Manitoba Premier preparing to declare state of emergency after snow storm

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says he is in the process of declaring a state of emergency following a request from Manitoba Hydro.

Hydro says by declaring a state of emergency, more funds will be available to assist crews in restoring power.

A record-breaking storm has left thousands of Manitobans without power. The latest numbers show more than 53,000 people remain without power.

Get breaking National news

Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Get Started

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“We want to empower Manitoba Hydro,” Pallister said in a last-minute press conference Saturday evening.

Many people in the province have been without power for more than two days.

“We have major work underway,” said Pallister.

“We have workers out there working their tails off. We have them putting themselves in less-than-ideal situations to assist us.”

When asked by a Global News reporter on how soon a state of emergency will be declared, Pallister said the sooner the press conference was finished, the sooner the process to declare it begins.