More than 50,000 Hydro-Quebec clients without electricity as heat wave continues

A man takes in the sun on a hot day in Montreal on Thursday, July 2, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

More than 50,000 Hydro-Quebec clients are without electricity Friday morning after thunderstorms battered the region and a heat wave continues.

As many as 100,000 clients lost power Thursday night, with the Laurentians and Lanaudiere the hardest hit.

As of Friday morning, those two regions had 19,661 and 18,833 outages, respectively. Laval had another 10,354 without electricity. Hydro-Québec confirmed that these power outages were caused by Thursday’s thunderstorms that swept through these regions.

• SEE REAL-TIME OUTAGE UPDATES HERE

“We already have crews on the ground working to restore power to affected homes,” said Audrey St-Pierre, a spokesperson for Hydro-Québec, on Thursday evening.

“All of our teams are monitoring the storm system’s progress to see where we’ll need to take action,” she added. A statement on Hydro-Quebec’s website warning people to stay safe.

“Weather conditions may have caused downed power lines in some areas,” the statement reads. “For your safety, do not touch them and keep your distance, as they may still be energized even if they are on the ground. If you see a downed power line, call 911 so the area can be secured.”

Heat wave continues

Friday will see no relief from the heat wave that has gripped southern Quebec for the past few days. Temperatures are expected to exceed 30 degrees Celsius again, but will feel like over 40.

On Wednesday afternoon, the humidex reached 44 in Montreal and 42 in Quebec City.

• Hourly and 7-day forecast on our CTVNewsMontreal.ca weather hub

During this heat wave, the City of Montreal has extended swimming hours at certain pools.

• Where to cool off in Montreal: every public pool, wading pool and splash pad, mapped

“The most important thing for the coming days will be the safety of the most vulnerable people,” said Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada, explaining in particular that community workers “are making the rounds at encampments for people experiencing homelessness” and that “door-to-door services are being set up” for “seniors living alone.”

Regions north of Montreal are also bearing the heat, as Environment Canada’s warnings predicted that temperatures could hover around 30 degrees Celsius on Thursday, with humidex readings ranging from 35 to 40.

Temperatures and humidity will begin to drop only starting Saturday morning, according to the federal agency.

- With files from The Canadian Press