Winter tires for your tire size

What to check before you buy

• Look for the three-peak mountain and snowflake symbol on the sidewall, not only the letters M+S.
• Buy the size on the tire information label of your car. To change size, ask a tire shop first.
• Buy four, and put them on when the cold weeks start, not after the first snowfall.
• Many drivers keep winter tires on a second set of wheels, so the seasonal change is only a wheel swap.
• Check the tread each fall with a tread depth gauge before the tires go back on.

Good to know

• The three-peak mountain and snowflake symbol means the tire passed a standard traction test on medium-packed snow, with a score of at least 110 against a reference tire rated 100.^1,2,3
• An M+S (mud and snow) marking is given for the tread design.^2,3,4
• Tires marked only M+S do not offer the traction of tires with the mountain and snowflake symbol.^5,6
• Below about 7 C (45 F), all-season and summer tires begin to lose elasticity and grip; winter tires keep their grip at much lower temperatures.^2,6,7,8,9
• Winter tires grip better than all-season tires on snow and ice.^7,10,11
• Fit winter tires in sets of four: winter tires on only the front or only the back make the car harder to control.^2,5,6,7,11
• Winter tires lose grip as they wear, and tires worn close to 4 mm (5/32 in) of tread should not be used on snow-covered roads.^7,9
• Buy the size shown on the tire information label, on the edge of the driver's door or the door post, and do not mix sizes or tread patterns: it makes the car less stable.^7,10,12
• In Quebec, every motor vehicle registered in the province, rental cars included, must have winter tires from December 1 to March 15.^13,14,15
• In Quebec, only tires with the mountain and snowflake pictogram, and studded tires, count as winter tires.^8,13,14,16
• Studded tires are allowed in Quebec from October 15 to May 1.^13,17,18
• Quebec is the only Canadian province with a province-wide winter tire law; British Columbia's rule covers designated highways.^18,19,20
• In British Columbia, winter tires or chains are required on designated highways from October 1 until March 31 or April 30, depending on the highway.^21,22
• A legal winter tire in British Columbia carries M+S or the mountain and snowflake symbol and has at least 3.5 mm of tread; studded tires may be used there only from October 1 to April 30.^12,18,22
• Since January 1, 2016, Ontario has required car insurers to offer a discount to drivers who use winter tires.^23,24,25

How we checked this page

Checked on October 18, 2026. We kept a fact only when two independent sources agree, and each one is numbered to its sources below. We never write a price: the listings come straight from eBay and show what sellers ask. This page was written with an AI assistant and checked against the sources below.

Sources

1. Winter tires (briefing document, November 20, 2019), Transport Canada
2. Snow tire, Wikipedia
3. More than half a million AMP all-terrain tires recalled because of snow traction concerns (Jeff S. Bartlett, March 27, 2024), Consumer Reports
4. What does M+S marking mean on your vehicle's tires? (Tim Schewe, October 3, 2023), Castanet
5. Winter tires, Road Safety at Work
6. Ten surprising findings about winter tires (John Woodrooffe, SWT-2016-10, July 2016), University of Michigan
7. Using winter tires, Transport Canada
8. Winter preparation, Government of Quebec (SAAQ)
9. Getting a grip on the nitty-gritty of winter tires (January 22, 2021), CAA (Magazine)
10. Tires, NHTSA
11. Winter/snow tires vs. all-season tires: how they compare (Gene Petersen), Consumer Reports
12. About winter tires, Government of British Columbia
13. Requirements for winter tires, Government of Quebec
14. Winter tire exemption: where and how? (November 17, 2022), The Car Guide
15. Petit guide pour l'achat de pneus d'hiver (updated October 28, 2025), CAA (Quebec)
16. Pneus d'hiver : ne vous fiez pas seulement au flocon (October 31, 2019), CAA (Quebec)
17. Pneus a clous (Julien Amado), Protegez-Vous
18. Where and when are winter tires mandatory in Canada? (October 19, 2023), The Car Guide
19. Pneus d'hiver (document d'information, 20 novembre 2019), Transport Canada
20. Does Quebec's mandatory winter tire law actually make roads safer?, The Globe and Mail
21. Winter tire and chain-up routes, Government of British Columbia
22. Winter tires required on most B.C. highways starting Oct. 1, CBC News
23. Winter tire insurance discount promised for Jan. 1 in Ontario, CBC News
24. Do winter tires have to be on by a certain date to get the insurance discount?, The Globe and Mail
25. Ontario is making roads safer, one winter tire at a time (Eric W.D. Boate, October 21, 2016), Mondaq (McCague Borlack LLP)