Indigenous communities bear brunt of Canada’s historic wildfire season

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Washington Post
Today 16:06

Canada’s Indigenous communities, especially the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, have borne the brunt of the country’s worst wildfires in decades, with thousands displaced amid government delays and growing climate vulnerability.

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This photo provided by the Manitoba government shows wildfires in Wanless, Manitoba, Canada, on May 29, 2025. (Manitoba government via AP)

Canada’s Indigenous communities have faced the harshest impacts of one of the country’s worst wildfire seasons on record, as unprecedented blazes swept across the boreal forests of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and beyond, according to reporting by The Washington Post.

Among the hardest hit was the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation in northwestern Manitoba. Fire WE025, which began as a minor blaze in late May, intensified under hot, dry, and windy conditions to engulf 447,000 acres over 116 days, WaPo reported. Smoke blanketed the remote fly-in community of Pukatawagan, forcing its 2,200 residents to evacuate.

Chief Gordie Bear said, “There’s no place to run. Your life is in your hands, but you can’t outrun fire.”

Residents recalled days of uncertainty as evacuation help lagged.

“People were getting their boats ready,” said Ashley Charlette, a local resident, according to the newspaper. Military helicopters eventually airlifted her and her 3-year-old daughter to safety, beginning a long journey across several provinces.

Indigenous people disproportionately affected

Indigenous people, who comprise only 5% of Canada’s population, represented more than half of this year’s wildfire evacuees. Many were displaced for months, and as of early October, over 1,280 First Nations evacuees had not yet returned home.

Experts warn that these risks will only grow. Natural Resources Canada has reported that Indigenous communities are 30 times more likely than non-Indigenous Canadians to be affected by wildfires and face higher rates of adverse health outcomes. Remote locations, insufficient infrastructure, and proximity to fire-prone forests leave them particularly vulnerable. Longstanding challenges such as obsolete water systems and limited firefighting resources exacerbate the threat.

Government response under scrutiny

The federal government has acknowledged gaps in emergency management. Indigenous Services Canada said it is working to improve support and transfer more control to First Nations.

“More work needs to be done to ensure First Nations are full and equal partners in emergency management,” spokesperson Maryéva Métellus wrote.

However, Indigenous leaders criticized the response as reactive, citing delays, jurisdictional confusion, and a lack of Indigenous knowledge integration in forest and fire management.

The Washington Post cited Amy Cardinal Christianson, a Metis former research scientist at the Canadian Forest Service, saying, “Indigenous communities are predominantly impacted, yet there is still a huge power imbalance in how these issues are dealt with.”

Manitoba has declared its worst wildfire season in three decades, with over 5,600 fires burning 20.5 million acres nationwide by early October. Smoke from the blazes has also traveled as far as the United States and Russia.