Federal government invests in Canadian Red Cross to support Canadians during emergencies

Today, the Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, announced more than $15.6 million through the Humanitarian Workforce Program to strengthen the Canadian Red Cross's readiness to respond when disasters occur. In May 2026, the Government renewed the Humanitarian Workforce Program and committed $108 million to strengthen Canada’s disaster response capacity. Today’s investment is the first project announced as part of that renewal, and additional projects will follow.

When disaster strikes a community, Canadians come together to help their neighbours—even those thousands of kilometers away. Albertans saw that support after the devastating wildfires in Fort McMurray and Jasper, when people across the country contributed to Canadian Red Cross fundraising appeals to help families through the crisis and into recovery.

Across Alberta and throughout the country, Canadians know that when their community needs assistance with emergency response and recovery, there are trained emergency responders who are ready to be deployed when local resources are stretched. Through the Humanitarian Workforce Program, the federal government helps organizations like the Canadian Red Cross maintain a skilled workforce ready to bolster provincial and territorial emergency responses to major natural disasters, and other emergency events.