Ice covers part of a street in Montreal, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, following a storm which left around 15 millimetres of freezing rain in the area. (FILE PHOTO) THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

By The Canadian Press

Winter storm bringing freezing rain, heavy snow sweeping into Ontario, Quebec

Mar 11, 2026 | 9:23 AM

MONTREAL — A winter storm swept across Central Canada and the Atlantic region on Wednesday, bringing a mix of heavy rain, freezing rain or significant snowfall.

In Toronto, police said flooding had been reported in North York, East York, and Scarborough, and officers warned motorists to exercise caution while driving. Environment Canada said water will likely pool on roads and low-lying areas and asked residents to watch for washouts near rivers, creeks, and culverts.

Ontario’s power utility said about 32,652 customers were without electricity on Wednesday morning. The southern part of the province was forecast to receive between 20 to 40 millimetres of rain, possibly more in areas hit by thunderstorms. Areas further north, including Timmins, was expected to get between 10 to 20 centimetres of snow.

Southern Quebec, from the Outaouais region and up the St. Lawrence Valley to Quebec City, was forecast to receive between 20 to 30 mm of freezing rain from the storm, which could last up to 24 hours. Further north in Quebec, heavy snow is expected, with 20 to 30 cm forecast in Charlevoix, Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, and the Lower St. Lawrence, and up to 40 cm along the Côte-Nord.

In Montreal, streets in the Plateau neighbourhood were mostly deserted on Wednesday morning. A few car owners had improvised protective coverings — cardboard boxes and plastic tarps — over their windshields to guard from the icy rain.

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Downtown Montreal traffic seemed lighter than usual on a rainy afternoon, but some residents carried on with their day, despite the weather.

“I just fell, actually. I’m not wearing my crampons because this morning it wasn’t icy yet when I left,” said Marc Ladouceur, 29, who was meeting a friend for coffee in downtown Montreal.

Retired couple Maryse and Denis Tanguay decided to brave the rain to visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. “We don’t mind the rain,” said Maryse Tremblay. “It’s a perfect museum day.”

The storm was forecast to bring between 15 to 25 cm of snow and ice pellets in the northern half of New Brunswick, and up to 10 mm of freezing rain in the south.

Environment Canada warned that the accumulating ice could disrupt travel, damage property, and cause power outages. As of about 10 a.m., Hydro-Québec had not yet reported any customers without electricity.

Montreal’s public transit agency said on social media that most buses were running on schedule Wednesday morning, but drivers were adjusting their driving to ensure passengers safety. The greater Montreal area’s REM light-rail network said it had adjusted operations and schedules and urged passengers to check service updates before travelling.

Quebec’s Transport Department asked people to postpone non-essential travel. “If you have to take the road, it’s really important to adjust your speed to the weather and road conditions,” department spokesperson Alexandra Houde said in an interview.

Many Quebec school boards cancelled classes on Wednesday in anticipation of the storm and Montreal universities suspended activities. Despite the slippery conditions, some students still made their way to Concordia University’s downtown campus and a few of them could be seen sitting on couches in a hall outside the shuttered library.

“I work better from school anyway,” said Anny Granger, a second-year English major, who explained she came in to study.

Air travel in the country is being disrupted as well. At Montreal and Quebec City airports, early morning flights departed normally, but dozens of later departures had been cancelled by mid-morning. Eric Forest, a spokesperson for Montréal Trudeau International Airport, said more than a third of flights scheduled for Wednesday had been cancelled.

Forest said airport “teams are on the job, clearing the runways and taxiways and de-icing the surfaces. We have begun spreading de-icing products on the runways.” Travellers are being advised to check flight schedules with their airline before heading to the airport and to allow extra time for travel.

The storm also disrupted cultural events. A concert by the rock band Journey scheduled for Wednesday night at Montreal’s Bell Centre was postponed to Friday, promoter Evenko said, citing weather-related travel disruptions.

Meteorologists were warning the system could resemble the major ice storm that hit parts of southern Quebec and eastern Ontario in April 2023, when some areas — including Montreal — received about 30 mm of freezing rain, disrupting travel and knocking out power for more than a million people in the two provinces.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2026.

—with files from Kathryn Mannie in Toronto.

The Canadian Press