[7] It was felt across most of Ontario[8] and Quebec, as well as parts of the northeastern United States,[9][10][11][12] in addition to places as far as Chicago,[13] Pittsburgh,[14] Baltimore, Charleston, West Virginia, and Halifax.

It was the first moderate earthquake associated with the Western Quebec Seismic Zone since 20 April 2002, when the area was affected by magnitude 5.1 Mw tremors.

[15][23] Far away from the North American tectonic plate's margin, the regional seismicity is controlled by a series of geologic faults formed over the last billion years by the processes of mountain building, including the Grenville orogeny, and subsequent erosion.

The processes causing the earthquakes in the zone are not well understood: the tremors are not linked to particular seismogenic structures, nor are the sources of stress definitively identified.

This earthquake occurred as Canadian environment minister Jim Prentice was conducting an interview in Ottawa, and he reported that his chair started to move.

[3] Several media outlets also aired video of a press conference by New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Don Davies being disrupted by the quake.

[31] Minor damage was also reported to several city-owned facilities, including two branches of the Ottawa Public Library and two municipal sports arenas, and power was out in part of the downtown Golden Triangle neighbourhood.