Canada will test emergency alert system on Wednesday

Canada will test its emergency alert system, Alert Ready, across the country on Wednesday.

Alert Ready is Canada’s emergency alerting system which delivers critical and potentially life-saving alerts to Canadians through television, radio and smartphones.

The emergency alert will come in the form on an ‘alert tone,’ a distinctive tone that will be played on the air and on wireless devices. Alternate formats may be used for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or partially sighted.

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These could include the use of text-to-speech software to create an audio version of an alert message on TV, emergency alerts being read to the recipient on some devices or a vibration feature.

The alert will be tested on May 7 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
• Newfoundland and Labrador – 10:45 a.m. NDT
• Northwest Territories – 9:55 a.m. MDT
• Nova Scotia – 1:55 p.m. ADT
• Nunavut – 2 p.m. EDT
• Ontario – 12:55 p.m. EDT
• Prince Edward Island – 12:55 p.m. ADT
• Saskatchewan – 1:55 p.m. CST
• Yukon – 1:55 p.m. YST

There will be no test alert for Quebec for May 2025. The alerts can be issued for natural disasters like fires or floods, biological or chemical hazards, environmental alerts like worsening air quality, a national security alert such as a terrorist threat or a civil emergency like a danger from an animal or an AMBER alert.

When an alert is heard, it is the responsibility of the public to stop, listen and respond as directed by the Government Issuer, the Alert Ready website says.