Most winter car kits are put together once, thrown in the trunk, and never looked at again until the day they are needed, when half of it turns out to be missing and the rest is frozen solid. This is a ten-minute job for this weekend: build the kit or check the one you have, and know what each thing is for.
Image needed: hero
winter-car-kit-laid-out-in-open-trunk.jpg
Overhead or three-quarter view into an open hatchback or SUV trunk in a snowy driveway. Kit items laid out neatly and visibly separate: folded wool blanket, foil emergency blanket, short shovel, scraper, booster cables, flashlight, candle in a tin can with matches, first aid kit, water bottles, granola bars, toque and mitts, a bag of kitty litter. Daylight, light snow falling.
Alt text ready: “A winter car kit laid out in an open hatchback: blanket, shovel, booster cables, flashlight, candle in a can, first aid kit, snacks and a toque.”
The goal is not comfort. It is getting through a few cold hours, or a night, in a car on the shoulder of a highway or at the end of a rural road, without anyone getting hypothermic, frostbitten or poisoned by their own exhaust. a one-day first aid course before winter driving season.
Pack it for the people who actually ride with you. A kit put together for one adult does not cover two children and a grandparent in the back seat, and the extra mitts and snacks are the part that runs out first.
What goes in it
Transport Canada and the Government of Canada both publish winter kit lists, and they cover the same ground. Here is the list, grouped by what each thing does for you.
Staying warm:
- A warm blanket, ideally a heat-reflective one as well.
- Extra clothing: a toque, mitts, dry socks and a spare warm layer for everyone who usually rides in the car.
- A candle in a deep can, with matches, for a small amount of heat without running the engine.
Getting unstuck or found:
- A small shovel, an ice scraper and a snow brush.
- Sand, salt, kitty litter or traction mats for grip under the wheels.
- Booster cables and a tow rope.
- A flashlight, road flares or a warning light, and a reflective vest.
- A charged phone and a charging cable that works in your car.
Looking after people:
- A first aid kit. A seatbelt cutter is a useful addition.
- Water and non-perishable, high-energy food: granola or energy bars, and a can opener if you pack canned food.
- Chemical hand and foot warmers, which are cheap and last for hours.
Keep the blanket, extra clothing and food in the car itself if you can, not only in the trunk. A trunk can be hard to reach when a car is in a ditch or buried by a plow.
The one habit that matters most: the tailpipe
If you are stuck and run the engine for heat, the biggest danger in the car is not the cold. It is carbon monoxide. When snow drifts around a stopped car or builds up behind it, the exhaust can be trapped under and around the vehicle and seep inside. Carbon monoxide has no colour and no smell. The first signs are a headache, drowsiness and nausea, which in a cold car at night are easy to put down to something else.
Image needed: inline
clearing-snow-from-car-tailpipe.jpg
Low, close shot at the rear of a car sitting in a roadside snowbank. A gloved hand scoops packed snow away from the tailpipe, the opening clearly visible. Blowing snow in the air, overcast light, hazard lights glowing orange on the car body.
Alt text ready: “A gloved hand clearing packed snow away from the tailpipe of a car stuck in a snowbank at the side of a road.”
The Government of Canada's winter storm advice is to stay in your vehicle if you are trapped and to keep the tailpipe clear of snow and ice. Check it before you start the engine and keep checking it, because blowing snow can bury it again within the hour. Running the engine in short periods rather than continuously saves fuel and limits the exposure. Cracking a window a little on the side away from the wind lets in fresh air.
If you do get stuck
Stay with the car. It is shelter, it is much easier for rescuers to find than a person walking, and walking off into a storm is how a stranded driver becomes a lost one.
Call for help if you have signal, and tell them where you are as precisely as you can: highway number, direction of travel, the last town or kilometre marker you passed. Turn on the hazard lights or set out flares if it is safe to get out.
Put on the extra clothing before you get cold, not after. Keep moving a little inside the car to make heat: clap your hands, move your feet, change position. Share the blankets and body heat. Eat something and drink water. Watch the people with you, especially children and older adults, for the signs of hypothermia and frostbite covered earlier this week. how to tell mild hypothermia from the dangerous kind.
Before you go anywhere in the winter, tell someone your route and when you expect to arrive. That single habit is what turns a stranded car into a search that starts in hours rather than days. a ten-minute trip plan that gets a search started early.
Sources
- Transport Canada: Winter driving emergency kit: first aid kit, ice scraper, booster cables, kitty litter, traction mats and a shovel, flashlight, road flares and a reflective vest, matches and a survival candle, extra clothing and a heat-reflective blanket, emergency food and water, and a charged cell phone. (checked 2026-09-23)
- Government of Canada (Get Prepared): Emergency car kit includes a candle in a deep can and matches, a blanket, extra clothing and shoes, a first aid kit with seatbelt cutter, sand, salt or non-clumping cat litter, a tow rope and jumper cables. (checked 2026-09-23)
- Government of Canada (Get Prepared): If trapped in a vehicle in a winter storm, stay inside and keep the tailpipe clear of snow and ice. (checked 2026-09-23)