Canada's Evergreen Playground: A History of Snow in Vancouver

The City of Vancouver is not as snowy as the rest of Canada; rain, not snow, is its defining weather feature. But snow is a common seasonal occurrence, having fallen there nearly every winter since the 1850s. This dissertation places snow at the centre of the City of Vancouver’s history. It demonstrates how cultural and natural factors influenced human experiences and relationships with snow on the coast between the 1850s and 2000s. Following Vancouver’s incorporation, commercial and civic boosters constructed – and settlers adopted – what I call an evergreen mentality. Snow was reconceptualized as a rare and infrequent phenomenon. The evergreen mentality was not completely false, but it was not entirely true, either. This mindset has framed human relationships with snow in Vancouver ever since. While this idea was consistent, how coastal residents experienced snow evolved in response to societal developments (such as the rise of the automobile and the adoption of new snow-clearing technologies) and regional climate change.\nI show that the history of snow in Vancouver cannot be fully understood without incorporating the southern Coast Mountains. Snow was a connecting force between the coastal metropolis and mountainous hinterland. Settlers drew snowmelt to the urban environment for its energy potential and life-sustaining properties; snow drew settlers to the mountains for recreation and economic opportunities. Mountain snow became a valuable resource for coastal residents throughout the twentieth century. Human relationships with snow in the mountains were shaped, as they were in the city, by seasonal expectations, societal circumstances, and shifting climate conditions.\nIn charting a history of snow in Vancouver and the southern Coast Mountains, this dissertation clears a new path in Canadian environmental historiography by bringing snow to the historiographical forefront. It does so in an urban space not known for snow, broadening the existing geography of snow historiography. In uncovering snow’s impact on year-round activities, this work also expands the field’s temporal boundaries. Through this work, one sees how snow helped to make Canada’s Evergreen Playground.

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