Strong winds leave thousands without power in Central Canada, Maritimes

High voltage power lines are seen in Beauharnois, Que., on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

MONTREAL — Strong winds put electrical grids to the test across Central Canada and the Maritimes on Tuesday, with Quebec particularly hard hit by the massive gusts.

At their peak, the outages affected more than 310,000 customers in Quebec, as Environment Canada forecast winds as strong as 90 kilometres an hour in parts of the province. The most outages were in the Laurentians, Lanaudiere and Monteregie regions.

By 3:30 p.m., that figure stood at just over 190,000. It’s unclear when power will be fully restored, said Hydro-Quebec spokesperson Cendrix Bouchard. In some areas, the damage included broken electrical polls and downed wires.

“It’s very likely that not everybody will be back on the grid today,” Bouchard said.

The winds began after midnight and peaked around 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Environment Canada metrologist Simon Legault said. The weather station on Montreal’s South Shore recorded a wind gust of 100 km/h.

“So that gives us an idea of the intensity of that storm,” Legault said, adding that winds were expected to subside in the afternoon, which would make reparations easier for the roughly 1,500 hydro workers who were dispatched across the province.

Bouchard said earlier Tuesday there were about 1,400 sites that needed repair along the network. “We’ll have to clear the debris, the trees, replace poles.”

The wintry weather postponed an event at Montreal’s Ecomuseum Zoo that typically signals that spring is near. A black bear named Genie was set to come out of hibernation on Tuesday -- but she didn’t budge.

“This morning, Genie showed no signs of wanting to leave her den, and we understand why!” the western Montreal zoo wrote in an email. “The gusts and icy wind they bring make us want to stay warm and cosy, wrapped in a cocoon of comfort.”

Legault said by the end of the week, a weak system entering the southern part of the province will bring about five centimetres of snow. “Winter is still here, and it’s not leaving soon,” Legault said.

By Tuesday afternoon, Hydro One reported power outages for about 12,000 customers in eastern Ontario and about 6,300 in Ottawa.

“We encourage customers to continue to prepare for an extended outage,” Ontario’s Hydro One said in a statement on its website. “The outages are largely being caused by tree branches/limbs coming down onto power lines.”

Meanwhile, thousands were without electricity in the Maritimes because of strong winds and heavy rain. Outages were reported in the Halifax area in Nova Scotia, in the Saint John and Fredericton areas in New Brunswick. About 1,000 clients were without power in Prince Edward Island.

Southern New Brunswick and all of Nova Scotia were under wind warnings until Tuesday afternoon, with speeds of up to 110 km/h expected in some areas.

By Sidhartha Banerjee.