Oscar - I was really surprised to see you are in Canada and in zone 6a, until I called up a map. You're almost in a straight line across from us in the middle of Michigan, and you're closer to the water, so I guess that explains it. To be honest, it looks like our zone 5a is changing to more like 6 as well. Haven't seen a minus 20* F in a long time, though I'm probably a fool for tempting the Fates by saying it!
Alex