-8c in Canada in winter is nothing. With how our bodies can adjust, its enough for a pretty light coat as long as you're not out for long. Frozen Hell isn't just exaggeration, its a whole other level of wrong.
-10s... okay, certainly, and -20s is terrible (but really only happens when you factor in windchill) and indeed more like a frozen hell. But -1s is.. whatever. Its nothing. It means snow exists and doesn't melt, that wind is cold instead of comfortable, and that you can't just sit out for hours without being bundled up a little.
More accurate to say that its on the colder side of weather for half the year, but the frozen hellscape status is really just for a few months tops. Dec-March at most, Jan-Feb at minimum. Yeah Feb definitely counts but this is, at least here in Ottawa, a damn nice year for us. Too bad I'm seeing lows of *-29* (WAIT WTF IS THAT RIGHT??) for this weekend. We were spoiled for Dec and Jan... I'm glad I don't pay separate for heating at home...