A Saskatchewan senator is taking a lambasting on social media for a tweet drawing a link between a power outage in Regina and a future under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

On Saturday, Conservative Sen. Denise Batters noted there was an "major power outage" in southeast Regina, writing, "This is a preview of Canada's future if Justin Trudeau is re-elected, as he continues to implement his terrible anti-energy industry agenda."

Major power outage in SE <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Regina?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Regina</a> right now. <br>This is a preview of Canada’s future if Justin Trudeau is re-elected, as he continues to implement his terrible anti-energy industry agenda.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/C69?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#C69</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/C48?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#C48</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/carbonTAX?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#carbonTAX</a> —@denisebatters

Hundreds of people weighed in, questioning the link between a local outage and the federal government's policies.

I WILL connect this to the PM! <a href="https://t.co/7ChvjNOmZq">pic.twitter.com/7ChvjNOmZq</a> —@Jose1Pino So, your point is that the carbon tax caused the outage? How do you explain that?<br><br>I mean, it is more likely due to chronic underinvestment in the power infrastructure in this province, but do go on... —@ucfagls <a href="https://t.co/jAhNurshjc">pic.twitter.com/jAhNurshjc</a> —@maxfawcett

SaskPower said a Saturday morning outage affected southeast and east Regina, as well as rural areas east of Regina and parts of White City, with about 7,000 customers affected over the course of the three-hour outage.

A major transformer at a substation in that part of the city was targeted as the cause, with permanent repairs made to the transformer on Sunday, according to the Crown corporation.

"Approximately one-third of unplanned outages are caused by equipment failure, with weather events and wildlife accounting for the other two-thirds," a SaskPower spokesperson wrote in a statement to CBC.

CBC reached out to Senator Batters, but her office declined comment.

Saskatchewan's Environment Minister Dustin Duncan was asked about Batters' comment on blackouts in the province and whether they were the result of a lack of an investment in the province's power infrastructure. He responded with a statement that said the Government of Canada's plan to accelerate the phase-out of coal-fired electricity has created "challenges to the supply plan for Saskatchewan's electrical grid."

He said SaskPower is doubling its renewable electricity generation for 2030 and increasing its overall generation capacity to meet the province's needs.

"I'm confident SaskPower will be able to deliver reliable, cost-effective and sustainable power into the future," Duncan said.

Controversial tweets

Batters has stirred controversy on the social media platform Twitter in the past. Last August, she apologized to a Liberal MP for making a tweet referencing his Saudi Arabian background that some interpreted as racist.

It's also not the first time Batters has taken a jab at Trudeau and stirred backlash.

At Christmas, the senator mocked the prime minister's Christmas card photo of his family on a couch, tweeting, "Is the silver spoon PM trying to live like the "middle class and those working hard to join it" and have a Harrington Lake yard sale?"

Multiple users took the senator to task for criticizing the prime minister's family photo and calling out her privilege as a senator.