No major damage was reported along British Columbia’s  north-central coast following the earthquake, the largest to hit Canada since 1949.

The quake struck last night and was centred 17-kilometres below the earth’s surface off Haida Gwaii- formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands.

It knocked out the power for about 90 minutes and there were lots of reports of books and other objects being knocked off shelves.

The earthquake also triggered a tsunami warning.