Its not a catch 22 at all, there are countless places you can drive all over this very very large province in which you can get winter driving experience and not risk driving off a cliff to your death.

I also wouldnt worry about clearance, its pretty common sense. You shouldnt have any major problems and the roads are usually well kept despite the conditions, but also travel with a short shovel just in case, they are like 40 bucks at a hardware store and worth every penny. Digging yourself out isnt complicated, you literally just remove the snow from in front of your tires so that the track is level with the bottom of your tires and then rock your car into the dug out slot and then pull out slowly not giving too much gas as to avoid digging yourself into a new rut.