It's cold to very cold from Nov 1 to April-ish with occasional Chinook breaks. If you can live somewhere else for those five months, they are the worst for sure.
The weather has been rather weird lately. The summer was very hot and smokey. Who knows what winter will be like.
I grew up in Northern BC so I don't mind the winter. It gets cold for a few weeks but is otherwise bearable.
You get an actual spring here which is nice. Lots of new growth and green things. It is an actual dramatic change which Vancouver doesn't have.
Despite the snow I would never want to be in Vancouver again in winter. The clouds are over your head all the time. It feels oppressive. Winter here has lots of light and sky. And you never get that brown leaf mush stuck on your shoes like you do in Vancouver.