The Home Almanac

Vol. I, MMXXVIThe Canadian home, in season655 stations, every province and territory

Pool Calendar

When to open, when to close, and when to winterize before the first frost. Computed for your exact place from the 30-year climate record at your nearest station.


Open around–Set your place
Close / winterize–
Season length–

Open, close, and a ten-day winterize reminder.

Opening weekend watch: Check the live forecast and work windows for your place on the Weather page before you pull the cover off.

American Homestead Summer, a Currier and Ives lithograph of a farmhouse in full summer
American Homestead Summer. Currier and Ives, New York, 1868.

Pool dates for major cities

Computed from each city's own station normals. Your town's dates may differ; use the planner above for your exact place.

CityOpen aroundClose / winterizeSeason
Vancouver, BCJune 8September 27112 days
Victoria, BCJune 18September 2498 days
Kelowna, BCJune 2September 18108 days
Calgary, ABJune 29September 265 days
Edmonton, ABJune 28August 2962 days
Saskatoon, SKJune 10September 587 days
Regina, SKJune 7September 287 days
Winnipeg, MBJune 4September 12100 days
Thunder Bay, ONJune 21August 1858 days
Sudbury, ONJune 6September 15101 days
Ottawa, ONMay 25September 24121 days
Toronto, ONMay 26September 29127 days
Windsor, ONMay 15October 7145 days
Montreal, QCMay 25September 26124 days
Quebec City, QCJune 7September 1399 days
Fredericton, NBJune 8September 1599 days
Halifax, NSJune 14September 23101 days
Charlottetown, PEJune 19September 2194 days
St. John's, NLJuly 10September 961 days
Whitehorse, YTn/an/an/a
Yellowknife, NTJune 29August 2052 days
Iqaluit, NUn/an/an/a

Method: monthly mean temperature normals anchored mid-month, linear interpolation across 15 C (open) and 13 C (close), capped ten days before first frost. Read the full methodology.

Field notes

The dates above are the 30-year average. This is the pool season people nearby are actually having. Add what you are seeing, read what your neighbours saw.

Set your place above to read and add notes for your town.

Questions, answered plainly

When should I open my pool in Canada?

Open once the monthly mean temperature has settled above about 15 C and nights are reliably mild. In Toronto that is usually the second half of May; in Montreal or Ottawa, late May; in Calgary or Winnipeg, late May to early June; on the BC coast, April to early May. The date is computed from the 30-year climate record at your nearest station, not a national average.

When should I close and winterize my pool?

Close while the water is still warm enough to winterize properly, but no later than about ten days before the first hard frost. The tool above gives both the temperature-based close window and the frost hard-stop for your place. A freeze in the plumbing is the expensive mistake; the winterize date is the one to put in your calendar.

Can I keep a pool open year-round in Canada?

Only in mild coastal climates where winter monthly means stay high enough that the water rarely cools below 13 C. For most of the country the answer is no; the tool flags the few places where year-round is realistic.

How is the pool season length calculated?

From the spring crossing of 15 C to the earlier of the fall crossing of 13 C or ten days before the average first frost. It is a climate average, not a guarantee: watch the forecast and adjust for the season.