Don't be alarmed — Canada's testing its emergency alert in most provinces today
Don’t be alarmed if you hear a shrill sound from your phone today — Canada is simply testing its emergency alert system.
Alert Ready is tested twice a year, with the first emergency alert test for 2026 happening today in most provinces and territories. These tests ensure that Canadians are familiar with the system and that their devices are working properly to receive these alerts. The system is designed to send urgent, potentially life-saving alerts through TVs, radios, and LTE-connected, compatible wireless devices.
The system was developed in partnership with federal, provincial, and territorial emergency management officials, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Pelmorex, the broadcasting industry, and wireless service providers. Alerts are only issued by authorized government agencies and can include warnings for:
- Fires, including urban, industrial, wildfires, or forest fires
- Biological hazards, such as chemical, radiological, or drinking water contamination
- Hazardous situations involving explosive substances or devices
- Environmental hazards like air quality or falling objects
- Natural hazards, such as tornadoes, flash floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, thunderstorms, storm surges, landslides, dam overflow, etc.
- National security threats, including terrorism
- Civil emergencies that disrupt services, dangerous animals posing a threat to people or property, Amber Alerts for child abductions, and 911 service disruptions
Colin Temple/Shutterstock
“Together, these partners work to ensure Canadians receive alerts immediately and know when to take action to stay safe,” states the Alert Ready website.
So, when will the test take place in your area?
The upcoming scheduled test will take place on May 6 at the following times:
- Alberta — 1:55 p.m. MDT
- British Columbia — 1:55 p.m. PDT
- Manitoba — 1:55 p.m. CDT
- New Brunswick — 10:55 a.m. ADT
- Northwest Territories — 9:55 a.m. MDT
- Nova Scotia — 1:55 p.m. ADT
- Nunavut — 1:55 p.m. EDT
- Prince Edward Island — 12:55 p.m. ADT
- Yukon — 1:55 p.m. YT
The test for Ontario is scheduled for May 7 at 1:55 p.m. EDT, while the scheduled test for Saskatchewan has been cancelled. There’s no test scheduled for Quebec.
If you want to know what the Alert Tone sounds like, you can listen to it on Alert Ready’s website. Different formats of the alerts may be issued for Canadians who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or partially sighted. However, it’s important to note that not every alerting authority or device has the capability to produce or receive these formats.
Once you get the alert, you’ll be notified that it’s a test and that you don’t need to do anything. You might, however, be required to acknowledge that you received the test so you can continue using your wireless device; the alert and vibration will continue for eight seconds.
If you don’t receive the alert, make sure to check your device’s notification settings. Visit the Alert Ready website for more information.