Beginning in March 2023, and with increased intensity starting in June, Canada was affected by a record-setting series of wildfires. All 13 provinces and territories were affected, with large fires in Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. The 2023 wildfire season had the most area burned in Canada's recorded history, surpassing the 1989, 1995, and 2014 fire seasons, as well as in recorded North American history, surpassing the 2020 Western US wildfire season.
As of October 6, 6,551 fires had burned 184,961 square kilometres (71,414 sq mi), about 5% of the entire forest area of Canada, and more than six times the long-term average of 27,300 square kilometres (10,541 sq mi) for that time of the year. As of mid-October, the total area burnt was more than 2.5 times the previous record. Eight firefighters were killed, and 185,000 to 232,000 people were displaced, including 16,400 in Nova Scotia's capital of Halifax, 21,720 in the Northwest Territories capital of Yellowknife, and almost 30,000 in British Columbia's Kelowna and West Kelowna. Thousands of international firefighters travelled to Canada to combat the fires.
Smoke emitted from the wildfires caused air quality alerts and evacuations in Canada and the United States. In late June, the smoke crossed the Atlantic Ocean, reaching Europe. Many of the largest fires were under control by July, including fires which had funnelled smoke into the Eastern Seaboard. However, significant fires continued well into the fall season, with several major fires breaking out in September. Moderate-to-severe drought conditions from British Columbia to northern Ontario also continued into fall. Though most of the fires were extinguished by winter, some in northern Alberta and British Columbia continued to smoulder in peat, reigniting the following February and starting the 2024 fires.
Background
The frequency, intensity, and timing of wildfires in Canada have changed over time. In general, since the 1970s and 1980s, the total annual number of wildfires has decreased but the area burned in Canada has increased. Since 1959, the number of large fires greater than 200 ha (490 acres) has increased and the average fire season has become longer by about two weeks. In Canada, wildfire season usually starts in May. The 2023 fires were compared to the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire and the 2021 Lytton wildfire.
The 2023 fire season was mainly driven by anthropogenic climate change, with temperatures in Canada from May to October 2.2 °C (4 °F) higher than the 1991–2020 average. Warmer and drier weather contributed to drought and desiccated vegetation, making it more flammable. In Western Canada, a drought from 2022 persisted and, along with low winter snowpack, led to dried out soil; in contrast, Nova Scotia and Quebec saw normal soil moisture levels but high temperatures and rapid drying caused a flash drought. Climate change made fire weather twice as likely and 20% more intense in Quebec according to estimates from World Weather Attribution, and made the unusually long nationwide fire season five times more likely.
Roughly half of all wildfires in Canada are caused by lightning; due to climate change, lightning-caused fires are happening more frequently, and lightning strikes are expected to double by the end of the century. In terms of wildfire acreage, lightning-caused fires account for about 85% of land burned. Lightning-caused fires often happen in clusters in remote locations. The other half of wildfires in Canada are human-caused, often unintentionally sparked by things such as discarded cigarette butts, abandoned smouldering campfires, sparks from braking trains, off-road vehicles, and land clearing activities. While false claims of arson gained traction on social media, arson is generally a minor cause of wildfires in Canada.
Forest management is also a factor in the wildfires. Because Canada's forest management has focused on fire suppression, dry vegetation has accumulated on the forest floor. Canada has generally stopped performing controlled burns, which help reduce the risk of larger and more dangerous fires. It is difficult to get permission for controlled burns, especially for Indigenous groups who have historically performed them and are disproportionately affected by wildfires. Canada lacks a national firefighting service, and local resources are stretched thin due to budget cuts.
Wind from a passing cold front during the week of May 18 exacerbated the fire risk, as did a concurrent heat wave in the west. Canadian Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair said: "These conditions, this early in the season, are unprecedented. Due to climate change, similar extreme weather events may continue to increase in both frequency and severity across our country."
Wildfires
Alberta
In May, Alberta was the province most impacted by wildfires. Most large wildfires in Alberta in 2023 were triggered by lightning. On May 6, the province of Alberta declared a provincial state of emergency. By May 7, 108 active fires were burning in the province. The provincial state of emergency ended on June 3. At the end of the fire season, the province recorded 1088 fires totalling 2,222,900 hectares (5,492,906 acres) burned.
