Hundreds of thousands in Ontario still without power as ice storm cleanup continues

As the spring ice storm continues overnight, several cities have declared a state of emergency. Sarah Plowman reports.

Hundreds of thousands of people across Ontario were still without power Monday after freezing rain coated swaths of the province with thick layers of ice, with outages expected to last in some areas as storm cleanup continues.

An outage map from provincial utility Hydro One showed more than 396,000 homes and businesses remained without power as of early Monday evening – and some areas near Georgian Bay may not have power restored until Friday.

The map also showed that crews have been able to restore power to more than 637,000 customers since the start of the storm over the weekend.

“It’s all hands on deck as crews continue to work alongside our contractors to restore power to customers,” the utility said. “While we continue to mobilize crews from other parts of the province, we anticipate it will take several days to restore all customers.”

Hydro One said people should stay at least 10 metres away from any fallen power line even if it does not appear to be live as crews continue their work.

Ontario Provincial Police said warming centres opened in Orillia and Tay Township, which are among the hardest hit areas of central Ontario.

The freezing rain, along with high winds on Monday, have “caused significant damage to trees and power lines throughout,” they said, noting that there have been at least 38 road closures in central Ontario due to the storm.

The cities of Orillia and Peterborough, as well as the cottage country district of Muskoka and the Township of Oro-Medonte, all declared states of emergency.

Police said Monday afternoon that parts of Orillia are starting to have power restored, but the region remains under a state of emergency and residents are urged to stay sheltered in place due to falling trees and power lines.

Orillia Fire Chief Chris Ferry said residents can expect power outages for up to 48 more hours.

“I would say we have thousands of trees damaged or down in the city, as well as our entire electrical grid was out,” Ferry said in a phone interview. “We’re just asking people to avoid any of the dangerous hazards of overhanging limbs and trees.”

Ferry added that city crews have pushed debris off the streets and continue to clear up trees, as groups of volunteers help with wellness checks and cleanup. The city has also opened a relief station at a local recreation centre where residents can shelter and access food, he said.

Several school boards in the impacted area, including those in Simcoe County and Sudbury, closed their schools and child-care services on Monday due to the ice storm.

Trillium Lakelands District School Board, which manages public schools in Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County and Muskoka, said all of its schools and child-care centres would also remain closed on Tuesday.

Many businesses also had to close their doors.

Gina Allison runs a home-based salon in Oro-Medonte and has been without power since early Saturday morning.

She and her family hunkered down on Sunday as trees crashed onto their deck and cars, which she called “nerve-wracking.”

“We had trees coming down all around us, which was crazy. I have never seen anything like this,” she said in a phone interview Monday.

“This storm is unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed.”

Allison said both of her family’s cars were damaged, with one of them getting severely dented after a tree hit it “like a torpedo.”

She’s had to close her salon while she assesses the damage and waits for power to be restored. Clients and friends have offered to provide meals and shelter in the meantime, she said, but her family has decided to wait it out.

“It’s such a good community we live in,” she said. “I look just on this street and I’m overwhelmed, there’s no treetops left in this whole neighbourhood ... it’s devastating.”

Environment Canada has warned that the storm system is moving east.

The weather agency said parts of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were under freezing rain and storm warnings Monday.

In Quebec, more than 13,000 Hydro-Québec customers remained in the dark as of Monday evening, as crews worked to restore power.

The vast majority of the outages were in the Laurentians and Lanaudière regions north of Montreal, where ice accumulation downed trees and power lines.

--- With files from Morgan Lowrie in Montreal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2025.