Wildfire season is starting. How Canadian leaders plan to respond
After two of the worst years for wildfires on record, Canada’s fire season is getting started in parts of the country against the backdrop of the federal election.
Wildfire season typically runs from late April or early May until around August. Yet wildfires or climate change in general have largely taken a backseat in the campaign so far.
An Ipsos poll done exclusively for Global News that was released April 13 found that climate change was ranked 12th in terms of key issues for Canadian voters, bumped down from the 10th spot when similar polling was done before the election campaign.
Climate was among the issues discussed in the leaders’ debates last week, but there was little mention of wildfires by the four party leaders in attendance.
But cost of living is the top priority, polling shows — and insurance premiums just keep going up, as do the costs to repair any potential damage amid the trade war.
Severe weather events, including wildfires, led to 2024 becoming the costliest year, with record-breaking losses of $8.5 billion paid out, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
At $1.23 billion, the Jasper wildfire was the second costliest fire event in Canadian history, IBC reported.
As a result of extreme weather events, home insurance rates are on the rise.
Natural Resources Canada reported fewer than 100 wildfires, mostly small and in Alberta and British Columbia, as of April 7.
“So far, the season would be considered typical, with most active fires under control or being held,” Global News meteorologist Ross Hull said.
“That can change quickly, though, as we’ve seen in past seasons, depending on weather conditions as we head into May and the summer months.”
Here’s what the parties have said about their plans to tackle wildfires in the election campaign.
At Wednesday’s debate in Montreal, Liberal Leader Mark Carney said the fight against climate change is “still a priority” for the Liberals and Canada.
The Liberal party unveiled its election platform over the weekend, in which it pledged investment, additional training and modern firefighting equipment for Parks Canada’s wildfire response teams.
According to the platform, the Liberals also want to invest more in FireSmart programs, ensure there is comprehensive evacuation planning within national parks, update building codes and infrastructure standards for all new constructions in national parks and make the building designs climate-resilient.
The Conservative party has yet to unveil its election platform.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the platform will come out on Tuesday.
Speaking on the climate topic at the English debate on Thursday, Poilievre said his priority is to bring home jobs while bringing down emissions around the world.
Poilievre said if Canada exports its liquefied natural gas to countries like India to displace half of its demand for electricity, that would not only reduce emissions there but also bring jobs up in Canada.
Poilievre has also said that if he becomes prime minister, he will axe the Liberals’ industrial carbon price in addition to the consumer carbon price that was eliminated by Carney last month.
“There’s a cost associated with using energy already, but my approach is a pragmatic one,” Poilievre said at the French-language debate.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Thursday that Canada is in the middle of a “climate crisis” that needs attention.
“We’ve seen extreme weather, forest fires, heat domes, floods impacting us. We’ve got to do everything we can to protect our future,” Singh said during the English debate.
Campaign spokesperson Anne McGrath told Global News in an emailed statement: “The NDP has and will continue to fight for a National Wildfire Task Force that could be deployed across Canada to assist provinces and communities.”
The NDP released its costed campaign commitments on Saturday, in which it vowed to end fossil fuel subsidies by 2026 and cut emissions and energy bills by retrofitting every building in Canada by 2050 and building a national clean energy grid.
The Bloc Québécois has proposed to prioritize adaptation efforts to prevent and reduce the impacts of climate change and forest fires.
According to the party’s platform, the Bloc will demand that the federal government triple its share of funding for the Canada-Quebec nature agreement, from $100 million to $300 million.
The party will propose a reinsurance program for affected homes in Quebec that would allow residents to benefit from insurance at a reasonable price in the face of recurring natural disasters.
A Bloc Québécois spokesperson said the party also supports the joint Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate Program (FMWCC) – Equipment Fund, under which the federal government and Quebec are each contributing $32 million over three years.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet says Canada should progressively wean off petrol and oil and invest in green energy. He said otherwise, the cost for families will be far worse.
“Paying for the consequences of climate change will cost billions of dollars every single year per family,” Blanchet said in French on April 16.
Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May said Canada has a lot more to do in terms of prevention and preparedness for floods, fires and other extreme weather events.
“We are a long way from being prepared to protect particularly remote fly-in Indigenous communities in the path of a wildfire,” May said in a phone interview with Global News.
“We need to make sure we really improve our firefighting capability across the country,” she said.
“It’s not really an environmental issue anymore, it’s a security issue and a health issue.”
May said Canada needs a national firefighting force, a national water bomber fleet and early warning systems.
In its election platform, the Green Party has vowed to create a national emergency management agency to co-ordinate disaster response across all levels of government and establish a fully funded rapid response force.
“We will improve wildfire and flood prevention strategies using AI-powered risk mapping, and increase domestic manufacturing of emergency supplies, medical equipment, and pharmaceuticals to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains,” the Greens’ platform states.
Their plan also includes launching a National Wildfire Resilience Strategy that would invoke federal emergency powers to expand tree planting, fire breaks and wildfire suppression efforts.
To better respond to emergency disasters, the party has proposed a National Civil Defence Corps, comprising paid service staff, seasonal or term-based roles and civilian volunteers.
The party has pledged to procure additional water bombers for high-risk zones and restore natural buffer zones to protect vulnerable communities.
In addition, the Greens want to mandate the Canada Infrastructure Bank to allocate at least half of its investments to climate resilience projects.
“Canada must meet the climate crisis with unflinching resolve and unwavering leadership,” the platform states.
“We would bring in legally binding emissions reductions under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, setting Canada on a path to zero emissions by 2050.”
globalnews
