How Often do Tropical Cyclones Affect Canada?

On average 4 tropical cyclones affect Atlantic Canada each year. No category 4 or 5 hurricane has made landfall in Canada since 1851. Only two category 3 hurricanes have made landfall in Canada in the last 110 years, one in Newfoundland (Luis, 1995) and one in Nova Scotia (1893C). (See: History of Tropical Cyclones in Canada)

Frequency of tropical cyclones by province:

• Newfoundland: one every 1.4 years
• Nova Scotia: one every 2.4 years
• New Brunswick: one tropical cyclone every 3.4 years.
• Quebec: one tropical storm every 6.6 years
• Ontario: one tropical storm every 11.1 years

The tropical cyclones that impact Quebec and Ontario are always the remnants of tropical cyclones. These storms are generally weak and do not cause much damage. British Columbia gets brushed by eastern Pacific cyclones very rarely.

This image shows all of the Atlantic Canada landfalling hurricanes from 1886 - 1996. This image only shows hurricanes (not tropical storms). Also, if a hurricane made landfall in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick before making landfall in Newfoundland or Prince Edward Island, it is not included in this image.

Check out these statistics:

• Top Ten Tropical Cyclones by Region of Canada
• Top Ten Tropical Cyclones by Province
• List of Top Tropical Cyclones in Canada since 1886