Ford visits areas with prolonged power outages caused by ice storm in Ontario

ORILLIA — Ontario Premier Doug Ford is visiting some areas affected by prolonged power outages after a powerful ice storm hit central and northern parts of the province last weekend.

During a stop in Orillia, Ford thanked hydro workers, volunteers and local officials for their ongoing efforts to restore power to tens of thousands of homes and business that are still in the dark.

The weekend storm caused severe damage in cities such as Orillia and Peterborough, while another storm system that moved through parts of Ontario mid-week caused additional scattered outages and slowed down restoration efforts.

Hydro One says power has been restored to more than 85 per cent of nearly a million affected customers, but there is “still a lot of work ahead” until everyone gets their electricity back.

It says crews continue to discover significant damage as they work on restoring power to customers.

The utility says its crew members have discovered 1,826 broken poles so far.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2025.

The Canadian Press