Canadian Government Announces Additional Funding for Firefighter Training as Wildfire Season Continues

As the unprecedented wildfire season continues to impact several Canadian provinces and territories, the Government of Canada is stepping up its efforts to support those Canadians dealing with today’s wildfire issues, as well as preparing for the future.

Last Friday, Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Harjit Sajjan, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, announced that $400,000 (CAD) through the first phase of the Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate – Training Fund will be provided to the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) to fund a pilot project to help build wildfire fighting capacity and enhance training best practices.

This funding will be directed to the IAFF’s Responding to the Interface (RTI) program, which will provide specialized training to structural firefighters, expanding their skills and capabilities. The training will help better prepare and equip firefighters to fight wildfires, with a focus on the wildland urban interface.

Through the pilot project, the IAFF will train 25 instructors on how to deliver consistent and effective wildfire response training through a Cadre Building training program in Kamloops, BC. In addition, the IAFF will deliver 15 courses across five different locations in Western Canada, training up to 325 structural firefighting personnel on urban interface wildfire training.

According to the press release, the initiative builds on important actions to date, including an announcement made by Wilkinson for funding to train 300 Indigenous firefighters and 125 Indigenous fire guardians in connection with the Government of Canada’s Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate program’s Equipment Fund, which helps provinces and territories procure the equipment they need, and the long-term investment in the one-of-a-kind WildFireSat satellite mission, which will improve Canada’s ability to predict fire risk and protect Canadian communities.