Atlantic Canada rang in 2008 with a massive snow storm that forced the cancellation of flights and new year's festivities, but other parts of the country were able to bring in the new year without a hitch.

Environment Canada said the storm dumped about 20 centimetres of snow on northern Nova Scotia, Cape Breton and parts of New Brunswick, with even more falling on the Moncton area. P.E.I was hit with about 15 centimetres of snow.

Newfoundland and Labrador was expected to get as much as 20 centimetres of snow overnight. The system was to sweep across the province late Monday and early Tuesday.

Flights throughout the region were cancelled for most of Monday.

The storm led to the cancellation of New Year's Eve fireworks in the Newfoundland and Labrador capital.

A number of New Year's Eve events on P.E.I were also cancelled, including Charlottetown's main public celebration in a city park. Officials say the event will be rescheduled.

Meantime, in southern Ontario, a storm moving in from the U.S. Midwest promised to bring in freezing rain and snow for some areas.

A passenger looks through the rain-soaked window of a plane as it gets de-iced before taking off from the airport in St. John's, N.L., on Sunday.
(Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

Despite the winter blast that hit Eastern Canada, festivities were able to go off without a hitch in other parts of the country.

Thousands celebrated at Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square.

The stroke of midnight in Quebec City marked the kick-off for celebrations of Quebec's 400th anniversary. More than 15,000 were expected to flock to the city.

Fireworks started early in Ottawa, which celebrated its own 150-year milestone.

The sky was lit up at exactly 6:57 pm. E.T. or 18:57 p.m. according to the 24-hour clock. On this day, back in 1857, Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the nation's capital.

With files from the Canadian Press