Residents of western New Brunswick woke up to the ground shaking Thursday morning as the region was hit by what experts called a "moderate" earthquake.
INDEPTH: Forces of Nature: Earthquakes
The quake, which had a magnitude of 3.6, hit at approximately 6:30 a.m. ADT.
It originated 25 kilometres southeast of the village of Perth-Andover, near the Maine border.
There were no immediate reports of damage.
"We heard a rumbling from a distance, almost as though a train or a jet was low," said Richard Newman, who lives in nearby Bristol.
"And then, maybe a second or two, there was a rattling underneath our feet and the house shook and the dishes shook, and the windowpanes shook."
Natural Resources Canada scientist John Adams said Thursday's event was the largest earthquake to hit the area in three years.
"It seems there is a band of activity along the Appalachian [mountain range], where there are scattered earthquakes of this size most of the time," he said.
"Then, every so often, a bigger one, maybe a magnitude 5.5 or 6 [happens]."