Hundreds of thousands of people remained without power and schools were closed in some areas on Monday morning after many Ontario locales were hit by freezing rainstorms over the weekend.
According to Hydro One’s power outage map as of Monday morning, there were still widespread power outages in a stretch of the province extending from Grey-Bruce to the Quebec border that the company services. More than 390,000 homes and businesses were without power.
Well over 532,000 others have also had their power restored since the storm began, according to Hydro One.
Hydro One estimated that some of the areas may not see power restored until Tuesday or Wednesday. Many major cities are not serviced by the company.
“It’s all hands-on deck as crews continue to work alongside our contractors to restore power to customers,” it said on its website.
Alectra Utilities’, which services Barrie, said that there were still 18,000 people without power in the city.
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In addition, several school boards kept classrooms shuttered on Monday including the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board.
A number of municipalities declared states of emergency including Peterborough, Orillia, Oro-Medonte and Brock as well as the District of Muskoka.
“On Sunday, March 30, 2025, the City declared a state of emergency to support recovery efforts related to the ice storm,” a note on Peterborough’s website read. “Ice accumulation is knocking down power lines, trees and tree limbs, causing power outages and unsafe conditions.”
Ontario Provincial Police said warming centres opened in Orillia and Tay Township, which are among the hardest hit areas of central Ontario while the city of Peterborough also opened warming centres.
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.”
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.
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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.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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