The only power outage in 2003 that I remember is when Hurricane Juan came up the east coast and hit Halifax head on. No one was prepared for it. Many people were without power for seven or more days, but I was unscathed by it. Luckily, i only lost power for a couple of hours. I was in bed when it happened. The power came on before I awoke. I only know I lost power for a bit because the digital clock in my bedroom was blinking off and on. Much of the damage done by Juan was up the coast a bit fr Halifax, where it's not as sheltered.
Whoever designed and engineered the city of Halifax was a genius. Halifax is built on a hill and sheltered by the mountains. Regardless of how much it rains or storms, Halifax will never flood. Water rolls off the hill and right into the harbour.