monday.

The lowest was in the northeastern municipality of Chetwynd, which reached just short of -20 C, shattering the old mark of -15.4 C set in 2020.

Burns Lake in the northwest Interior reached -19.5 C, breaking a record set in 2008.

Along the south coast, Squamish reported -3.4 C, surpassing a record of -2.8 C set in 1968, while Sechelt dipped to -2.2 C to set a new local mark for March 30.

Records also fell on Vancouver Island, where Tofino’s -3.2 C broke a 1905 record by one full degree, while Port Hardy reported -3.1 C, surpassing the old mark of -2.8 set in 1954.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.