WeatherCan – Environment Canada’s weather app
Environment Canada’s new app WeatherCan is a must have for Canadians. The app moved out of beta testing and is available in both the Apple Store and Google Play Store. A quick note: this is an app geared towards Canadians and not applicable outside of our borders.
I’ve been using WeatherCan for a few months now since it was in beta. It’s run on two phones – both budget smartphones – and worked flawlessly. I’ve played around with dozens of weather apps over the years, usually tearing them out quickly because they are resource hogs or heat the phone up (on two occasions, dangerously so). I’m pleased to say this one does neither. It’s fast response time, even on a low-end phone, was a surprise. Another positive, WeatherCan doesn’t drain the battery, even when allowing notifications and real time updates.
Best weather app for Canadians
There isn’t a lot to be said about the app – it works well, it doesn’t crash, and it’s pleasing to look at. The visuals are clean and easy to understand. If you’re familiar with the Environment Canada website, it’s pretty much the same. The big bold images, and lack of clutter makes WeatherCan one of the better weather apps out there.
 Weather looks a bit chilly |
 Easy to understand interface |
WeatherCan packs a lot of information on each screen.
 Detailed single day screen |
 A week at a glance |
The only flaw** I could find is the lack of ability to turn off weather notifications for other regions/provinces. For a few weeks, I was hammered with weather alerts for Sask. On the upside, I learned to appreciate how truly bad Sask. winters can get. Maybe it’s part of Environment Canada’s cunning plan.
** update: this glitch has been fixed and no longer sends erroneous weather alerts – Dec 14/20
Look for the WeatherCan app in Google Play and the Apple Store or go directly to Environment Canada’s page – WeatherCan. If you download the app, drop a note in the comments and let me know how it runs on your phone.
NOTE: minor updates to grammar and information regarding the app made Dec. 14, 2020.