August 18, 2025 Ottawa, Ontario Natural Resources Canada
Wildfire season is in full effect across much of Canada, and the Government of Canada is committed to supporting Canadians and ensuring our wildfire resilience, prevention, mitigation and recovery are best-in-call by strengthening our fire response capacity.
Today, Corey Hogan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced an investment of $540,300 for two projects through the Government of Canada's Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate Program (FMWCC) - Training Fund. The funding includes:
- $335,000 to Yorkton Tribal Council in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, to support the training of 35 community members in wildland fire management, integrating traditional knowledge and cultural burning practices to address wildfire risk reduction and mitigation.
- $204,800 to the Rural Municipality of Piney, Manitoba, to support the training of up to 60 individuals from the Rural Municipality of Piney and Buffalo Point First Nation in basic wildland firefighting training and to strengthen local capacity for wildfire response.
Through this investment, community members in Manitoba and Saskatchewan - two provinces that have faced severe wildfire conditions this year - will receive wildland firefighting training to enhance their communities' capacity to prepare and respond to wildfires. These investments will also equip people with the necessary skills and opportunities to pursue employment in wildland firefighting.
The addition of these 95 trainees has us on track to train over 2,800 wildland firefighters in Canada, greatly surpassing our original target of training over 1,000 community members.
Parliamentary Secretary Hogan also delivered the latest national wildfire forecast. Looking ahead, Environment and Climate Change Canada's weather forecasts point to above-average temperatures across much of Canada through August into September, with dry conditions continuing in the coming weeks, particularly in the west and north.
Based on these weather forecasts, Natural Resources Canada's modelling predicts elevated wildfire danger for August across British Columbia, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and the Prairie provinces to Ontario, as well as parts of Atlantic Canada. In September, above normal activity is expected to continue across the west.
As Canadians continue to face the impacts of wildfires, which are becoming more frequent and more intense, the Government of Canada remains committed to strengthening wildfire resilience, supporting those on the front lines and equipping communities to stay safe.
