States of emergency in Canada explained

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

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]

List of emergency declarations in the provinces and territories 1867-2019!Year!Event!Province/Territory!Under the Authority of
1948River floodBritish Columbia[3] [4] Army Act (UK)[5]
1966Ferry StrikePrince Edward IslandEmergency Measures Act[6]
1989Forest FiresManitoba[7]
1999Snow StormQuebec[8]
2003SARS outbreakOntarioEmergency Management Act[9]
WildfiresBritish ColumbiaEmergency Program Act[10]
Northeast blackoutOntarioEmergency Management Act[11]
2004White Juan blizzardNova ScotiaEmergency Measures Act[12]
Prince Edward IslandEmergency Measures Act
2011FloodsManitobaEmergency Measures Act[13]
2013FloodsAlbertaEmergency Management Act[14]
2014Assiniboine River floodManitobaEmergency Measures Act [15] [16]
2016AlbertaEmergency Management Act[17]
Opioid epidemicBritish ColumbiaPublic Health Act[18] [19]
2017WildfiresBritish ColumbiaEmergency Program Act[20] [21]
2018WildfiresBritish ColumbiaEmergency Program Act[22]
2019Snow storm ManitobaEmergency Measures Act[23]
List of emergency declarations in the provinces and territories 2020-!Year!Event!Province/Territory!Under the Authority of
2020Public Health Act[24] [25]
British ColumbiaEmergency Program Act and Public Health Act[26]
ManitobaEmergency Measures Act[27]
New BrunswickEmergency Measures Act[28]
Newfoundland and LabradorPublic Health Protection and Promotion Act
Nova ScotiaHealth Protection Act[29] [30]
Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act[31] [32]
Prince Edward IslandPublic Health Act[33]
QuebecPublic Health Act[34] [35]
SaskatchewanEmergency Planning Act
Northwest TerritoriesPublic Health Act
NunavutPublic Health Act[36]
YukonCivil Emergency Measures Act[37] [38]
2021WildfiresBritish ColumbiaEmergency Program Act[39] [40]
COVID-19 pandemicOntarioEmergency Management and Civil Protection Act[41]
Nova ScotiaHealth Protection Act[42]
New BrunswickEmergency Measures Act[43]
AlbertaPublic Health Act[44]
Pacific Northwest floodsBritish ColumbiaEmergency Program Act[45]
2022Freedom Convoy protestOntarioEmergency Management and Civil Protection Act[46]
2023WildfiresBritish ColumbiaEmergency Program Act[47]
AlbertaEmergency Management Act[48]
Northwest TerriitoriesEmergency Management Act[49]
FloodsNova ScotiaEmergency Management Act[50]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Revised Statutes of British Columbia, 1960. HER Online.
  2. Web site: Table of Statutes - Repealed, Replaced and Renamed. 2020-03-23. www.bclaws.ca.
  3. News: . Army Takes Control Of B.C. Flood Areas: Premier Calls Official State Of Emergency . The Globe and Mail . Toronto . 1 June 1948 .
  4. News: June 1, 1948 . B.C. Fights Flood, Looters . . 1.
  5. News: Fricke . Erwin . June 1, 1948 . First Dike Goes At Creston . Nelson Daily News.
  6. News: . P.E.I, declares emergency, ready to take over ferries . The Globe and Mail . Toronto . 25 Aug 1966 .
  7. News: . York . Geoffrey . Forest fires force 16,500 to flee homes: Manitoba government declares a general state of emergency . The Globe and Mail . Toronto . 24 July 1989 . A1 .
  8. News: . Balfour . Clair . Johnson . William . State of emergency is proclaimed in Quebec as Island of Montreal is isolated by blizzard: Incomplete Source . The Globe and Mail . Toronto . 5 March 1999 . A20 .
  9. Web site: Bruton. Bob. 2020-03-20. COVID-19 Pandemic is Ontario's 3rd state of emergency – Barrie 360Barrie 360. 2020-03-23. Barrie 360. en-US.
  10. Web site: Infrastructure. Transportation and. 2017-07-07. Provincial state of emergency declared. 2020-03-23. news.gov.bc.ca.
  11. Van Rijn, Nicholaas (August 15, 2003). "BLACKOUT: Eves declares state of emergency and warns of rolling power outages for 'weeks to come'". Toronto Star (Special ed.). Toronto.
  12. News: Storm puts Nova Scotia, PEI in state of emergency. 2020-03-23.
  13. News: Manitoba intensifies flood fight effort. CBC News.
  14. Web site: Review and Analysis of the Government of Alberta's Response to and Recovery from 2013 Floods. Alberta.ca. 8 February 2024 .
  15. News: Hatherly. Dana. Manitoba to declare state of emergency due to October snowstorm. CBC News.
