Intense cold weather sweeping across Canada on Saturday has led to utility companies issuing alerts to customers and airlines adjusting flight schedules. Residents from the Atlantic provinces to the Prairies are enduring a severe cold spell, with temperatures in some Prairie regions expected to plummet to -55 C with wind chill factors.
In Ontario, both Toronto and Ottawa experienced wind chill temperatures dropping below -30 C, prompting the need for extended hours and additional spaces at warming centers in Hamilton due to high demand. Montreal officials reported warming centers operating at over 90% capacity.
Calgary police reported more than 140 collisions due to snowy conditions across the city. Nova Scotia Power urged customers to conserve energy as temperatures dipped into double-digit negatives, causing increased heating demand that could strain the power system.
Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro officials also issued a warning about potential electricity shortages and the possibility of rotating outages. Flight operations were significantly impacted, with over 20% of the 900 flights at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport canceled between Friday and Saturday, while another 20% were delayed.
Passengers like Guilherme Holtz faced flight disruptions, spending 11 hours on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Toronto only to have their connecting flight to Quebec City canceled. Airlines like Air Canada and WestJet have provided rebooking options for affected passengers at no extra cost due to extreme cold conditions causing delays at various airports.