Caught on camera: the moment earthquake struck Canada

The moment a 5.0-magnitude earthquake struck Canada was captured on film as it forced people from buildings in the capital Ottawa.

Cameras in a press conference for opposition party NDP filmed the room trembling before journalists and officials fled.

The quake's epicentre was in the Quebec-Ontario border region, but the tremors spread to Ottawa and Toronto, as well as being felt as far away as the east coast US states.

There were no reports of injuries and there was little damage, but the parliament building in the capital Ottawa was evacuated for inspection. Workers also left buildings in Toronto.

Conservative senator Lowell Murray said the quake caused the chandeliers of the upper chamber of parliament to sway.

"Initially we thought it might have been an aeroplane crashing into the building," he said. "But we were standing around wondering what was going on. And I quickly realized it was an earthquake. And then everybody started shouting Out, out, out.'"