Power outages hit thousands in Quebec and Ontario amid a heat wave

Tens of thousands of people in Quebec and Ontario were left without power after severe thunderstorms on Canada Day knocked down trees and flooded homes in some areas. All of this is happening as a persistent heat wave continues to spread eastward.

On Thursday, most of Quebec remains under a heat warning from Environment Canada. The situation is similar in Ontario, while warnings have now been extended to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

In southern Quebec, temperatures are expected to once again exceed 30 degrees Celsius on Thursday and Friday, with a heat index of over 40. On Wednesday afternoon, the humidex reached 44 in Montreal and 42 in Quebec City.

Regions further north will not be spared, as Environment Canada warnings indicate that temperatures could hover around 30 degrees Celsius, with humidex values ranging from 35 to 40.

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

Ontario is under similar warnings from Environment Canada. In the Maritimes, residents of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia should also expect to feel the effects of the heat.

On Wednesday, the combination of heat and humidity triggered severe thunderstorms, which in turn caused power outages. A tornado watch was even in effect for a few minutes in southwestern Quebec.

Damage was also reported in some municipalities, particularly due to fallen trees. The Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region was particularly hard hit.

In Ottawa, the inclement weather forced the cancellation of the Canada Day evening show. On Wednesday, Environment Canada reported that approximately 110 millimeters of rain had fallen at the capital’s airport.

More than 10,000 households in Quebec were also without power Thursday around 12:20 p.m., according to Hydro-Québec.

In Montreal, over 2,100 customers were affected while in Montérégie over 1,500 customers were without electricity. Outaouais was the worst affected with over 3,600 households taking the hit.

In a statement to CityNews, a spokesperson for Hydro-Québec, Audrey St-Pierre, said a thunderstorm which moved through the Outaouais region yesterday was to blame for the outages.

“Our crews are mobilized and continue restoration work to return service as quickly as possible,” said St-Pierre.

“In Montréal, more than 1,000 addresses in the Anjou area are without power due to an interruption requested by emergency services,” she added. “Service will be restored as soon as emergency services authorize us to do so.”

In Ontario, Hydro One reported that 168,000 customers were without power at one point. The utility stated on social media that, although crews had made significant progress in restoring power, some customers in the hardest-hit areas might still be without power on Thursday.

Tens of thousands of customers were still without power late Thursday morning, according to Hydro One’s outage map. The utility said in a social media post that it was working safely and quickly, urging the public not to fly drones so that helicopters could have clear airspace.

This intense heat wave comes as Toronto prepares to host its sixth and final FIFA World Cup match on Thursday—a Round of 16 match between Portugal and Croatia.

The City of Toronto has already announced that the public viewing of the match, scheduled to take place at Nathan Phillips Square in front of City Hall, has been canceled due to extreme heat warnings.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews