Tree touching power lines in Quebec, Canada: who is responsible
Hydro-Québec, the province's electricity utility, publishes English pages on what an owner must report, who owns the service mast, and which tree work near its wires only an authorized arborist may do. This page reports what those pages say.
This page is for tree owners. It reports what the named sources say and is not advice about your tree: for that, ask a qualified arborist or one of the offices under Who to call.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes the utility's own English pages. Other Canadian provinces have their own utilities and rules, and none is covered here.
When the utility is to be called
The Hydro-Québec page Avoid accidents when pruning or felling trees opens by saying the law requires some work to be done by arborists authorized by Hydro-Québec, and that if anything happened to employees of an unauthorized company that was hired, the person who hired it could be held liable. It lists six situations: a tree or large branch fallen onto the wires connecting a home to the grid (the service drop), a tree or branch leaning on utility wires, one that looks likely to fall onto them, sparks or smoke between wires and a tree, a climbing plant overtaking the wires, and any other case of trees close to electric wires. For a tree fallen onto the service drop it gives 1 800 790-2424, day or night, to report the situation.
What belongs to the owner
The same page says the service mast belongs to the homeowner, that a homeowner calls a master electrician to repair a damaged mast, and that a tenant contacts the landlord. The Hydro-Québec page How to avoid damaging power lines connecting my home to the grid says the three twisted wires from the distribution line to a home enter through a service mast topped with a gooseneck and are usually attached by a spool rack. It says that when a tree or branch falls on this service loop, the mast or spool rack is the part most likely to be damaged, that the owner of the building arranges and pays for those repairs, and that the utility cannot restore the connection until a damaged owner-side part is repaired. It says that after major weather its first priority is restoring power to as many customers as possible, and that repairing individual service loops is one of the last steps.
Whose tree it is
The pruning and felling page says a tree belongs to the person who owns the lot it stands on, that working on a tree that is not yours without the owner's consent is against the law, and that for a tree on public property the municipality is the contact. It recommends hiring an arborist who is a member of the Société internationale d'arboriculture Québec, the Québec chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.
The three metre test
The page's questionnaire says that by law only an arborist authorized by Hydro-Québec may carry out pruning or felling that might bring a person, part of the tree or a tool within three metres of electrical wires at any time. It adds that permits are mandatory in many municipalities.
Planting
The Hydro-Québec page Planting a tree says a species growing near or under power lines that puts the system at risk has to be trimmed regularly by the utility, which can change the tree's structure and natural appearance, and that some species develop roots that extend two or three times the tree's height. It points to an online tool called Choose the Right Tree or Shrub for safe planting distances and to an Info-Excavation locate request for underground lines.
Who to call
- Hydro-Québec, 1 800 790-2424: a tree or branch fallen on the service drop, open day or night per the utility page
- Your municipality: trees on public property, and permits for tree work
- Société internationale d'arboriculture Québec: the utility page links its member list of arborists