MONTREAL—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in his Montreal riding of Papineau on Thursday to see first-hand the damage done by an ice storm that’s left over a fifth of the province’s households without electricity.
“It’s a very difficult moment for Montrealers, for people across the region who have been hit by this ice storm,” Trudeau said alongside Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.
“Obviously, the power being down for so many folks, the trees coming down hurting buildings and cars and whatnot is of course an ongoing concern.”
Trudeau said the federal government is ready to provide help if a request comes from the province, but so far none has.
He added he would be receiving a briefing from public electricity provider Hydro-Québec alongside Premier François Legault in the afternoon.
Mayor Plante told reporters the city would be opening centres for people to sleep and shower, and recommended avoiding being outside due to falling ice.
The scene in Montreal streets is reminiscent of the 1998 storm with everything covered in ice with downed trees and hydro wires, but the impact isn’t as severe.
“Compared to 1998, this is not the same situation, we don’t have any major transmission lines that are affected. It’s mostly local distribution lines,” said Richard Liebman, the city’s director of fire services and coordinator of public safety.
As of midday on April 6, the province’s sole electricity provider reported 2536 outages affecting over 1 million customers. Hydro-Québec has a total of 4.5 million customers and Montreal and its northern and southern shores are amongst the regions most affected.
Hydro-Québec says it currently has 1,100 workers in the field to repair equipment and that it expects most of the services will be restored by Friday night.
Trudeau was asked whether the situation reminded him of the 1998 ice storm, but he said he was not in the province at the time.
“I think there'll be lots of people reflecting on this as we move forward, as we talk to our kids about what the ‘98 ice storm was like for those of us who remember it,” he said.
“I was actually living in B.C. at the time but I spoke almost constantly with my father and brother who were living through it and facing real challenges because of it.”
