“A National Wildfire and Forest Protection Strategy should be a Nation Building Project” by Gail Fairley

On July 19^th PM Carney met with workers at the federal Government Operations Centre, responsible for coordinating national emergency response, to discuss the wildfire situation in northern Ontario. He posted photos and highlighted the government’s efforts to co-ordinate the response to “one of the most intense wildfire seasons in Canadian history.” He neglected to mention that due to his government’s directive to reduce the size of the public service, the Centre has lost about 50 positions, or half its workforce.

Other cuts to Natural Resources include 25 staff at the Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation and Remote Sensing that tracks wildfires, floods, water resources and other geo hazards, Canadian Forest Service’s Natural Climate Solutions staff (50), forest service’s staff (14) and only 4 forest pathologists remain.

By August 21^st Canada had a total of 4,845 wildfires burnt 4,135 ,439 hectares. Canada is the only G7 country that does not have a national agency to respond to wildfires. The research group at Corporate Knights estimates that wildfires have caused more than $30 billion in economic damages over the past five years.

Current Response to Wildfire

Most of Canada’s forests are publicly owned and managed by the provinces and territories (90%) and the federal government (4%). The federal government is responsible for wildfire management on federal lands – national parks, military bases, and First Nations reserves. The provinces and territories are responsible for the emergency response to wildfires in their jurisdictions. The federal government offers support as needed. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) coordinates the transfer of resources across Canada. Currently there is no First Nations representation at the CIFFC table. First Nations are dependent on CIFFC agencies to represent their needs. This is a significant barrier to accessing appropriate training programs for First Nations wildland firefighters.

When a wildfire emergency escalates beyond a province or territory’s capabilities, they can request federal assistance. In early August Carney convened a cabinet-level emergency committee to organize the federal response to the escalating wildfires raging across Canada. The meeting primarily dealt with resource sharing, Canadian Airforce lift of evacuees, sheltering, and response to urgent needs. Creating a national wildfire strategy was not on the agenda. By August 15^th Canada was at National Preparedness Level 5 in every province. This means that all firefighting resources were in use, and international resources were being mobilized.

Provincial Response in Ontario and BC

Ontario is having its worst wildfire season on record. Noah Freedman, an OPSEU wildfire fighter, explained that the “government has been penny pinching for years … we started the season with “25 per cent fewer crews and no helicopters” … “because for the first time the government didn’t sign … a long-term helicopter contract.” Crews are seasonal and mostly students. Staff retention is an ongoing problem due to low pay – $30 an hour after many years of service.

The Ford government approach is to chronically underfund The Emergency Forest Firefighting fund. Ford allocated $150 million  for firefighting this year despite a much higher amount having been spent in 2025. In 2025, $135 million was allocated but the actual costs doubled to $271 million by the end of last year’s fire season. The cost for 2026 will be much higher because the number of fires has significantly increased. Without a realistic base budget, it is a losing game and impossible to preparation for fire season.

British Columbia has had a horrific fire season. Premier David Eby declared a state of emergency on August 8^th as over 100 wildfires raged across the province. 21,700 people are currently displaced from their homes, and an additional 9,700 people are on evacuation alert. The Bald Range wildfire grew so rapidly it nearly doubling in size overnight.

Canada is in the fourth year of the worst ever fire seasons.

2023 was our most destructive wildfire season with fires consuming seven times more than the historical average. Twelve international countries provided support. The 2024 wildfire season was an extension of the previous year, with “zombie” fires reigniting over 5.3 million hectares. The 2025 Wildfire Season was the second worst and burnt 8.3 million hectares.

Climate warming is changing fire behaviour.

Canada is warming at twice the global average rate.  The overall trend from 1948 to 2024 has been an increase of 2.4°C. When the town of Lytton ignited and burned to the ground in 2021, the temperature was 49.6C.

Rising temperatures cause drier soil conditions and water scarcity. Climate change alters the frequency, distribution, and predictability of rainfall. Intense frequent downpours and longer dry spells hamper the soil’s ability to absorb rainfall.

Fire season starts earlier and ends later. The number of fires has decreased but they are larger, more intense and burn larger areas. Larger, hotter fires can produce their own weather in the form of towering pyro-cumulonimbus clouds that can produce intense winds and dry lightning that ignite other fires. Canada has the most pyrocumulonimbus clouds in the world. The scale and intensity of the largest fires limit the effectiveness of conventional firefighting tactics and increase risk to fire fighters. Areas that were once low risk (broadleaf forests, young stands, and wetlands) are now prone to fire. There is an increase in overwintering fires (zombie fires).

Poor forest management has degraded our forests, rendering them more fire prone.

Governments regulate forestry operations, implement conservation strategies and grant rights to companies or individuals to harvest timber.

Canada promotes itself as having excellent forest management and sustainability practices. But a Nature Canada study found that ninety percent of industrial logging is still clearcut. Studies in B.C. and Ontario and Quebec confirm that forestry standards have allowed companies to clear vast areas of all trees and vegetation if they replant or demonstrate that the forest will naturally regenerate. Typically, the industry replants fast growing species like spruce and pine that are valuable for timber. In this way Canada can claim clear cut areas remain a forest and that deforestation is not occurring. But the forest is degraded. It loses biodiversity, is ecologically compromised, holds less carbon, is more vulnerable to disease and insect infestations. It is a poorer habitat for animals and plants. To ensure conifers grow taller and faster logging companies arial spay thousands of hectares of clear-cut land with herbicides designed to kill woody shrubs and other ground vegetation. The result is a fire prone forest.

