Canada's Long-Overdue National Disaster Agency: Years After Proposal, Promise Remains Unfulfilled

As yet another summer of devastating wildfires unfolds across Canada, the federal government's efforts to establish a national disaster response agency remain stalled. Despite the urgency underscored by last year’s unprecedented fire season, there is still no dedicated federal body to coordinate national disaster response, leaving provinces and private companies to handle overwhelming emergencies as best they can.

In the face of fast-moving flames across Western and Central Canada, emergency leaders say coordination gaps are exposing communities to greater risk. Ali Asgary, professor of disaster and emergency management at York University, highlighted the disconnect, stating, “The work to establish a national agency is unfortunately not going as fast as our crises are going.”

Public Safety Canada maintains that progress is ongoing, emphasizing its collaboration with firefighters and all levels of government to find solutions. Still, the lack of a centralized agency has left provinces like Saskatchewan and Manitoba carrying much of the weight. So far this season, more than 30,000 people have been evacuated, and smoke from the fires has traveled thousands of kilometers—reaching as far east as Newfoundland and Labrador and south into Texas.

Calls for a Canadian equivalent to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have grown louder. Such an agency would centralize disaster response, pool critical resources, and help manage the complex logistics of large-scale emergencies—needs that have become increasingly clear as wildfires intensify in frequency and severity.

The absence of a federal coordinating body is being felt on the ground, with provinces stretched thin and forced to tap the private sector for help. In Manitoba, the company Xpera has assisted in evacuations, managing the relocation of hundreds—and potentially thousands—of residents through contracts with provincial and federal partners. The arrangement reveals the scale of the challenge: even major organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross have struggled to keep pace.

Daniel Henstra, a University of Waterloo researcher specializing in emergency management, called the evacuation effort “staggering,” adding, “the numbers of evacuees are just staggering… the scale of the evacuation is such that it’s beyond the capacity of even a behemoth like the Red Cross.”

Currently, the federal government only intervenes when formally requested by a province. The Canadian Armed Forces have been deployed to Manitoba to assist with evacuations and stand ready to support other provinces if needed. However, military officials—including former defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre—have cautioned against over-reliance on the armed forces for disaster response, noting their primary mandate is national defense and that repeated deployment for domestic crises risks overextension.

Experts argue that a national agency could standardize and strengthen Canada’s response by coordinating preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery. It would also allow for significant economies of scale—improving training, acquiring equipment, and investing in advanced emergency management systems for use across regions.

Henstra suggested building up local capacity, pointing out that the federal government has already begun consulting on a pan-Canadian Civilian Response Capacity. A mix of volunteers and professionals—trained and supported financially—would be better positioned to act quickly within their own communities, where local knowledge could prevent and mitigate disasters more effectively.

“You can’t have even the military fly in with a C-130 full of bulldozers. That’s just ridiculous, right? You need to have this equipment and experienced operators on the ground,” Henstra emphasized, underscoring the urgent need for pre-existing, community-based resources to address emergencies before they escalate.

As smoke-filled skies and mass evacuations continue to dominate headlines, the debate over Canada’s readiness grows more urgent. With experts and local officials sounding the alarm, the pressure is mounting on Ottawa to accelerate plans for a national disaster response agency capable of matching the scale of Canada’s worsening wildfire crisis.