This executive summary lays out highlights from the report Rekindling Indigenous-Led Wildfire Readiness and Resilience in Canada written by Max Bell School Master of Public Policy students Aaliyah Lahai, Anna Cipolla, and Manuelitha Darlie Jean as part of the 2026 Policy Lab.
Access the summary and presentation below, and read their full report here.
The 2023 wildfire season was the most destructive in Canadian history.
Over 6,000 fires burned more than 15 million hectares — twice the size of England — from the Maritimes, to the Rockies, and the North. This is double the previous record and nearly seven times the historical average. 232,000 people in Canada were evacuated from their homes. Smoke blanketed much of Canada and spread as far as the United States and Europe. In 2024, the Jasper wildfire alone caused an estimated $1.23 billion in insured damages. The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) declared its 2025 wildfire response the largest domestic operation in recent history, surpassing its COVID-19 pandemic efforts.
As Canada warms at twice the global average rate, climate change is creating longer, hotter, and drier conditions that contribute to more frequent, faster-spreading, and intense
wildfires. Modelling suggests that wildfire occurrence in Canada could increase by up to 75% by the end of the century.
The risks and impacts of wildfires fall disproportionately on Indigenous Peoples. Although they represent only 5% of Canada’s population, roughly 80% of Indigenous communities are located in forested, fire-prone areas. Indigenous Peoples also account for nearly 42% of wildfire evacuations; many communities experience repeated displacement, with some evacuated five or more times over recent decades.
This brief responds to the following urgent and timely challenge question posed by the CRC: How effective are current wildfire preparedness policies in Canada at mitigating risks to communities experiencing vulnerability, and what policy innovations could enhance resilience in the face of increasing wildfire threats?
We narrowed our scope to Indigenous Peoples in northern and remote areas of Alberta and the Northwest Territories (NWT), focusing on readiness and resilience. Through a literature review, case studies, and interviews with interest holders, we identified four interconnected and cyclical policy gaps across emergency management legislation, governance, approach, and evaluation that undermine community readiness and resilience:
- Indigenous Peoples are not included as rights holders in legislation;
- Fragmented governance leaves Indigenous communities without services they need;
- A reactive approach focused on response and recovery rather than proactive prevention, mitigation, and preparedness ignores Indigenous cultural fire knowledge and practices;
- Evaluation does not measure socio-economic risks and impacts of wildfires on Indigenous communities and does not integrate lessons learned.
In response, this brief proposes three Indigenous-led policy recommendations to the CRC, as a partner, funder, and convener, to be developed together with communities, organizations, and governments:
- Indigenous Wildfire Readiness and Resilience Hubs: Physical and digital spaces where communities gather, share, and mobilize cultural fire knowledges and practices, support training, and strengthen evaluation capacity.
- Indigenous Wildfire Readiness and Resilience Stewards: Trained community members who monitor lands, develop readiness plans, and conduct cultural burns, while contributing operational knowledge back to the Hubs.
- Indigenous Wildfire Readiness and Resilience Fund: A financing mechanism that provides longterm support for the Hubs and Stewards, beginning with grant funding and transitioning toward a flexible and sustainable resilience outcomes fund.
Designed to work together and address all four policy gaps, these recommendations reduce wildfire risks and impacts on Indigenous Peoples and build capacity, ultimately enhancing community readiness and resilience in the face of increasing wildfire threats.
Download the full version of this report here.
Authors: Manuelitha Darlie Jean, coach Marc Fortin, Anna Cipolla, and Aaliyah Lahai
