Snow & Ice Removal

The department every Canadian homeowner visits in October: ergonomic shovels and pushers, sleigh shovels, electric and gas snow blowers (single-stage for a car-length driveway, two-stage for anything longer or wetter), roof rakes, ice melt and traction grit, heated driveway mats and the storage hooks to hang it all in April. We choose by snow type as much as volume: Maritime slush needs a different shovel than Prairie powder.

What to look for: a shovel with a bent shaft and a steel wear strip; a blower with a clearing width and intake height matched to what actually falls where you live; ice melt labelled safe for pets and for new concrete (calcium or magnesium chloride blends rather than plain rock salt); and a roof rake long enough to reach without a ladder. Get it before the first storm; nobody has stock on the day after.

Related: tools, outdoor storage and the guide to putting the patio away.