'Brutally cold': Extreme weather warnings spread across Canada
Across the country, Canadians are turning up the thermostat as frigid temperatures and snow squalls creep in.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, as of Thursday morning there were extreme cold or winter storm warnings active from coast to coast, with the harshest extreme cold warnings stretching from northern Alberta all the way to Nova Scotia.
Regions of British Columbia are expecting significant snowfall, with Peace River set to receive 25-50 centimetres by Saturday morning.
In Fort McMurray, Alta., the wind chill will make the air feel like -40 degrees Celsius by Thursday afternoon.
On the other side of the country, residents of Halifax are bracing for an arctic airmass to strike on Friday, bringing with it a windchill value of -35 to -42 C, according to Environment Canada.
A map of alerts and warnings on the agency’s website shows a wide band of red warnings stretching from B.C. to the Atlantic provinces. There are warnings in place across all of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, with the vast majority of Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario covered in winter warnings as well.
This cold snap is in part due to a wave of cold from the Arctic’s polar vortex descending on Eastern Canada between Thursday night and Friday, according to climatologists.
"We'll see temperatures that are really, brutally cold," Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips told CTVNews.ca earlier this week. "It's really a one-and-a-half-day wonder.”
COLD COMING FOR EASTERN CANADA
In New Brunswick, extreme cold warnings project that by Friday it will feel like -35 C to -45 C, lasting into Saturday morning.
The frigid conditions are predicted to clear up in all Maritime provinces sometime on Saturday or by Sunday morning, depending on the region, according to Environment Canada.
A storm off of the coast of Labrador is set to complicate things, bringing gusts of wind reaching up to 50 kilometres per hour to 80 km/h Friday night and into Saturday afternoon.
As of Thursday afternoon, Newfoundland and Labrador is facing a few scattered warnings for blizzards and snowfall, as well as numerous special weather statements regarding the storm. However, they are not yet set to face the same frigid temperatures as the rest of the Atlantic provinces.
ONTARIO, QUEBEC, CENTRAL CANADA SHIVERING
Quebec experienced a mild January, but that’s all set to change with the arctic air heading their way Thursday night. Extreme cold warnings across the southern half of the province project that temperatures could feel between -38 C and -45 C with the wind chill, depending on the region, lasting through Saturday morning.
In Northern Quebec, it could feel like -50 C in some areas.
Montreal is opening two emergency shelters in response to the frigid temperatures, one in the Ville-Marie borough and one in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough.
Ontario is also preparing to face the cold after a relatively warm January. Ottawa may see its coldest temperatures in years, according to Environment Canada’s projections, with -43 C expected Thursday night and into Friday morning with the wind chill.
In response, Ottawa Public Health has issued a frostbite warning for overnight Thursday. When the temperature reaches -35 C or colder, any exposed skin can freeze in just ten minutes, potentially leading to frostbite.
In the city of Toronto, temperatures could dip below the minus double digits for Friday into Saturday morning. Experts say the city could come close to breaking daily temperature records, with temperatures expected to dip close to -25 C, which was the record set for Feb. 3 in 1955.
Snow squalls are also expected in several regions in Ontario, including in Ottawa, Peterborough and Waterloo, among others.
Manitoba and Saskatchewan are also dealing with chilly conditions. In Manitoba, extreme cold warnings cover almost the entire province, with the temperature in Winnipeg set to dip near -30 C on Thursday and feel like -40 C with the wind chill.
Northern Saskatchewan is currently under numerous extreme cold warnings, but is expected to begin to warm up throughout Thursday.
This warming trend should stretch into Manitoba on Friday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | 3 people stabbed at Halifax-area high school; 1 person in custody
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.

W5 Investigates | How did a healthy teen die at a minor hockey camp?
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
Conservatives forcing MPs to vote on striking new foreign interference study
In an effort to keep the foreign interference story at the forefront, and to do an apparent end run around the Liberal filibuster blocking one study from going ahead, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has forced the House to spend the day debating a motion instructing an opposition-dominated House committee to strike its own review.
Amazon cuts 9,000 more jobs, bringing 2023 total to 27,000
Amazon plans to eliminate 9,000 more jobs in the next few weeks, CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to staff on Monday.
Donald Trump's call for protests gets muted reaction by supporters
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap.
LIVE @ 11:30 A.M. | 6 still missing after Old Montreal fire; Mayor to address media
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
opinion | Biden's Canada visit is long overdue, expert says
Questions abound as to why U.S. President Biden is only now making the visit to Canada, more than two years into his presidency.
Ontario court permits Nordstrom Canada to liquidate closing stores
Bargain hunters are one step closer to seeing sales at Nordstrom's closing Canadian locations. At a hearing at Osgoode Hall in Toronto on Monday, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice gave the U.S. retailer's Canadian branch permission to start liquidating its merchandise.
Canada's among central banks try to calm markets after UBS deal to buy Credit Suisse
Some of the world's largest central banks came together on Sunday to stop a banking crisis from spreading as Swiss authorities persuaded UBS Group AG to buy rival Credit Suisse Group AG in a historic deal.
W5 HIGHLIGHTS
W5 Investigates | How did a healthy teen die at a minor hockey camp?
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.

W5 | Parents of young player who died struggle to find answers within hockey's code of silence
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.

W5 | 'So disturbing': Pivot Airlines crew shocked RCMP aware of possible cocaine shipment prior to Dominican bust
The RCMP knew about a potential cocaine shipment from the Dominican Republic to Toronto aboard a Canadian charter flight but inexplicably allowed the crew that discovered and reported the drugs to be detained for months without intervening, a W5 investigation has revealed.

W5 Investigates | Pivot Airlines crew seeking justice after 'cocaine cargo' detainment
CTV W5 investigates what authorities knew about plans to smuggle cocaine out of the Dominican Republic on a Toronto-bound Pivot Airlines flight. The airline's crew is demanding justice following their eight-month detention.
W5 | Divorcing Canadian couples spending thousands on pet custody court battles
Pet custody cases are on the rise in Canada as judges decide who gets the dog or cat after a divorce.
W5 Investigates | How a small town Canadian grandmother ended up in a Hong Kong prison
A 64-year-old grandmother from Barrie, Ont. faces life in prison in Hong Kong, accused of smuggling drugs, after being duped twice in what her family believes was a sophisticated romance scam.
Podcaster Ryan McMahon determined to uncover truth behind multiple teen deaths in Thunder Bay
Anishinaabe podcaster Ryan McMahon sought to uncover the truth behind the deaths of several Indigenous people in Thunder Bay, Ont. in a new Crave Original documentary.
W5 Investigates | What's driving limb-lengthening surgery -- a radical procedure making men taller
A growing number of men are undergoing a radical surgery to become taller. CTV W5 goes inside the lucrative world of limb-lengthening surgery.