Floods in Quebec. Wildfires in Alberta and British Columbia. Ice storms in Ontario. These events remind us that no single agency can handle a major disaster alone. Effective response requires coordination between fire services, police, EMS, municipal staff, provincial emergency operations, the military, and community organizations.
The Lessons We Keep Learning
Coordination matters more than muscle: Even with resources, lack of communication slows everything down.
Local knowledge is gold: Municipal staff and Indigenous leaders often know the land better than outside agencies.
Evacuation logistics: Moving thousands of people requires transport, shelters, and communication channels that rarely sit under one roof.
Information flow: Mixed messaging during evacuations (e.g., Fort McMurray, 2016) shows how vital clear communication is.
Volunteers and nonprofits: Red Cross, faith groups, and neighbours fill gaps official agencies can’t reach quickly.
Canadian Context
2013 Calgary Floods: A showcase of strong municipal leadership but highlighted challenges in communication across jurisdictions.
Fort McMurray Wildfires (2016): Largest evacuation in Canadian history, exposing weaknesses in preparedness and long-term recovery support.
2021 BC Floods: Infrastructure collapse revealed the fragility of supply chains and the importance of pre-planned inter-agency cooperation.
Recent wildfire seasons: Evacuations in Yellowknife and Kelowna underscored the need for scalable, repeatable protocols.
The Challenges
Jurisdictional overlap: Who’s in charge — province, municipality, federal emergency management?
Resource gaps: Smaller towns lack equipment and personnel, relying heavily on outside aid.
Slow recovery: Coordination often stops after the crisis ends, leaving long-term needs unmet.
Equity gaps: Vulnerable populations (seniors, low-income, Indigenous communities) hit hardest, sometimes overlooked in planning.
The Opportunities
Unified command models: Standardized structures where all agencies plug into a single system.
Indigenous leadership integration: Building formal partnerships with First Nations for land and community knowledge.
Cross-training: Fire, police, EMS, and municipal staff learning each other’s systems before disaster strikes.
Technology: Shared platforms for data, mapping, and real-time resource tracking.
Resilient infrastructure: Invest in systems (levees, fire breaks, road redundancy) that reduce need for emergency heroics.
The Bigger Picture
Disasters are tests of coordination, not just bravery. Wildfires and floods will intensify under climate change, and Canada’s ability to respond hinges less on how many trucks roll out — and more on how well agencies, governments, and communities work as one.
The Question
If every disaster teaches us the same coordination lessons, then why do we keep relearning them? Which leaves us to ask: how can Canada build a permanent, practiced, and people-centered model for multi-agency response?
Multi-Agency Response to Disasters
When Disasters Demand More Than One Badge
Floods in Quebec. Wildfires in Alberta and British Columbia. Ice storms in Ontario. These events remind us that no single agency can handle a major disaster alone. Effective response requires coordination between fire services, police, EMS, municipal staff, provincial emergency operations, the military, and community organizations.
The Lessons We Keep Learning
Canadian Context
The Challenges
The Opportunities
The Bigger Picture
Disasters are tests of coordination, not just bravery. Wildfires and floods will intensify under climate change, and Canada’s ability to respond hinges less on how many trucks roll out — and more on how well agencies, governments, and communities work as one.
The Question
If every disaster teaches us the same coordination lessons, then why do we keep relearning them? Which leaves us to ask:
how can Canada build a permanent, practiced, and people-centered model for multi-agency response?