MONTREAL — Quebecers woke up Tuesday to a blast of early winter weather, as heavy snow knocked down trees, forced school closures and created hazardous road conditions.
About 375,000 Quebec homes and businesses were without electricity as of 8 a.m., although that number had dropped to under 270,000 by mid-afternoon.
Environment Canada said a low pressure system that started Sunday brought a mixed bag of rain, freezing rain and snow to southern Quebec.
“In the wake of Sunday’s snow, another snow event has brought additional amounts since Monday evening over the south and the centre of the province,” the weather agency said. “This caused numerous power outages in several regions.”
The province’s hydro utility said the snow collected on tree leaves, weighing down branches that snapped and fell on power lines.
Paule Veilleux-Turcotte, a spokesperson for the utility, said about 1,000 workers were out restoring power. Veilleux-Turcotte said a “large number” of the outages should be resolved by late Tuesday, although some were expected to stretch into the next day.
The Montérégie region south of Montreal was most affected, with more than 100,000 clients without power as of late morning. As of mid-afternoon, the number stood at just under 88,000.
The Montreal, Centre-du-Québec and Lanaudière regions also had tens of thousands of people in the dark at the height of the storm.
Snowfall has created slippery road conditions before the province’s Dec. 1 deadline for drivers to install winter tires.
In Montreal, officials in the Sud-Ouest borough asked the population for patience, noting that snow removal contracts normally only start on Nov. 15. Some heavy equipment has yet to be converted from street cleaning to snow removal setup, it added in a social media message.
The borough also asked people to be careful on the roads, noting that the “fairy tale landscape” can bring slippery streets and unexpected snow dumps from trees.
But despite the inconveniences, some Montrealers were delighted with the postcard-pretty blanket of snow that covered the city.
Sara Najafi described the snow as “really amazing,” especially compared to the light dustings she’s used to seeing in her native Iran.
She said she’s looking forward to winter hikes, and taking a trip up Mount Royal to look at the city from above.
Sally Beaumont, a South Shore resident who travelled to Montreal to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony, said she woke up to an “eerie light in the air.”
“I woke up I thought it must be very early, and I looked outside and there was this complete white landscape,” she said. “It was beautiful.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2025.
— With files from Miriam Lafontaine
Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
