Building a slab on grade in Cold Canada

Hello folks,

I'm new to this forum, please bear with me if I appear to go astray. I am contemplating building a house near Quebec city soon. Winters can get VERY cold there, and minus 35 degrees Celsius (close to minus 40 degrees F. I think, but not sure, sorry) is not unheard of.

I wish to build a slab on grade for many reasons. The litterature on the topic in Canada is pretty slim. I see a lot of like constructions in Southernmost regions, but little up North. I saw an FH article (April_May 1990) that gave a good run down on the topic but I still have questions.

Namely: Can one build such a slab in my neck of the woods if we can't afford to add a radiant heat system ? Will the floor remain too cold in such a situation ?

Where could I get specific constuction information to give to my (weary) builder ?

Thanks for your help.