States of emergency in Canada

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A state of emergency occurs when any level of government assumes authority it does not generally possess to respond to a crisis. This is done by invoking said authority under specific legislation, and permits the government to expend funds, mobilize forces, or suspend civil liberties.

Declarations

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Perspective

Federal

The Canadian government has declared a state of emergency four times, three in the 20th century and under the authority of the War Measures Act and one under the Emergencies Act. Under the War Measures, the three declared were:

In 1988, Parliament replaced the War Measures Act with the Emergencies Act, which extended the powers beyond war applications. The sole application has been:

Provincial and territorial

Historically, states of emergency have been declared by provinces for internal issues. Save for the 2004 White Juan Blizzard, until 2020 there had never been a situation where multiple provinces made a province wide declaration. This changed during the COVID-19 pandemic where every province and territory made the declaration, opposing similar measures from the federal government. Every province has the ability to assume emergency powers under either a specific emergency act or under a public health act. In some provinces, like British Columbia, both exist and can grant specific authorities. British Columbia's Civil Defence Act[1] was enacted in 1951 and renamed the Emergency Program Act in 1973.[2]

More information Year, Event ...
List of emergency declarations in the provinces and territories 1867-2019
Year Event Province/Territory Under the Authority of
1948 River flood British Columbia[3][4] Army Act (UK)[5]
1966 Ferry Strike Prince Edward Island Emergency Measures Act[6]
1989 Forest Fires Manitoba[7]
1999 Snow Storm Quebec[8]
2003 SARS outbreak Ontario Emergency Management Act[9]
Wildfires British Columbia Emergency Program Act[10]
Northeast blackout Ontario Emergency Management Act[11]
2004 White Juan blizzard Nova Scotia Emergency Measures Act[12]
Prince Edward Island Emergency Measures Act[12]
2011 Floods Manitoba Emergency Measures Act[13]
2013 Floods Alberta Emergency Management Act[14]
2014 Assiniboine River flood Manitoba Emergency Measures Act [15][16]
2016 Fort McMurray wildfire Alberta Emergency Management Act[17]
Opioid epidemic British Columbia Public Health Act[18][19]
2017 Wildfires British Columbia Emergency Program Act[10][20][21]
2018 Wildfires British Columbia Emergency Program Act[22]
2019 Snow storm Manitoba Emergency Measures Act[15][16][23]
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More information Year, Event ...
List of emergency declarations in the provinces and territories 2020-
Year Event Province/Territory Under the Authority of
2020 COVID-19 pandemic Alberta [a] Public Health Act[24][25]
British Columbia Emergency Program Act and Public Health Act[18][26]
Manitoba Emergency Measures Act[27]
New Brunswick Emergency Measures Act[26][28]
Newfoundland and Labrador Public Health Protection and Promotion Act[26]
Nova Scotia Health Protection Act[29][30]
Ontario [b] Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act[31][32]
Prince Edward Island Public Health Act[33]
Quebec Public Health Act[34][35]
Saskatchewan Emergency Planning Act[26]
Northwest Territories Public Health Act[26]
Nunavut Public Health Act[36]
Yukon Civil Emergency Measures Act[37][38]
2021 Wildfires British Columbia Emergency Program Act[39][40]
COVID-19 pandemic Ontario Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act[41]
Nova Scotia Health Protection Act[42]
New Brunswick Emergency Measures Act[43]
Alberta Public Health Act[44]
Pacific Northwest floods British Columbia Emergency Program Act[45]
2022 Freedom Convoy protest Ontario Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act[46]
2023 Wildfires British Columbia Emergency Program Act[47]
Alberta Emergency Management Act[48]
Northwest Territories Emergency Management Act[49]
Floods Nova Scotia Emergency Management Act[50]
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Notes

  1. Alberta has declared two states of emergency directly related to the pandemic
  2. Ontario has declared three states of emergency directly related to the pandemic

References

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