Wildfires bad for Alberta business: Calgary Chamber

Calgary Chamber CEO, Deborah Yedlin addresses members in Calgary, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

The Calgary Chamber of Commerce is calling on all levels of government to do more to mitigate wildfire risk, because it’s damaging to the economy.

The chamber says with wildfires getting worse, there is more costly disruptions to critical industries and supply chains, which is costly.

In May 2023, a shutdown of oilsands operators stopped nearly four per cent of Canada’s daily oil production.

The Chamber has released a new report focused on building a wildfire-resilient Alberta economy.

“Recent wildfire seasons have demonstrated that wildfire risk is no longer solely an environmental or emergency management issue,” says Deborah Yedlin, President & CEO at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, in a media release.

“Wildfires disrupt electricity transmission, telecommunications networks, transportation corridors and energy infrastructure, delaying projects, interrupting business operations and restricting the movement of goods and creating effects felt across Alberta’s economy and national supply chains.”

Some of the report’s recommendations include improving planning coordination and operational preparedness.

It also calls for expanding prevention and mitigation efforts, and ramping up technology and innovation to support predictive modelling and risk assessment.

“Albertans have witnessed firsthand the devastating environmental, social and economic impacts of major wildfires – from Fort McMurray in 2016 to Jasper in 2024,” added Yedlin.

“Without continued action, wildfires will continue to pose a serious threat to Alberta and Canada’s economic stability, infrastructure reliability and investment competitiveness.”