August 25, 2025
Alberta's weather is famously unpredictable. We cut through the confusion and break down the differences between all-season and all-weather tires to help you choose the best option for year-round driving.
In Alberta, where you can get sunshine, rain, and a blizzard all in one day, picking the right tires can be tricky. Two popular choices for year-round driving are "all-season" and "all-weather" tires. The names sound alike, but they have critical differences in performance, especially when the snow flies.
Standard all-season tires are designed for a smooth, quiet ride in a variety of conditions. With one big exception: they work well in spring, summer, and fall, but their performance plummets once temperatures drop below 7°C. The rubber gets hard and stiff in the cold, losing its grip on snow and ice. That's why we call them "three-season" tires here in Canada.
All-weather tires are a newer innovation designed to bridge the gap between all-seasons and dedicated winter tires. They have the same Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) symbol as winter tires, which means they meet a minimum standard for snow traction. Their advanced rubber compound stays flexible in the cold but also resists wear in summer heat. They also have more aggressive tread patterns than all-seasons, helping them grip in snow and slush.
For the average city driver in Calgary or Edmonton who mostly sticks to cleared roads, a good set of all-weather tires can be a safe and convenient choice. They save you the hassle of seasonal tire changes and storage. However, they are a compromise. They won't match the deep snow and ice performance of a dedicated winter tire, nor will they be as quiet or handle as sharply as a premium summer tire in warm weather.
Our recommendation for most Albertans is still the two-set solution: dedicated winter tires for the cold months and a set of summer or all-season tires for the warmer months. This setup offers the best possible performance and safety in all conditions. But if the convenience of a single set of tires is your top priority, all-weather tires are a much safer bet than traditional all-seasons for handling Alberta's wild weather.