I'm from Manitoba which is essentially the prairies. If you have ever seen the tv show Little House on the Prairie, it is quite similar in terms of open vast areas. We are close in comparison as well to Minnesota, N. Dakota (really all the northern states).
Vancouver is very beautiful as it is coastal but close to the mountains. Within a couple hours drive you have a little bit of everything from rain forests to a desertous region. It is hard to speak of winters without a definite comparison. I've been there in the winter and I find it very mild, but I'm from an area where -30 to -40 can be the norm for long stretches of time with very high winds. Someone from Florida would probably consider it extrememly frigid. It's all relative I suppose. They don't get the heavy snow we receive but do get a lot of rain (a lot) so it is a wet coolness as opposed to a frigid, frostbite type of extreme. If you go there in the winter, you will certainly need warm clothes, but we like to layer here. I can answer any other questions you have as I am glad you are coming out here and would like your experience to be as great as possible!!
I have a sister who lives in Burnaby and I will probably be very close to there by the time you are travelling.
