With many roads impassable due to heavy snowfall or fallen trees , broken power lines and coated with a heavy layer of ice , emergency vehicles could hardly move . On January 7 , the provinces of New Brunswick , Ontario , and Quebec requested aid from the Canadian Forces ( CF ) , and Operation Recuperation began on January 8 . Over 15,000 troops were deployed . It was the largest deployment of troops ever to serve on Canadian soil in response to a natural disaster since the Manitoba floods in 1997 , where 14,000 troops were deployed , and the largest operational deployment of Canadian military personnel since the Korean War
Manitoba floods in 1997
1997 Red River flood
January 1998 North American ice storm