Storm with high winds knocks out power to tens of thousands in Atlantic Canada
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HALIFAX – Tens of thousands of people were without power across Atlantic Canada on Saturday after a storm with high winds pummeled the region.
Nova Scotia’s largest utility said in a statement its crews have been working through challenging conditions to restore power as winds reaching up to 110 kilometres an hour hit much of the province, causing damage Friday evening and into the early hours of Saturday.
Nova Scotia Power said hurricane-force wind gusts hit 120 kilometres an hour in parts of Cape Breton.
Pam Scully-Poirier, the utility’s storm lead, said more than 600 people were working in the field with hundreds more behind the scenes to restore power. As of 8 a.m. Saturday, about 186,000 customers were in the dark. That number dropped to about 37,000 by 3:30 p.m. and was down to just over 11,000 by Saturday evening.
“We want our customers to know we are doing everything we can to get their power back on. Along with our crews in the field, we’ll also be using a helicopter to patrol power lines in different parts of the province today to look for damage,” Scully-Poirier said in the statement.
In New Brunswick, more than 17,500 NB Power customers were without electricity by Saturday night, down from 54,000 earlier in the day.
In Newfoundland, the major utility reported more than 500 people were still in the dark by late Saturday, down from 5,000. In Prince Edward Island, Maritime Electric said the number of customers without power dropped from 1,200 to 150 by 3:30 p.m. and was down to seven by 9:30 p.m.
Environment Canada had issued weather warnings in all four provinces on Friday, saying that winds up to 100 kilometres per hour could hit Newfoundland and New Brunswick’s Fundy shore.
Wind warnings remained in place on Saturday night for parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, while snow squall watches were in effect in areas of southern Quebec, where customers also faced power outages. Snow squall warnings were in place in parts of Ontario.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Dec. 20, 2025.