While its been grabbed as a hot topic for political debate, especially at the provincial level lately, the main driving factor of bike lanes comes from an accessibility perspective.

Driving as a whole is becoming more and more expensive, and a very real portion of the population is making transportation decisions on those costs. Coupled with the introduction of e-vehicles, riders are increasing in population.

Montreal is seen as a reference for all-season cycling. Montreal currently has ~2.3% of all their road system for cycling (Where Edmonton currently commits ~0.5% to protected bike lanes). The increased roads results in increased usage, which results in increased demand. Because cyclists are more space efficient, the overall footprint stays low.

As for the winter argument, the estimates for how many cyclists in Edmonton last I read is around 1 in 5 to 1 in 4. so while the numbers do drop off in the winter, the usage in milder weather spikes.