Thinking about moving and would love your thoughts on life in the city.

My partner and I are thinking of moving from Vancouver to Edmonton. It looks like there is a lot of work there at pretty good pay and rent is cheaper than Vancouver. Our biggest concerns are:

1. The weather: is it as bad as one would expect from a place farther north than we are used to? (Look, we're obviously big West Coast babies, so be kind ;) )

2. Conservatives. How intense is this? Are they in your face about it?

3. Generally, is the population uptight or laid back? Will I have to wear a suit to an office job? (My office here is very casual but I know in Toronto for example, you usually have to go pretty pro)

4. Infrastructure. Is a commute from outside Edmonton to the city centre fairly easy (all things being relative)?

5. We really like to spend time in nature. In Vancouver it's a pretty quick drive to get out to the forest. Is this possible there? We'd preferably like to live in a country environment (forest and lakes etc)?

Any other thoughts or comments would really be appreciated :) Thank you all for your help!

Edit: Thanks so much for the thoughtful feedback everyone. After reading all this, our decision is to fly out there in the next couple of months for a four-day exploratory trip and see how it feels. If you guys are anything to judge the city by, it's going to be, at the very least, a friendly place :)