Earthquakes in Canada

The dreadful quake in Chile was 500 times stronger than the one in Haiti. Fortunately it seems the death toll was far less -- probably because Chile, being used to earthquakes and technologically more developed, had earthquake proofed buildings.

Canada too has had earthquakes although not as devastating. On September 5, 1944 an earthquake damaged St. Paul's Church spire in Hamilton. Several people were killed and there is a small plinth remembering the event in downtown Hamilton. Around the same time (perhaps related?) there was a minor earthquake in Pembroke, Ontario but there appears to have been no injuries or serious damage.

There were significant earthquakes in Cornwall, Ontario in 1944 (perhaps the same as Hamilton/Pembroke?); on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia in 1946; and in the Saguenay region of Quebec in 1988. Canada's most recent earthquake (although it was so slight as barely to be felt) was last Saturday February 20, 2010 being a magnitude 2.9 - it was 17 km ESE of Victoria, BC.

In 1929, the largest casualty toll from an earthquake related event took place in Canada (well, then it was another country but it became part of Canada) when an earthquake-generated tsunami hit the south coast of Newfoundland and 27 people died.