Canada is living up to its reputation as the Great White North, with Monday's temperatures across the country dipping well below the norm. And it caused an energy crunch in central Canada.

Canadians are using, on average, 35 per cent more fuel to deal with this winter's icy blast.

Toronto is suffering its coldest March on record at -24 degrees Celsius. The previous record low of -21 degrees for Toronto was set in 1938.

Cities like Toronto and Fredericton are normally around 0 degrees Celsius on March 3, but instead, the two cities are suffering in -35 and -27 degree temperatures with the wind chill.

In Toronto, the city issued its first March cold weather alert Monday -- the first ever in March. So far this season, the city has seen eight cold alerts. Usually, there are about two or three warnings in a season.

Environment Canada, which issued a wind chill warning for most provinces, says in these conditions, there is a serious risk of hypothermia if people are outside for long periods of time.

How long is this frigid weather going to last? According to the Environment Canada Web site, things might warm up a bit Tuesday. Here are some highlights in the record lows for Monday:

• Calgary: - 20
• Regina: - 33 with wind chill
• Ottawa: - 42
• Montreal: -36 degrees
• Fredericton: -26

The energy crunch

The record cold temperatures prompted Ontario's Independent Electricity Market Operator to declare a ''power warning.''

The regulator says freezing temperatures have greatly increased demand for electricity, already in short supply, resulting in a province-wide power shortage. Ontario homeowners and industries were asked to immediately turn off lights, limit their use of appliances and lower the thermostats on furnaces.

"What we're asking people to do is, where they can, reduce the (level of electricity use), whether it's putting off doing laundry or putting off running the dishwasher, or turning the TV off if you don't need it," said the IMO's Terry Young.

The IMO says the request to lower electricity consumption is especially important during the peak usage hours of 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Ontario Energy Minister John Baird took heat at Queen's Park for this unusual situation. He said the public request was necessary because of exceptional temperatures and a tight power supply.

"Weather has a huge effect on our ability to operate electricity generation systems, it has a huge effect on demand,'' he said.

He added that the problem was compounded by vandalism to one small generator in the system, but would not disclose further details, citing market confidentiality.

By late afternoon, Baird said, 500 extra megawatts of power had been brought on line, and that the situation had "stabilized."

The cold is also having a major impact on cars. The Canadian Automobile Association's emergency service in the Greater Toronto Area says the wait for a battery boost is between 90 minutes and two hours.

The sunny side

Meanwhile in Victoria, the B.C. capital held its annual flower count over the weekend. For the past week, volunteers have been counting flower buds all over the capital from the legislature to private backyards. The total: 3.5 billion buds.

The count is held every year to promote the city as a tourist destination.