I recall connecting at YYZ during a nasty winter storm in Feb. 2013 when my flight to YWG was delayed and ultimately cancelled late at night due to a snow-related ground stop.

There were enormous lines (like hundreds of people long) waiting for the AC desks, but due to being very tired and not being sure what kind of answer I'd get, I whipped out my iphone and got a room at the Westin on Hotwire. The next day, people on my flight said that AC gave them rooms all over Toronto - by the airport, downtown, etc., but the downside was that they had extremely late nights and/or early mornings. I was a bit surprised by that... most of those people, I suspect, were like me - non-status.

That was quite a stark change from US carriers where weather-related irrops just gets a non-status flyer one of those brochures for that irrops hotel website.