Canadians preparing for chillier weather, or already in the thick of it, should not expect a repeat of last winter — what many were calling the winter that wasn't.

"It will feel tougher, but it won't be the winter of our youth," David Phillips, Environment Canada's senior climatologist, said about the agency's seasonal outlook for December to February.

Those in the eastern half of the country can look forward to slightly above-normal temperatures, particularly this month, but it will still be colder over the same period last winter.

Ontario and eastward will be milder because of warmer bodies of water influencing temperatures.