911 services disrupted across six Canadian provinces

911 outage telecommunications disruption Bell Canada emergency services Canada

A widespread 911 service outage disrupted emergency communications across six Canadian provinces on Thursday morning, affecting Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Bell Canada reported that the issue originated within its next-generation 911 network at approximately 3:13 a.m. ET. While backup systems were deployed to route calls, many residents experienced difficulties connecting to emergency services.

In Quebec, the Sûreté du Québec reported technical difficulties specifically regarding the transfer of calls between 911 centers and their management centers. Police services in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, and other regions advised the public to use non-emergency lines or alternative contact methods during the disruption.

Most services reported that connectivity was being restored throughout the morning, with many areas returning to normal status by 7:30 a.m. ET. The Nova Scotia government clarified that the disruption was tied to telecommunications carrier networks rather than the provincial 911 system itself. Authorities have urged citizens not to call 911 solely to test line functionality.

Entities

Bell Canada · Chatham-Kent Police Service · Montreal Police · Nova Scotia Department of Emergency Management · Ontario Provincial Police · Service de police de la Ville de Montréal · Sûreté du Québec · Windsor Police Service

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[○ 1 SOURCE] 911 service in Essex County may remain unavailable despite service restoration in Windsor. windsorstar.com
[● 2 SOURCES] Montreal police service was operational again as of 4:45 a.m. magaspesie.ca · halifax.citynews.ca
[○ 1 SOURCE] 911 service in Windsor has returned to operational status following a province-wide outage. windsorstar.com
[● 4 SOURCES] A technical issue affected the transfer of certain calls between 911 centers and the Sûreté du Québec call management centers. journallesoir.ca · halifax.citynews.ca · magaspesie.ca · www.winnipegfreepress.com
[● 4 SOURCES] The 911 outage was caused by a technical issue at the telephone provider responsible for the service. magaspesie.ca · halifax.citynews.ca · www.europesays.com · www.winnipegfreepress.com
[● 4 SOURCES] The Ontario Provincial Police are investigating reports of intermittent 911 service outages in certain regions of the province. magaspesie.ca · sydenhamcurrent.ca · halifax.citynews.ca · www.winnipegfreepress.com
[● 2 SOURCES] The outage was related to telecommunications carrier networks rather than the provincial 911 system. halifax.citynews.ca · www.europesays.com
[● 3 SOURCES] Multiple police services across Canada reported 911 service disruptions on Thursday morning. magaspesie.ca · halifax.citynews.ca · www.winnipegfreepress.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] 911 services were largely restored by approximately 4:40 a.m. ET. www.europesays.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] The outage impacted six provinces: Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. www.europesays.com