My wife and I moved from Waterloo, Ontario (just down the road from Toronto) two years ago. Eastenders mentioned that we were "basically snowed under" that year. However, we got to the end of the winter and were surprised that it had never really got very cold - there were maybe a few days where the low got down to -10, but it would always climb above -5 during the day. By the end of the winter, we learned that it had been an exceptionally cold winter by local standards, which we were quite surprised by. Last winter wasn't much of anything - more like an extended fall that transformed into an early spring. If it's like that then you certainly won't need any of the Canadian-level equipment.

Of course, most locals will still complain that it is extremely cold whenever it drops below +5. However, I've found that many people's problem is that they seem to think that cold weather clothing is only something that should be worn in the mountains, while in the city many insist on not wearing sufficiently warm clothing, and therefore complain of the cold weather a lot.

I was worried that my Canadian toughness might wear off after a couple of years here. However, it just got cold again last week (around 0 for a few days) and I still thought that it wasn't a very big deal, and was very happy to see the snow again

Regarding second-hand winter clothing, the best place in town is probably the Salvation Army (l'Armee du Salut) on Rue de la Borde.

For a more objective opinion, check out the statistics on the BBC weather website for Geneva monthly averages, they don't have Lausanne but there is not much difference.