Wildfire season
(Ottawa) The federal government is funding 10 new firefighting planes and helicopters to help provinces and territories deal with forest fires this summer.
Published at
Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski said provincial and territorial agencies responsible for fighting wildfires will be able to request the use of four air tankers, one spotter aircraft and five heavy-lift helicopters to fight wildfires.
In a press release, the government indicated that these new capabilities will strengthen the country’s firefighting capacity by improving provincial and territorial access to aircraft during periods of intense wildfire activity.
It is specified that this is the first time that Ottawa will have federal firefighting planes to lend to the provinces.
This measure is financed by a new budget allocation of 317 million intended to establish a national air reinforcement capacity for fighting fires.
The government has specified that these resources will be deployed across the country depending on forecasts and current forest fires.
The 2025 wildfire season was the second worst on record in Canada, with nearly 90,000 square kilometers burned by September 2025 — an area larger than New Brunswick.
