As massive wildfires rage across northern Ontario and a thick smoke drifts across the south of the province, the Ford government is calling in the federal government for help.
Minister of Emergency Preparedness Jill Dunlop said on Thursday she had requested help from Ottawa, including the military, to speed up evacuations in the north.
“In response to the significant threat of wildland fire activity in northern Ontario, the province has issued a formal Request for Assistance to the Government of Canada to be prepared to expedite the deployment of federal resources to support evacuations,” Dunlop’s office wrote in a statement.
“This includes possible Canadian Armed Forces deployments.”
Several Ontario communities — including Armstrong, Whitesand First Nation, Collins First Nation and Gakijiwanong Anishinaabe Nation (Lac La Croix First Nation) — are being evacuated as fire rips through.
Premier Doug Ford said the fact that there had been no deaths so far was “pretty remarkable.”
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Data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre shows Ontario is already experiencing its worst fire season since 2021, when huge parts of the north were charred.
So far this year, Ontario has seen 482 fires, compared to 362 this time last year and 170 at the same time in 2024. Tens of firefighters, as well as extra planes, are being sent from Alberta to Ontario to help.
But critics say the government has gone into the firefighting season unprepared, suggesting it has continually underfunded its forest fire crews.
In 2024, for example, Ontario budgeted $135 million but spent $171 million by the time the season had finished. In 2025, the budget wasn’t increased and the amount spent was $271 million.
For 2026, the government increased its budget to $150 million, still less than it had spent in either of the previous two years.
“So the funding is set at about $150 million, but we know that they spent about twice that amount last year, and they’re probably going to have to spend a lot more this year,” Ontario NDP Lise Vaugeois said.
“The point is that they need the money up front, so the service has to basically requisition the money after the fact and play catch-up.”
She also suggested two waterbombers couldn’t fly because they don’t have the necessary crews, something the premier has previously acknowledged.
The Ministry of Natural Resources did not address repeated questions from Global News over how many of its helicopters and planes were currently grounded.
“All of our available aircraft are crewed and supporting wildfire suppression efforts,” they wrote in a statement without addressing how many aircraft were not available.
At an unrelated event on Thursday, Ford defended how much his government spends on firefighting and how the funding flows.
“We’d never underfund our firefights — never, ever. ” Ford said. “While our base budget might be $150 million, every year we spend significantly more.”
On the frontlines, firefighters have also complained for years about pay, retention issues and the number of experienced staff leaving their roles.
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