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Hundreds in Toronto still left without power after ice storm

Dec. 30, 2013, Toronto – Toronto's Mayor Rob Ford says 725 customers are left without power today in the city but crews are working to get all of them reconnected by the end of the day.

The number of those without power in the city has shrunk each day, from about 300,000 customers at the height of outages more than a week ago after a fierce ice storm hit Central and Eastern Canada.

Ford says most other services, including fire, police and emergency medical services, are back to normal today and he praised hydro crews and city staff who pitched in to help over the past nine days.

"We have never had a storm like this in Toronto's history, and hopefully, we'll never have to do this again," Ford said.

"We will have the 725 finished today for sure," he added.

Toronto Hydro CEO Anthony Haines said it has been "a long haul" and became emotional as he thanked his workers for what they've done.

"I think it's now time to thank our employees who have worked … around the clock. We're all tired but we never stopped," he said.

Elsewhere in Ontario, power is still out for about 1,500 homes and businesses.

In New Brunswick, forecasters have lifted weather warnings, except for a wind chill warning that remains in effect for the northern part of the province. NB Power says 3,700 customers have yet to be reconnected.

Additional line and tree-trimming crews from the other Maritime provinces, Quebec and the United States are lending a hand in New Brunswick. Hydro Quebec says about 1,200 customers are still without electricity.