Updated March 30, 2025 @ 12:27am
Tens of thousands of Ontarians went without power on Saturday as an ice storm pummeled parts of the province and threatened to hit even more .
A map from Hydro One, the provincial utility, showed more than 100,000 customers were in the dark Saturday evening because of outages concentrated in cottage country, from Tobermory and Gravenhurst to Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes.
The outages came after Environment Canada issued freezing rain warnings for swaths of Ontario and Quebec, starting on the northwestern shore of Lake Huron, extending as far south as Burlington, Ont., and as far east as Lac Megantic, Que.
Hydro One said crews were out in force to turn the lights back on.
Environment Canada was only predicting up to four millimetres of ice build-up in Toronto, but in Orillia the national forecaster said up to 25 millimetres of ice could accumulate.
Orillia residents were asked to stay in their homes and off the roads as fire crews tried to manage a high volume of calls for downed trees and power lines across the city. Road closures were in effect.
As of 11 p.m. on Saturday, Alectra reported about 13,000 homes and businesses in Barrie had no power.
"Our crews are working to restore power. Unfortunately, some customers may be without power overnight as the weather deteriorates," the utility posted on X. "Conditions are making restorations difficult as ice accumulates and tree branches fall on wires."
Elexicon Energy said freezing rain had caused significant damage to the infrastructure in Gravenhurst, resulting in widespread power outages. The utility declared a state of emergency as crews, contractors and damage assessors worked to restore power.
"As of right now, the estimated time of restoration for the remaining 1,730 customers is Tuesday morning. However, crews are making good progress and will continue to work to restore sooner," the utility posted to X on Saturday night.
Police advised against unnecessary travel over the weekend, saying the roads would likely be slippery.
Parts of southern Ontario have already been hit, but the storm is due to expand over the weekend.
It was also expected to be a stormy weekend in Quebec, where the southern part of the province is forecast to receive between five and 15 centimetres of snow into Saturday morning before freezing rain follows on Sunday for several hours.
Environment Canada also issued a special weather statement for a large swath of the province including the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, the lower St. Lawrence, the Gaspé peninsula and the province’s north shore, where snow and freezing rain could last into Monday morning.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2025.
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