The roof of the Sauder's Home Hardware Garden Centre in Melfort partially collapsed Thursday night under the weight of the wet snow and ice. (Image Credit: Cam Lee/northeastNOW)

By Cam Lee

No injuries reported

Garden centre roof at Sauder’s Home Hardware in Melfort partially collapses

Apr 2, 2026 | 3:34 PM

Wet snow and ice continue weighing heavily on structures in the province not meant to handle such weight.

For the third time this month, a roof has collapsed. This time at Sauder’s Home Hardware in Melfort, where part of the garden centre roof gave way Thursday night.

Fortunately, no one was inside at the time. 

“During the night our Garden Centre roof partially collapsed,” Lisa and Ira Sauder posted on the Sauder Home Hardware social media pages. “We are working to secure the area to ensure public safety around the building. The Garden Centre will be OFF LIMITS for the time being as we sort things out in the coming days.” 

The store, however, is operating as usual. The Sauder’s said their priority is the safety of customers and staff, and that they were thankful the incident happened overnight when no one was nearby. 

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“Thank you to everyone that has called, messaged, and stopped by,” the post read. “From notifying us about what happened, to offers of help and encouraging words, it has all been greatly appreciated by [the Sauder’s].” 

The incident comes just a few days after the collapse of the roof at the Smeaton Rec Centre, and a roof collapse at the curling rink in Goodsoil. 

Melfort Fire Chief Leonard Whitney said this year’s extra snowfall and slow melt have led to heavy snow and ice deposits on roofs across the northeast. 

“With the extra snowfall that we’ve had this year, and the freeze-thaw cycles that we’re seeing, there’s more weight than normal up on rooftops,” Whitney said. “It’s starting to cause some structural issues for some buildings.” 

Whitney said, if possible, homeowners can try to remove some of the snow off their roofs to lighten the load a little. He also warned anyone with a metal roof should be aware that snow and ice can come loose and quickly fall to the ground. 

“Make sure you’re a safe distance away and out of the fall zone of the snow when it comes off the roof.” 

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com