3.8 earthquake in the Laurentians area of Quebec felt in the national capital region

Earthquakes Canada says a magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck at 11:57 a.m. on March 19, 2025, with the epicentre 17 km southwest of L’Annonciation, Que. The earthquake was located 112 kilometres northeast of Ottawa. (Google/CTV News Ottawa)

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake in the Laurentians area of Quebec was felt in the national capital region just before noon Wednesday.

Earthquakes Canada says a magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck at 11:57 a.m., with the epicentre 17 km southwest of L’Annonciation, Que. The earthquake was located 112 kilometres northeast of Ottawa.

“There are no reports of damage, and none would be expected,” Earthquakes Canada says.

A seismologist at Natural Resources Canada no damage would be expected from an earthquake of this size.

“Really, it takes, historically, a magnitude 5 until we start to see damage. But this is a region that does get earthquakes quite regularly,” Stephen Crane said. “So, it’s nothing to be concerned of in particular.”

The federal agency received reports from people who felt the earthquake in Ottawa, Gatineau, Embrun, Casselman, Cornwall, along with Montreal and western Quebec.

Most witnesses reported feeling the earthquake as “weak” or “light.”

Crane said if you felt the earthquake, “it was probably just a slight shaking of the house.”

“It’s hard in the middle of the day to distinguish between an earthquake like this and some traffic,” Crane said, adding they have received 2,500 reports from people saying they felt the quake. “But depending on where you are, you might have felt it more strongly than someone else.”

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake on Jan. 11 near Kazabazua, Que. was felt in the national capital region.

On Dec. 29, a 3.7 magnitude earthquake centred in the Maniwaki area was felt by residents in Ottawa, Gatineau, Pembroke, Brockville and Montreal. Earthquakes Canada initially reported the earthquake had a magnitude of 4.1.

Crane says earthquakes are a “common occurrence” in the area.

“We do get about 11 felt earthquakes in this region per year, so we’re looking at the Greater West Quebec Seismic Zone,” Crane told CTV News Ottawa Wednesday afternoon.

“So, it isn’t uncommon.”

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Peter Szperling