A moderate earthquake with an epicentre 55 km northwest of Ottawa rattled the city just before 2 p.m. Wednesday.
It was recorded by scientists with a magnitude of 5.2 and a depth of 5 km.
Buildings and windows in the central area shook violently for about 30 seconds as residents and downtown office workers poured into the streets, spurred by fresh memories of the 7.0 earthquake that recently devastated Haiti.
“My building started to shake and at first I thought it was just a big shake but it kept getting worse, so then we ran outside,” said Centretown resident Hilary Maxwell. “It was scary.”
There were reports of traffic lights at some intersections not working and electrical outages.
Some windows at city hall smashed as a result of the shaking.
Aftershocks were anticipated but expected to be mild.
The quake was felt far away as Windsor, Ont.
Large buildings such as the Place Bell Centre were evacuated and employees remained outside until inspectors declared the tower safe.
Natural Resources Canada seismologist Janet Drysdale said in an interview that these kind of events are not unknown to the Ottawa area but usually occur only once every 10 years.
She said that there are around 30 earthquakes a year in the region, with only handful over magnitude three.
Drysdale said that the region has the potential of experiencing an earthquake as large as magnitude 6.5 or 7.0.