Canada claims it is a reliable source of certified sustainable forest products. Environmental groups allege that Sustainable Forestry Initiative, or SFI, a forest certification system built by industry amounts to greenwashing and has a complaint before the Competition Bureau for false and misleading statements about products.

If our forests are to thrive, Canada needs to develop strong science-based logging regulations, diligent monitoring and strict enforcement that reflect the needs of the forest rather than the industry.

In June, the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry released a comprehensive report Canada on Fire. The report recommended that the federal government:

• acknowledge that wildfires demand urgent action.
• designate forests as a strategic national asset and a critical and renewable infrastructure.
• create a federal office to coordinate wildfires and emergency response that includes Indigenous communities and their expertise.
• create and fund a national fleet of modern firefighting aircraft, infrastructure and trained personnel stationed throughout the country to support provinces and territories during wildfire seasons.
• provide long-term funding for emerging wildfire technologies (such as drones and other innovations).
• establish a national wildfire hazard mapping program.
• ensure funding for long-term physical and mental health supports to deal with smoke exposure and evacuation and displacement trauma.
• create a national reforestation policy that responds swiftly to disasters, and long-term investment for landscape-level planning, training, and capacity building.
• in partnership with Indigenous communities and governments.

• remove barriers faced by evacuees in host communities ensuring equitable access to housing, services, and culturally responsive support.
• enhance capacity for Indigenous-led fire management (financial and logistical support) to Indigenous communities.

• work with the provinces and territories and municipalities to:

• ensure that business risk management programs are more responsive to agricultural producers after wildfires to maintain their economic viability.
• increase long-term funding for rebuilding municipal structures and infrastructure damaged or destroyed during wildfires.
• add adaptation and resilience measures to the National Building Code of Canada 2030 and incentivizing the purchase more FireSmart homes.
• enhance volunteer firefighter training and safety education for firefighters and convene a regular policy-focused conference to address wildfires in the country.

These recommendations should be introduced immediately as a central piece of a national wildfire strategy. There are new and emerging technologies that are valuable in forest management, fire prevention and firefighting including drones, thermal imaging, and sensor networks. The technology is expensive to purchase, maintain and operate and requires training for workers. Given AI’s potential for decreasing damage from wildfires, the cost should not come into question.

A national wildfire and forest protection strategy should be a nation building project.

Mitigation and adaptation for fire, flood, drought warrant a financial commitment like funding to the military and the major projects. Federal Wildfire Firefighting Investment in Canada in 2026 was $815 million. This includes $316.7 million over 5 years for an arial firefighting fleet. In contrast, the total cost of fire to Canada is estimated to be $11 billion per year. The research group at Corporate Knights estimates that wildfires have caused more than $30 billion in economic damage over the past five years, including business losses, property destruction, and health system impacts.

The $815 million investment pales in comparison to the federal  $2 billion investment in the Darlington New Nuclear Project and the $9.3 billion allotted to the Department of National Defence which brought the overall defence expenditures to just over $61 billion.

First Nations should form the backbone of forest management, fire prevention and containment.

A National Wildfire and Forest Protection Strategy should be based on Indigenous knowledge and western science. First Nations must be an equal partner in policy development and implementation along with fire and forest scientists and forest management experts.

The boreal forest region, the zone most impacted by wildfire and smoke, is home to more than 600 Indigenous communities who rely on the forest for food, medicine, cultural tradition, and economic prosperity. More than half live in remote, isolated areas, often without road access. First Nations live in the boreal area and are best situated to care for it.

The growing  Indigenous-led Conservation and Stewardship movement offers an unprecedented opportunity for First Nations to grow their capacity to engage in wildfire management and to contribute and lead in the protection, restoration and resiliency of land and forests in their territories. Indigenous Guardian programs must receive significant funding for training, equipment, and permanent full-time, well-paid employment.

Both Indigenous Guardians and forest rangers can conduct year-round work that includes controlled burns, manual removal of fuel, selective thinning, strategic planting of low-flammability indigenous tree species, such as aspen, and rehabilitation of single species  forest plantations to native woodlands.

The federal and provincial governments’ legislation must legally recognize, fund and support the establishment of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) – lands and waters where Indigenous Nations, their communities, and/or governments have the primary role in protecting and conserving ecosystems through Indigenous laws, governance, and knowledge.

The previous liberal government invested in IPCAs. Ninety-four Indigenous communities have received $202 million in Indigenous-Led Area-Based Conservation funding and a further $800M was added in 2024. Carney’s budget did not provide new funding for IPCAs. The Auditor General has warned that IPCA’s may be at risk due to long-term funding shortages and new federal legislation that gives decision makers, such as the minister responsible, final decision‑making authority over matters within their jurisdiction in protected areas.

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Gail Fairley is a member of SCAN!’s Ontario Project Group and the Climate and Militarism Working Group.

Would you like to know more about SCAN! or the Education Committee? Attend a meeting? Join the committee? Contact Norm Park at education@seniorsforclimateactionnow.org