Wednesday, October 14, 2026

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Two minor earthquakes hit Burlington within hours

Posted:October 14, 2026 | 5:51 PM
By: Michael To

By:Michael To
Co-author:Manesa Dhanabalan

Updated: October 14, 2026 | 6:02 PM

Spencer Smith Park in Burlington is pictured. (CHCH File Photo)

The City of Burlington reportedly encountered two earthquakes overnight into Wednesday, with around magnitude 1.4 felt by local residents.

Earthquakes Canada says a magnitude 1.4 earthquake occurred around 7 km east of Burlington at around 10:42 p.m. on Tuesday, and once more, in the same spot two and a half hours later, was a magnitude 1.5 quake.

There were no damages or injuries reported, since the earthquakes were fairly small, but a few residents did say they felt something, with the epicenter being located close to the pier.

Some residents in Burlington told CHCH News that they felt something, hearing sounds similar to a loud bang, but just short of the threshold of where something might be felt.

“It’s not an area that’s generally prone towards earthquakes and certainly not large earthquakes, but it is interesting that we’re seeing these moderate seismic events on a fairly regular basis,” said Chris Boucher, a seismic analyst with Natural Resources Canada.

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Boucher says Burlington isn’t a stranger to these types of earthquakes.

“If we see, you know, 1 to 3, for every year or so, some of them are too small to be felt, but we’re seeing a little bit of this cluster of earthquakes,” said Boucher. “I wouldn’t say they are increasing — our detection capabilities may have increased slightly since then.”

Earthquakes Canada says the other parts of Ontario have been seeing quakes this month, including a magnitude 1.4 quake in Hastings Highlands on Sunday, and a magnitude 1.1 quake in Gravenhurst last Tuesday.

The City of Burlington last felt an earthquake earlier this year on Jan. 7, where a magnitude 1.3 quake occurred 4 km east-northeast of the city.

Boucher says that while southwestern Ontario is not an area that’s prominent for earthquakes, Natural Resources Canada is reminding people to drop, cover and hold on when there is one.