Canadian Winter magazine offers cold comfort

"Mon pays..." oops, I was going to break into song, prompted by the impending launch of a cozy new travel/lifestyle magazine called Canadian Winter.

It is owned and produced by Griffintown Media, a Montreal-based communications firm that also publishes Canadascope magazine, Canada’s international magazine for the tourism industry, since 2001. Like Canadascope, Canadian Winter has a strong, tourism-focussed promotional streak. It calls itself "Canada's coolest magazine" and the first issue is due out November 24. The happy tone is set by the message from editor Jim Hynes:

Canadian Winter offers a pretty unique experience. The climate, geography and opportunities for outdoor adventure of the winter kind just can’t be had in 90 per cent of the rest of the world. Yes, a beach in Cancun in January can be a good thing too. But you haven’t lived until you’ve made a snow angel in Canadian powder either. It’s an experience you’ll never forget.

The content includes how to make an outdoor rink, a feature on the joys of wintertime Montreal and a piece on polar bear watching in Churchill, Manitoba. Readers can find out about snow conditions and download winter scene screensavers. And there's a tab that takes you to information and sites about the forthcoming winter Olympics in Vancouver.

In addition to being on Canadian newsstands, Griffintown says the magazine will be distributed via a targeted mailing list, and also will be on display at Montreal’s winter consumer show, le Salon J’aime l’Hiver, November 24-26 at Place Bonaventure.