Today, the Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and the Honourable Mandy Gull-Masty, Minister of Indigenous Services, reflect on a challenging wildfire year by thanking those who helped and continue to help protect Canadians.
2025 has been the second worst wildfire season in Canadian history, with more than 6,000 wildfires in nearly every province and territory, impacting communities across the country and burning over 8.3 million hectares. While the situation continues to improve, wildfires are still impacting parts of the country due to hot and dry weather.
Since April, the heightened risk and impacts have forced evacuations of more than 85,000 people, including over 45,000 people from 73 First Nations communities. These numbers represent the lived experiences of thousands of people, including families forced to leave their homes, communities rallying together, and responders working tirelessly to protect lives and property.
The impact of the wildfires is widespread requiring strong collaboration across all orders of government. Through partners like the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), the federal government and provinces and territories have worked together to share firefighting resources and will continue to do so until communities are no longer under threat. Ministers are deeply grateful for the partnership of provincial and territorial colleagues, and extended their sincere thanks to first responders, the Canadian Armed Forces, humanitarian organizations, volunteers and emergency management officials who are working tirelessly to keep people safe and support evacuees this year.
This year's wildfire response has been a collective effort. Firefighters, emergency responders, volunteers, local leaders, Indigenous fire stewards, and all orders of government worked together to protect communities. Federal departments and agencies, including the Canadian Armed Forces, the Canadian Coast Guard, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Health Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Parks Canada, PrairiesCan, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Public Safety Canada, played key roles on the ground and behind the scenes. Over 1,590 international firefighters came to help battle the wildfires and organizations like Canadian Red Cross, The Salvation Army, St. John Ambulance, Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada (SARVAC) and Team Rubicon Canada, along with many others at the local level, providing critical support, including shelter, first aid, and mental health services.
Canadians across the country showed their generosity by donating to wildfire disaster relief through the Canadian Red Cross 2025 Wildfire Appeals in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Even as the most active wildfire period has passed, some regions are still facing active fires. To those still affected, the Government of Canada remains fully committed to supporting these communities through these difficult times.
At the same time, many other regions have moved from response to recovery. Communities across the country are rebuilding and healing, showing strength and resilience in the face of adversity. The Government of Canada remains engaged in supporting these recovery efforts and in helping Canadians prepare for the heightened wildfire risks that lie ahead through the modernized Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) program.
The DFAA is a key federal program that helps provinces, territories, and municipalities rebuild. In recent years, disasters like wildfires, floods, and landslides have become more frequent and more costly. The DFAA ensures the federal government remains a strong and reliable partner in response and recovery. Through this program, the Government of Canada helps provinces and territories cover the extraordinary costs of rebuilding homes, restoring infrastructure, and implementing mitigation measures that strengthen long-term resilience. Launched in April 2025, the modernized DFAA expands federal support and focuses on helping communities not only recover but rebuild in ways that make them stronger and better prepared for future disasters.
The Government of Canada is also preparing for future wildfire seasons by making investments of over $800 million for wildfire initiatives to strengthen prevention and mitigation efforts across the country. Initiatives like the Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada (WRCC) and the Canadian Centre for Recovery and Resilience are advancing wildfire resilience by fostering collaboration, knowledge exchange, proactive recovery and planning, and adaptive wildfire management. The WRCC will also advance many of the actions in the Kananaskis Wildfire Charter, agreed to by the leaders of the G7 this spring in Canada and endorsed by the leaders of Australia, India, Mexico, the Republic of Korea and South Africa.
