Many in Canada May Spend Christmas Day Without Power as Storm Continues

A gas station is shown without power, following a winter storm in the region, in Montreal on Dec. 24, 2022. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Tens of thousands of Canadians may have to spend the rest of Dec. 24 as well as Christmas  Day without electricity, as a winter storm continues across the country.

Hydro-Québec said at around 1 p.m. EST on Dec. 24 that over 300,000 of its customers were still without power, while its workers are rushing to restore service.

“Today we have a strike force of more than 1,200 workers. The storm is not over and the difficult weather conditions could affect the work of the teams on the ground,” the company said in French on social media.

“Unfortunately, it is not possible to give recovery times at this time; we see the damage as we progress through the terrain.”

Hydro-Québec said on its website that its restoration efforts were stalled by strong gusts of wind, in addition to snow and rainfall since the early morning of Dec. 23. The gusts have caused branches to fall on the electrical network, and have even uprooted trees in some cases.

Quebec Premier François Legault urged residents to check in on their loved ones who live alone, while cautioning that driving conditions could be unsafe.

“I know this is not the Christmas many were hoping for. More than 285,000 customers are still without electricity,” he wrote in French on Twitter.

“Please check in with your loved ones if they live alone. Be careful on the roads too, the conditions are not ideal. For those who wish to warm up, places are ready to receive you in several cities and municipalities.”

In Ontario, several thousand homes are currently without power, with restoration efforts extending well into January in some northern regions.

As of 3:30 p.m. EST on Dec. 24, Hydro One said it has restored power to some 230,000 customers affected by the storm. 

But the company’s outage map showed at the time that roughly 1,500 outage cases were still affecting more than 56,000 customers. Restoration times vary across the province. Regions including Kitchener, Brampton, and Kingston are expected to have power restored on Christmas Day, while areas north of Orillia, near Huntsville, may see impacts lasting until early January.

Several thousand across British Columbia are waiting for power to be restored. As of morning on Dec. 24, BC Hydro reported outages affecting 931 customers in Abbotsford, 500 in Mission, and 3,662 in Langley. At around noon, the company said its crew was also responding to an outage affecting 3,307 customers in Vancouver.

Many residents in Atlantic Canada may also see disruptions to their plans on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

In New Brunswick, some 18,000 residents are currently without power, according to an outage map provided by NB Power, which said it is still assessing storm-related damages throughout the province. Restoration time will be determined according to the assessment, the company said on social media.

Nova Scotia Power said crews are resolving outage issues in cities and municipalities including Sydney, Pictou, Halifax, and Bridgewater. Some 500 residents in Prince Edward Island are pending power restoration, according to an outage map from Maritime Electric.

The outage situation appears to be less severe in the Prairies, with Manitoba Hydro reporting just three outages affecting some 20 customers on Dec. 24.