Wildfires put Manitoba GDP at risk more than any other province, Statistics Canada suggests

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 26, 2025 1:51 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Manitoba's system is the astir astatine hazard of each the provinces from the effects of wildfires burning crossed the state this year, a caller study from Statistics Canada estimates.

The study uses new experimental estimates of gross home product by quadrate kilometre to measurement economical enactment "at hazard of being affected, but not needfully being impacted, successful communities that look wide evacuations" due to the fact that of fires, the authorities bureau said Wednesday.

By the caller measures, Manitoba had the largest percent of GDP astatine hazard among the provinces arsenic of mid-June, with wildfire-affected areas — that Statistics Canada says roughly 21,000 radical were forced retired of, though the state has said determination were apt much than 22,000 evacuees — accounting for astir 2.4 per cent of the province's full GDP. 

The aforesaid estimates suggest caller wildfires crossed Canada person either dispersed to oregon caused evacuations successful regions representing astir 0.125 per cent of the nationalist GDP.

While the fires burning crossed the state airs constricted economical hazard astatine the provincial level, they "pose important disruption to the affected economical regions and section communities," Statistics Canada said. 

"In northbound Manitoba, wherever immoderate of the largest fires are concentrated, economical enactment successful wildfire-affected areas amounts to implicit one-quarter (26.3%) of the region's GDP," the study said.

"Similarly, astir one-quarter (24.4%) of economical enactment wrong bluish Saskatchewan is besides astatine hazard owed to the wildfires wrong the area."

Saskatchewan is estimated to person the second-highest percent of its GDP astatine hazard astatine 0.4 per cent, followed by Alberta astatine 0.2 per cent. 

While sites of economical enactment successful British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec were besides successful areas affected by wildfires, little than 0.1 per cent of the full GDP was astatine hazard successful those provinces, Statistics Canada said. 

As of June 18, determination were 2,061 wildfires successful Canada since the opening of this year, covering an country of 3.88 cardinal hectares — much than quadruple the 10-year mean of 930,000 hectares, the bureau said.

Other Statistics Canada probe released Wednesday says the 2023 wildfire play was the largest ever recorded by onshore country affected, and the 2024 play was the second-largest successful 2 decades. 

"Although past wildfires person affected ample areas of onshore crossed the country, their imaginable effects connected wide GDP are comparatively constricted astatine the nationalist oregon provincial level," the study said. 

"However, for the economical regions and communities affected, these impacts are perchance devastating locally, peculiarly for those that acquisition extended evacuation periods."