By Canadian Press

Hundreds of thousands in Ontario still without power on third day of spring storm

Mar 31, 2025 | 7:24 AM

Hundreds of thousands of people across Ontario were still without power on the third day of a spring storm, after freezing rain coated swaths of the province with thick layers of ice.

An outage map from provincial utility Hydro One showed more than 430,000 homes and businesses remained without power Monday morning.

The map also showed that crews have been able to restore power to 358,000 customers since the start of the storm over the weekend.

“Hydro One prioritizes restoration in a way that brings power back to the greatest number of customers in the shortest period of time,” the utility said.

“Crews need to repair and rebuild main lines along with other key pieces of electricity infrastructure before repairs can be made to power lines that serve smaller numbers of customers.”

Ontario Provincial Police said warming centres opened in Orillia and Tay Township, which are among the hardest hit areas of central Ontario.

The cities of Orillia and Peterborough, as well as the cottage country district of Muskoka, all declared states of emergency.

Environment Canada said freezing rain in affected parts of the province is expected to ease this morning, but the agency warned the system is moving east.

The weather agency said Quebec, New Brunswick and parts of northern Nova Scotia’s mainland and Prince Edward Island were under freezing rain warnings Monday morning.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2025.

Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press