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911 service restored after outage hits multiple Canadian communities

Click to play video: '911 service restored after Bell network issue disrupts emergency lines across 5 provinces'
911 service restored after Bell network issue disrupts emergency lines across 5 provinces
WATCH: 911 service restored after Bell network issue disrupts emergency lines across 5 provinces – Sep 17, 2026

Several communities across Canada had issues with 911 calls Thursday morning following a problem with the network.

A spokesperson for Bell Canada told Global News an issue with its “next-generation 9-1-1 network” was detected at roughly 3:13 a.m. ET, prompting several police agencies to issue advisories.

Service was restored at 4:40 a.m. ET, they said.

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Ontario Provincial Police and forces in Toronto, York Region, Peel Region, Durham Region, Kingston and Niagara were urging anyone with an emergency to contact non-emergency lines, which were still operational.

Police in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Manitoba also reported issues.

The Bell spokesperson said backup systems were brought online to route calls to emergency services while technicians investigated the outage.

What caused the outage is still under investigation, they added.

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Bell states on its website its next generation system will allow people in distress to send text messages, photos and video to emergency services.

Bell is the telephone provider for emergency services in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.

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