Heating System Blamed in Lion Electric School Bus Fire in Quebec

Quebec has ordered the temporary removal of 1,200 Lion Electric school buses from service after one of the buses caught fire in Montreal earlier this week, forcing students and their driver to evacuate. The move, described by provincial officials as a precautionary measure, has disrupted school transportation across the province and sparked safety reviews in other parts of Canada. Fire Incident Triggers Safety Concerns The fire broke out Tuesday morning in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighborhood, when a Lion Electric bus carrying five students suddenly filled with smoke. The driver managed to stop and safely evacuate all passengers before flames engulfed the vehicle. Montreal firefighters later confirmed the blaze originated in the bus’s heating system, not its battery pack or propulsion unit. Transport Canada has launched an investigation, noting that it is aware of three other incidents involving LionC buses since late 2024—two fires in Quebec, one fire in Ontario, and one thermal event in Brossard. Officials said extensive damage from the latest fire has made it difficult to confirm the root cause. Province Orders Mass Inspections In a joint statement, Quebec Education Minister Sonia LeBel and Transport Minister Jonatan Julien said the safety of students was their “absolute priority.” They instructed school service centres to withdraw all Lion buses from service Friday to allow operators time to conduct inspections. ” The preventative inspections of the vehicles will take place all weekend in order to ensure the resumption of normal school transportation in the shortest of delays.,” the statement read. Lion Electric Responds Lion Electric, which manufactures the buses in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, said it is working with operators, Transport Canada, and Quebec’s auto insurance board (SAAQ) to inspect the vehicles. The company emphasized that the fire was unrelated to the bus’s electric drivetrain and noted that inspection protocols were sent to carriers earlier in the week. By Saturday, Lion said SAAQ had approved a plan allowing buses to gradually return to service as they are cleared. Effects Beyond Quebec In Ontario, Transco’s parent company First Student suspended six Lion diesel buses out of caution. On Prince Edward Island, Liberal education critic Carolyn Simpson urged the government to immediately inspect all 107 Lion buses in its provincial fleet. Meanwhile, officials at the Toronto District School Board—set to launch Lion buses for an island-based program later this month—said they would follow federal safety guidance but noted that diesel buses statistically pose a higher fire risk than electrics. What’s Next Quebec’s inspections continued through the weekend, with hopes that many buses could return to the road by Monday. However, some school boards and operators have said they are waiting for official confirmation from the provincial government before resuming service. For now, parents are being advised to make alternate arrangements while safety authorities determine whether the fire points to a broader defect in Lion’s popular line of electric and diesel school buses.