Storms and severe thunderstorms knock out power to over 25,000 in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec

Severe thunderstorms swept across eastern Ontario and western Quebec on Thursday evening(July 26), leaving more than 25,000 customers without power, toppling trees, and disrupting local events.

The storms, which moved through the region between 6:30 pm and 10:30 pm, brought wind gusts up to 90 km/h, heavy rain, and intense lightning, according to Environment Canada. A tornado warning was issued around Sharbot Lake, though it remains unconfirmed whether a tornado touched down.

As of Friday afternoon, Hydro One reported about 15,000 customers without power in eastern Ontario. The Bancroft area was the most severely affected, with two-thirds of customers without electricity. Power is expected to be restored gradually throughout the day.


In western Quebec’s Outaouais region, around 11,000 customers were still without power, according to Hydro-Québec. The La Pêche and Wakefield areas saw widespread tree damage, with branches and uprooted trees falling on power lines.

Photos from Wakefield and Chelsea, just north of Gatineau, show trees split or snapped in half. Utility crews were deployed early Friday morning to clear debris and restore damaged infrastructure.

Hydro Ottawa did not report significant outages within the capital, though at one point more than 45,000 local customers across both provinces were affected earlier in the day.

The storms also forced the cancellation of the Festival Parasol in Gatineau on Thursday night. According to Gatineau police, there were no major injuries reported, and most incidents involved minor property damage from fallen branches.

Cleanup operations are ongoing, and authorities are urging residents to stay away from downed power lines and report hazardous conditions to local utilities.

Environment Canada continues to monitor damage patterns and is investigating whether any tornado activity occurred during the storm.