Winter storm continues to disrupt Christmas Day travel in some parts of Canada

The latest:

• Weather warnings or statements remain in place for most provinces and territories early Sunday.
• Rainfall warnings, flood watches issued in Vancouver and southwestern B.C.; four dead in Southern Interior bus rollover 
• Thousands of customers still without power in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.
• Via Rail cancelled all trains between Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal scheduled for Sunday.
• 2 border crossings in Niagara region reopen; two others remain closed.

• CBC Lite: If the power or data on your device is low, get your storm updates on CBC Lite. It’s our low-bandwidth, text-only website.

Thousands of people remain stuck Christmas Day in Canada as winter storm conditions that have stretched into a third day in some areas have forced the cancellations of planes and trains.

Saskatchewan, P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador are the only regions not affected by an Environment Canada weather warning or statement as of 3:45 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Niagara Region digs out

Meanwhile, residents in Fort Erie, Ont., and surrounding areas in the southern Niagara region woke up Sunday morning to the task of digging out from the snow and assessing the storm damage.

“Yesterday was just a nightmare,” Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop told CBC News on Sunday, describing winds powerful enough to snap utility poles and knock trees over on to power lines and roadways. 

“It got to a point where on Friday night, around midnight, that the winds were so high [and] the snow was so great that it was dangerous for anybody to be out — including workers trying to repair damaged hydro lines.” 

The Niagara region declared a state of emergency on Saturday evening in the face of power outages and impassable roads.

“Right now, we’re focused on trying to get power back to those individuals who have not had power, some for now more than 48 hours,” Redekop said.

Power was out at for around 11,000 customers, which Redekop said translates to around 17,000 to 18,000 people.

A warming centre was expected to open at the Fort Erie Leisureplex, but the mayor said officials are working on how to help people travel there from areas where snow has not yet been cleared. That includes reaching out to people with snowmobiles.

Two border crossings in the Niagara region reopened Sunday. The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, on its website, said the Rainbow and Lewiston-Queenston bridges were reopened to traffic in both directions, while the Whirlpool bridge, for NEXUS card holders only, remains closed in both directions. The Peace Bridge, operated by the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, also remains shut.

Chatham-Kent in southwestern Ontario also declared a state of emergency Saturday after road conditions led to multiple crashes and left hundreds of people stranded.

As of early Sunday afternoon, Hydro One was reporting over 49,500 customers without power in Ontario, down from 54,000 earlier in the day, while Hydro-Québec is showing over 110,000 customers in the dark.

Train cancellations in Ontario, Quebec

A Saturday evening tweet from Via Rail announced a CN train derailment forced the carrier to cancel travel between Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal that had been scheduled for Christmas Day.

It came shortly after ferocious winter weather grounded flights and stranded nine trains between Ontario and Quebec, in some cases leaving passengers without food or water for more than 12 hours.

WATCH | Via passengers describe chaotic commute: 

Stranded Via Rail passengers faced cramped conditions, out-of-service bathrooms

Via Rail passengers say cramped conditions, out-of-service bathrooms, lack of food and water while stranded in big storm in hours-long delay have them considering suing.

Snow squalls expected in part of N.B.

In New Brunswick, outages have been reported in almost all parts of the province after two days of high wind gusts and heavy rain.

More than 5,000 customers were without power as of about 2 p.m. AT, according to the N.B. Power outage map. 

On Saturday, New Brunswick grappled with one of the largest outages to hit the province in decades, with over 71,000 customers without power at the peak of the outage.

N.B. Power spokesperson Marc Belliveau said more than 500 crew members and 30 contractors are working on restoring power. By mid-afternoon Sunday, approximately 5,000 customers were still in the dark.

Environment Canada issued special weather statements for the Fundy coast and along southeast New Brunswick, saying that snow squalls are expected throughout Sunday morning.

Roadways and walkways may become difficult to navigate and motorists should be prepared for “winter driving conditions,” according to the statements.

Deadly bus crash in B.C. Southern Interior

Among the regions that saw significant snow in British Columbia was the Southern Interior, where a passenger bus rollover on Saturday evening left four people dead, RCMP confirmed Sunday. More than 50 people were sent to hospitals; eight remained hospitalized as of Sunday afternoon, two of them in serious condition, according to the local health authority. 

“While the investigation is ongoing, it is believed that extremely icy road conditions caused the rollover,” RCMP in B.C. said in a statement.

Rainfall warnings and flood watches were issued in Vancouver and southwestern B.C., with heavy rain in the region following a week of snowstorms.

The storm that swept through the southern part of the province on Friday led to hundreds of flight cancellations and the closure of crucial arterial bridges in Metro Vancouver, as well as ferry suspensions and avalanche risk elsewhere in B.C.

Most flights and ferries resumed service on Saturday, although some delays were reported, according to Vancouver airport officials and B.C. Ferries.