  16. Web site: Gibson . Victoria . 2020-03-18. Analysis: States of emergency across Canada, what's been done before, and what can be done now. 2020-03-23. iPolitics. en-US.
  17. Web site: 2016-05-04. Evacuation order expanded ahead of Fort McMurray fire. 2020-03-17. CTVNews. en.
  18. Web site: Health. 2020-03-17. Joint statement on Province of B.C.'s COVID-19 response, latest updates. 2020-03-23. news.gov.bc.ca.
  19. Web site: B.C. first in Canada to declare public health emergency after fentanyl overdoses - Macleans.ca. 2020-03-23. www.macleans.ca.
  20. Web site: The Canadian Press. 2018-08-15. British Columbia declares state of emergency over wildfires - BNN Bloomberg. 2020-03-23. BNN.
  21. Web site: B.C. declares state of emergency over wildfires - Macleans.ca. 2020-03-23. www.macleans.ca. 15 August 2018 .
  22. News: 15 August 2018. Provincial state of emergency declared. BC Gov News.
  23. Web site: Lambert. Steve. 2019-10-14. State of emergency in Manitoba amid unprecedented snowstorm. 2020-03-23. CTVNews. en.
  24. Web site: Black. Matthew. 2020-03-17. 'The situation is very serious': COVID-19 pandemic prompts Alberta to declare a state of public health emergency. 2020-03-17. Edmonton. en.
  25. Web site: Alberta enacts 2nd COVID-19 state of public health emergency. Here's what it means . Global News.
  26. News: Dawson . Tyler . As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, provinces declared states of emergency. Now many are up for renewal . National Post . 15 April 2020 .
  27. Web site: Province of Manitoba News Releases Manitoba Government Declares State of Emergency to Protect the Public, Reduce Spread of COVID-19. 2020-03-23. Province of Manitoba. en.
  28. News: 7 things to know about NB's Emergency Measures Act. CBC News.
  29. Web site: Nova Scotia declares state of emergency, announces 7 new cases of COVID-19. 2020-03-23. Global News. en.
  30. News: Gorman. Michael. The powers of N.S.'s Health Protection Act and what can happen if you don't listen. CBC News.
  31. Web site: Ontario Enacts Declaration of Emergency to Protect the Public. 2020-03-23. news.ontario.ca. en.
  32. Web site: Ontario issuing stay-at-home order, declares 3rd state of emergency amid COVID-19 pandemic . Global News . 7 April 2021.
  33. Web site: 2020-03-16. Premier announces initial financial support, declares public health emergency. 2020-03-23. www.princeedwardisland.ca.
  34. Web site: 2020-03-14. COVID-19: Legault declares a public health emergency. 2020-03-23. Montreal. en.
  35. Web site: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Québec. 2020-03-23. www.quebec.ca. en.
  36. News: Nunavut declares state of public health emergency. CBC News.
  37. Web site: 2020-03-27. Yukon declares state of emergency in response to COVID-19. 2020-07-21. yukon.ca.
  38. News: Yukon declares public health emergency over COVID-19 pandemic. CBC News.
  39. Web site: Brady. Sean. Provincial state of emergency declared in B.C. due to wildfires. 2021-07-23. Kamloops This Week.
  40. Web site: General. Public Safety and Solicitor. 2021-07-20. Provincial state of emergency declared BC Gov News. 2021-07-23. news.gov.bc.ca. en.
  41. Web site: Ontario Newsroom. 2021-09-26. news.ontario.ca.
  42. Web site: Scotia. Communications Nova. 2018-05-11. One New Case of COVID-19, Three Recoveries, State of Emergency Renewed. 2021-09-26. News Releases. en.
  43. News: N.B. COVID-19 roundup: State of emergency reinstated as 3 more deaths recorded.
  44. News: Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Tuesday, Sept. 21.
  45. Web site: 17 November 2021. Provincial state of emergency declared. BC Gov News.
  46. News: Carter . Adam . Ontario declares state of emergency in response to convoy protests . 11 February 2022 . CBC News.
  47. Web site: Hall . Josh . B.C. state of emergency helps rapid response to raging wildfires: Eby . 2023-08-20 . rdnewsnow.com . en.
  48. News: Pasiuk . Emily . Provincial state of emergency declared in Alberta as wildfires spread and more residents flee . .
  49. Web site: Blake· . Emily . 2023-08-16 . Minister declares NWT-wide state of emergency . 2023-08-17 . cabinradio.ca . en-US.
  50. Web site: Scotia . Communications Nova . 2018-05-11 . Provincewide State of Emergency Lifted . 2023-08-17 . News Releases . en.

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