Not sure what the current laws are for winter driving in Alberta, they vary across the country & places like Yukon & Nunavut actually don't care. On the other hand Quebec has legislation requiring all vehicles licensed there to switch to winter tires.
In any case, it's your neck & any passengers riding with you. A couple of years ago I ended up in the ditch even with winter tires south of Golden. It was snowing on Rogers Pass, as I came down into Golden it turned into torrential rain & an hour south of Golden the wet rainy road turned into a sheet of ice. I didn't have the vehicle in 4x4 & the ice caught me off guard on a straight stretch of road. Lucky there was no traffic, although shortly after I ended up in the ditch on the opposite side of the road, a semi came over a rise from the other direction. Stopped & said he'd like to help out but couldn't. A few minutes later a dude named Dave saved me a big towing bill by yanking me out of the ditch.
http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/SeasonalDriv...er_chains.html