[jseutter]

I just looked up Cochrane ON because I hadn't heard of it before and yeah, it seems a bit of a mystery to me why it isn't more settled. I live around Edmonton where farming is a major industry, and just for comparison:

Mean daily temperature range (min to max): Cochrane -19c to +24c, Edmonton -15 to +23

Growing season: Cochrane 155 days, Edmonton 123 days

Frost free days: Cochrane 99 days, Edmonton 135 days

Precipitation: Cochrane 90cm, Edmonton 42cm

Around the first world war when the area was being settled, wikipedia quotes "7 months of snow, two months of rain, and the rest black flies and mosquitos. If I had to describe Edmonton, it would be 6 months of winter, one month of rain (June), 2 months of mosquitos, and 10 months of sun.

If I had to guess, the frost free days is a big factor. Even though Edmonton is further north, we benefit from the jet stream coming over the mountains and largely keeping the arctic air mass away from us. The jet stream tilts further south into the US by the time you get over to Ontario so Manitoba and Northern Ontario can get some bitterly cold winds.