Just a day after freezing rain and strong winds lashed southeast regions of Canada more than 1.2 million people were without power in Ontario and Quebec. These are two most populated provinces of Canada. In Quebec alone, about 1000 workers trying to restore power overnight and on Thursday morning, according to the province’s electricity provider.
“We are confident that we can restore power to some of the affected customers today,” Hydro-Quebec said in a statement. “Unfortunately, it is already expected that some customers will still be without power on Friday and this weekend.” The company was quoted by Reuters.
About 1.1 million people did not have power in Quebec and about 167,000 in Ontario as of 10:35 am (1435 GMT), according to Poweroutage.com. Ontario and Quebec account for more than half of Canada’s total population of about 39.6 million.
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said that crews were expected to restrore power for a large portion of about 65000 affected customers by noon.
Some areas in the national capital “remain hazardous due to fallen debris and power outages affecting traffic signals,” he said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was scheduled to be in Montreal on Thursday to speak about his government’s budget, offered to provide federal assistance if required.
Montreal is among the worst affected by the power outages after Wednesday’s ice storm, according to Hydro-Quebec.
“We’re thinking of everyone in Quebec and Eastern Ontario affected by yesterday’s storm – and we’re thanking the crews who are clearing roads and restoring power,” Trudeau said on Twitter.
(With inputs from agencies)
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