Car engines that won’t turn over, coughs that won’t subside, and frigid gusts of wind that cut through even your thickest parka: It’s a deep freeze scene that’s gripping parts of Canada and becoming a headache (sometimes literally) for many residents.

But the recent cold snap is also shining a spotlight on Canadian retailers that have historically benefitted from chilly weather.

While portfolio managers emphasize that many factors dictate whether a company thrives in the winter months, these Canadian retailers may see an impact on sales thanks to dropping temperatures.

Canadian Tire

In late 2013, early 2014, a cold front descended on Canada and the United States, burying whole regions under piles of snow.

Canadian Tire (CTCa.TO) saw a subsequent uptick in sales of snow removal tools, snow tires and even toboggans.

“It's fair to say that about half of Canadian Tire’s performance is directly attributable to favourable weather, although I doubt many of our customers would describe this winter as favourable,” then-president Michael Medline told analysts on a conference call in February 2014.

Brian Madden, senior vice president and portfolio manager at Goodreid Investment Counsel, says the retailer may be a “mild beneficiary” of this year’s frigid weather thanks to its seasonal goods.

But he cautions the cold-weather effect may not be “strong enough or lasting enough to trade around amidst all the others forces at play.”

Loblaw Companies

Freezing temperatures and growing snow piles aren’t the only headaches to greet Canadians in the winter months – colds and flus are ubiquitous.

“Pharmacies can really make hay during cold [and] flu season,” notes Madden in an email to BNN. “U.S. pharmacies will sometimes specifically cite the relative strength/mildness of the current vintage crop of the flu virus as a factor in their Q1 results.”

That means Loblaw (L.TO), owner of pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart, could see an uptick in its so-called health and beauty category.

The flu season has been so-far mild in the Greater Toronto Area, but Manitoba has been hit hard. The chief health operations officer for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority tells CTV News the incidence of the flu hasn’t been this high since 2014.

Canada Goose

Canada Goose’s (GOOS.TO) heftiest parkas can protect wearers against temperatures below -30 degrees Celsius. It’s no wonder, then, that Google searches for the Canadian retailer surge in the winter months.

But Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss has so far hesitated to link weather to his company’s performance.

“Regardless of what the weather has been, cold in one part of the world, warmer in another part of the world, perceived cold winter, warm winter, it's never prevented us from hitting our targets or for our business continuing to perform well,” Reiss told analysts on a 2017 conference call.

The parka-maker’s shares rallied in mid-December, but according to Ryan Modesto, CEO of 5I Research, the move had little to do with the cold weather alerts being issued across North America.

“On Dec. 18th, GOOS was added to the TSX composite index,” he wrote in an email. “And we think this is likely the reason behind some of the run up.”