Having spent 10 years in Vancouver some time ago, and now 22 years in Kelowna (and always have had snow tires), I bet there was a lot of "mayhem" (cue the insurance ad on TV) on the Lower Mainland streets these past days. I know how many Vancouver drivers are in the snow, and the snow is usually very wet snow, and close to ice in most cases. Without snow tires, you are deadmeat, even with them, sometimes it's chancey.
And that doesn't take into account the large portion of "less than top-notch" drivers who reside down there.
Good luck, guys, you'll need it.......
