Wildfire Preparation Varies Among Canadians Across the Country: Survey

A wildfire burning northeast of Summit Lake, British Columbia, in this handout image on June 2, 2025. BC Wildfire Service/The Canadian Press via AP

While levels of wildfire preparation vary across Canada, Canadians living in the West are more likely to prepare for the risk of wildfire season than those in the rest of the country, a new survey indicates.

Canadians were asked what steps they had taken in their households to address concerns about wildfires over the past two years, in a survey commissioned by the Globe and Mail and conducted by Nanos Research that was released July 14.

Across the country, around four in 10 Canadians said they took some action, but responses varied among the provinces.

Canadians living in B.C., where wildfires are expected each year, were the most likely to have taken action, the survey found. Around seven in 10 Canadians in the province said they had taken action, including 36.2 percent who said they addressed wildfire hazards on their property, such as by cleaning up shrubs, trees, and dead material.

Additionally, 35.1 percent said they changed their travel plans due to wildfire smoke and air quality advisories, while 31.8 percent purchased air purifiers to address wildfire smoke in their homes, 22.5 percent said they packed an evacuation bag, 7.3 percent said they kept their kids home from school due to wildfire smoke, and 6.7 percent purchased additional home insurance.

In the prairie provinces, more than half of Canadians said they took action, with 25.7 percent reporting that they cleaned up wildfire hazards on their properties, 33.1 percent changed their travel plans, 20.9 percent bought air purifiers, 8.9 percent packed an evacuation bag, 11.6 percent kept their kids home from school, and 3 percent purchased additional home insurance.

Canadians living in the Atlantic provinces reported responses that measured around the average for the country, with approximately four in 10 reporting they took action. Meanwhile, those in Ontario were less likely to have taken action, as just less than three in 10 people reported taking steps to prepare for the wildfire season.

Those living in Quebec were the least likely to have taken action, as only about two in 10 people said they took steps to prepare for the wildfire season, the survey found.

Only 6 percent said they addressed wildfire hazards on their property, 7.9 percent changed their travel plans, 5.1 percent purchased air purifiers, 2.6 percent packed an evacuation bag, and 1.1 percent kept their children at home.

Across the country, hardly any surveyed Canadians reported moving locations as a response to wildfires, including only 2 percent in B.C., 1 percent in the prairies, 1.3 percent in Ontario, 0.8 percent in Quebec, and none in the Atlantic provinces.

Wildfire preparation responses were slightly more common among women than men, with 38.8 percent of women and 36.3 percent of men taking action, the survey found.

Meanwhile, preparation for wildfire season was most common among younger Canadians compared to those who are older, as 41.7 percent of those aged 18 to 34; 37 percent of those aged 35 to 54; and 35.7 percent of those aged 55 and older reported taking action.

The survey was a hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,047 Canadian adults between July 2 and 6, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

‘Worst Wildfire Season’

The worst wildfire season on record in Canada was in 2023, according to Natural Resources Canada. More than 6,500 wildfires burned 18.4 million hectares, which surpassed the 10-year average of 2.5 million hectares by more than seven times.

There are currently 554 active wildfires across Canada, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. This includes 121 in Manitoba, 101 in Yukon, 84 in Northwest Territories, 68 in B.C., 56 in Ontario, 52 in Alberta, and 49 in Saskatchewan. There are also nine in Newfoundland, eight in Parks Canada, five in New Brunswick, one in Nova Scotia, and none reported in Quebec or P.E.I.

There have been 3,183 wildfires this year to date, which has burned 5.4 million hectares of land.

This year, Manitoba has been experiencing its worst wildfire season out of any of the 30 years the province has electronic records for, Assistant Deputy Minister Kristin Hayward said at a July 10 press conference.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew declared the province’s second state of emergency due to wildfires this year on July 10. Kinew said the primary reason for calling the state of emergency was to be able to access more facilities to shelter evacuees. More than 30,000 Manitobans have faced mandatory evacuation orders this year.