On April 5, 2023, the 2023 Canadian ice storm devastated
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, knocked out electricity for more than a million people, resulted in fatalities, and severely damaged property and infrastructure.
Background
The two most populous provinces in Canada, Ontario and Quebec, were most severely impacted by the natural catastrophe, with the worst power outage in Quebec since the
1998 ice storm
The North American Ice Storm of 1998 (also known as Great Ice Storm of 1998) was a massive combination of five smaller successive ice storms in January 1998 that struck a relatively narrow swath of land from eastern Ontario to southern Quebec, N ...
brought on by toppled power lines and blocked roadways. Two people died as a consequence of the storm's effects: one was crushed by a falling limb in Quebec and another was killed by a falling tree in Ontario. While encouraging locals to stay away from downed power lines and to avoid going in forested areas where trees loaded with ice may topple, emergency workers worked to clean roadways and reconnect power lines.
Response
The weather warnings were cancelled and the situation was under control, according to the authorities, but they nevertheless recommended care because it would take many weeks to repair the damage brought on by the ice storm.
François Legault
François Legault (; born May 26, 1957) is a Canadian politician serving as the 32nd premier of Quebec since 2018. A member of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), he has led the party since its founding in 2011. Legault sits as a member of the ...
, the
premier of Quebec
The premier of Quebec ( French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the ...
, emphasized the dangers of extreme weather conditions and the rising probability that they may occur as a result of climate change.
Reactions
Canadian Prime Minister
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as such ...
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
, who was present in Montreal at the time, described the storm as a trying period for residents of Montreal and others who had been impacted by the tragedy throughout the province. Long-lasting cleanup and restoration operations are needed to bring the afflicted communities back to normality after the ice storm.
See also
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Weather of 2023
The following is a list of weather events that occurred on Earth in the year 2023. The year saw a transition from La Niña to El Niño, with record high Global surface temperature, global average surface temperatures. The several weather events w ...
References
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2023 meteorology
2023 disasters in Canada
Ice storms in Canada
Natural disasters in Quebec
Natural disasters in Ontario
April 2023 events in Canada
2023 in Ontario
2023 in Quebec