Emergency crews were called to a house on Soulanges Street in the Montreal suburb of Repentigny after a package left on the doorstep exploded Friday in the hands of a man who lives in the home. (CBC)

A Quebec man is in hospital with injuries to his hands and face after a package left on his doorstep exploded Friday morning.

The incident happened around 10:30 a.m. ET in Repentigny, a suburb northeast of Montreal.

Neighbours say the injured man is André Girard, 52, an employee of Petro-Canada.

"Since it was his birthday recently, it looked like a gift package," Repentigny police Sgt. Bruno Marier said. "He brought the package in the house, and it exploded in his face."

The man's injuries are not life-threatening, police said.

Fire trucks were called to the house, and about 40 homes in the area were evacuated as a precaution.

Police confirm Girard was home alone at the time of the explosion.

"I heard a clear and short bang," said neighbour Luc Bilodeau.

Bilodeau said Girard has lived in the area for more than a decade.

"He's an ordinary guy, who has children, who works," said Bilodeau. "On the weekends, he acts like a classic Repentignois: we do our grass, we do work around the house."

Police said it is too soon to speculate about a potential motive for the attack, but they are not ruling out that the incident may be linked to Girard's job.

Earlier on Friday morning, four homes in Brossard, a suburb on the South Shore east of Montreal, were evacuated after another suspicious package was found.

That package was discovered near a car outside a home on Salvador Street, but turned out to be harmless.