OK — change of tack. I understand your concerns about rain. Vancouver is my home town (galactic sadness ... never to return cuz of property/rent escalation a la London.) But as the rain is in Vancouver, you are soaked and blasted anyway. So guards?? ... well anyway.
My current ride (while my two road racers are being restored) is a very much upgraded 1995 Trek 930 MTB. I'm on Araya rims with 26x1.50 high pressure (~100 psi +) road practice clinchers. I'm in a road race saddle. Very powerful cantilever brakes. A much cut-down set of MTB straight bars. Sylvan light pedals with toe clips and straps (or whatever they call 'em these days). Suspension: R U kidding?
Never considered it. This is an urban road warrior. Heavier than a road racer or lightweight touring machine — but once you get a backpack full of crud you need for work what is 3-4 pounds anyway!? I love the thing and have ridden it for 15 years throughout its evolution.
If you want a weather machine that is stable and yet a keen and fast urban bike for hill or dale, consider the custom hyrid. All you need to really find is a double or triple butted frame designed for no suspension. Hopefully it will have a decent BB and a crank-set with some life left in it. (I'd go with steel) The headset and stem may be a tank, but let's hope for better. Almost certainly you will be looking to replace and upgrade a saddle, post, peddles, clips/straps, wheels/hubs and tires — possibly brakes. Believe me, for a spiffy ride it will still be cheaper than a complete store bought bike — just get a good frame for peanuts. And so you will! Find a Gary Fisher or Trek ... blah blah.
You will have to study a lot of stuff on how to put this all together — like here at B.F., Park Tools and the archive of the late and much-missed Sheldon Brown.
The other solution is to throw money in some direction and hope that it comes back to you in some form that you will like. The problem is this: in terms of how I understand your cycling history and aspirations, (I could be wrong) you may not be satisfied by that solution. I've yet to see a hybrid bike on the display floor that is really what I think that you need or want — especially these days of carbon this and suspension that!
Yet another solution is a lightweight touring machine. Well, you don't live in Surrey England or Connecticut USA. Pretty slim pickens in B. C. ... I would think, anyway.
With some very big research on your part, and some scouring around the Lower Mainland, you should be able to rig up a cool, lighter, enjoyable steel hybrid ride. Just my 2-bits, but I hope that it helps one way or another. I know that this may seem provocative, but the center of what I am talking about may fit your bill.