Test Alerts will be broadcast on Television, Radio and Compatible Wireless Devices in most provinces and territories.
Oakville, Ontario, May 3, 2019 – On May 8, 2019, most provincial and territorial emergency management organizations will be issuing public test messages through Alert Ready, Canada’s emergency alerting system. Each participating province or territory will issue one test message to be distributed over television, radio and compatible wireless devices at the times indicated below.
The most recent test of the Alert Ready system occurred on November 28th, 2018.
“While more than 120 emergency alerts have been successfully transmitted to Canadians over television, radio and wireless devices since April 2018, having regular tests allows us to better educate Canadians about Alert Ready and provide an opportunity to validate and improve the end to end performance and reliability of the system,” says Martin Belanger, Director of Public Alerting at Pelmorex, operator of the technical infrastructure of Alert Ready, known as the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination System.
Many wireless service providers have already sent SMS text messages to their subscribers notifying them of the upcoming May 8th test. It is important to note that receipt of that message does not mean that a device is compatible to receive wireless emergency alerts. Device compatibility, software version, phone settings and connection to an LTE network can impact whether the alert is received. As more compatible wireless devices are sold in Canada, more Canadians will be able to receive emergency alerts on their wireless device.
Alert Ready Test Times – May 8, 2019 |
|
|
Province/Territory |
Test Time |
| Alberta | 1:55 PM MDT |
| British Columbia | 1:55 PM PDT |
| Manitoba | 1:55 PM CDT |
| New Brunswick | 10:55 AM ADT |
| Newfoundland & Labrador | 10:55 AM NDT
(10:25 AM ADT in Labrador) |
| Northwest Territories | 1:55 PM MDT |
| Nova Scotia | 1:55 PM ADT |
| Nunavut | 1:55 PM EDT |
| Ontario | No test due to flooding |
| Prince Edward Island | 12:55 PM ADT |
| Quebec | No test due to flooding |
| Saskatchewan | 1:55 PM CST |
| Yukon | 1:55 PM PDT |
The Alert Ready system was developed with many partners including federal, provincial, and territorial government agencies, Pelmorex, the broadcasting industry and wireless service providers. It has enabled government authorities to deliver emergency alerts to Canadians during threat-to-life situations over television and radio since 2015, and to compatible wireless devices since April 2018.
Test alerts demonstrate what an emergency alert will look and sound like in the event of a life-threatening situation. Alert Ready was designed to deliver critical and potentially life-saving alerts to Canadians. Given the importance of warning Canadians of imminent threat to the safety of life and property, Canadians do not have the option to opt-out of this essential life-saving service.
For more information, visit alertready.ca.