High Level Forest Area
Two fires that were out of control in the High Level Forest Area were active on May 15.
HWF-036, named the Long Lake Fire, was a rapidly growing fire classified as out of control. It was the largest fire in the province during the 2023 wildfire season, having an active burning area of 108,402 hectares (267,867 acres). It was started just south of the Rainbow Lake Airport and initially grew to the northwest. However, due to multiple wind shifts over the following week, the fire began to spread in an eastward direction. On May 13, the fire made a 25-kilometre run towards the community of Chateh. This also resulted in Rainbow Lake being surrounded in all directions by the wildfire, as well as power and cell service being cut off. Alberta Wildfire, the Rainbow Lake Fire Department and other fire crews from Alaska and Ontario worked together to prevent the growth of the fire. They deployed 83 firefighters, four helicopters and other heavy equipment by May 15.
HWF-030, named the Paskwa Fire, was another out-of-control fire that spread eastward due to extreme conditions. It reached an active burning area of 35,285 hectares (87,191 acres). It was within the community of Fox Lake, and was 13 kilometres from the community of Garden River. The fire remained south of the Peace River. The extreme weather conditions made it hard for firefighters and aircraft to assist the fire. 76 firefighters and 13 helicopters were deployed as well as heavy equipment. A state of local emergency was declared for Fox Lake, followed by an evacuation order on May 3. An evacuation alert for Garden River was issued on May 13. Over 100 structures were destroyed in Fox Lake as of May 11.
HWF-042 was under control at 181 hectares (447 acres) on May 6. It was 1 kilometre (1 mi) north of the Highway 88 bridge over the Peace River. Highway 88 was closed on the afternoon of May 6 until one lane was opened later that day. Twelve firefighters and seven helicopters, heavy equipment and airtankers worked to prevent the fire from spreading further.
British Columbia
British Columbia saw an unusual lack of rain in May and early June, leading to increased wildfire conditions in the province. In British Columbia, 72% of wildfires in 2023 were triggered by natural causes, while the remainder were due to human activity. In a study of British Columbia's 2017 fire season, researchers found that human-caused climate change had a strong influence on the amount of area burned. The final tally of wildfires in British Columbia for 2023 was 2293 fires and 2,840,104 hectares (7,018,050 acres) burned.
In early June, the province saw multiple wildfires in or near Peachland and on Vancouver Island near both Port Alberni and Sayward. As of June 2, there were 54 active fires in the region. Officials estimated about half of the province's wildfires were caused by human action. In the west of Vancouver Island, highway access to the towns of Port Alberni, Tofino, and Ucluelet was cut off for more than two weeks due to the Cameron Bluffs wildfire.
In northeastern British Columbia, the Donnie Creek wildfire became the single largest wildfire in BC history. It attained this status on June 18. By June 24, the fire was burning over an area of greater than 5,648 square kilometres (2,180 square miles).
There were 377 active wildfires in British Columbia as of July 15, including 20 that were classified as "highly visible, threatening or potentially damaging 'wildfires of note'". Unruly blazes destroyed properties and closed parts of the Trans-Canada highway .
August saw several very destructive wildfires in the southern Interior region. Two fires, the Bush Creek East wildfire in the Shuswap area, and the McDougall Creek wildfire, south of Kelowna, caused heavy damage to structures and forced major evacuations. The two fires, which burned concurrently, caused 730 million CAD in insured damages, ranking as the most costly extreme weather event in the province's history.
Between July and October 21, much of BC had seen less than a quarter of usual rainfall, with Vancouver at 10% and Victoria recording only 2 millimetres of rain instead of its normal average of 132 mm. As of October 21, there were still 202 active wildfires.
Many of the BC wildfires of note from the 2023 wildfire season were featured in a five-part documentary series entitled Wildfire (2025 TV series) that aired on Knowledge Network throughout April and May 2025. This includes the Donnie Creek wildfire and McDougall Creek wildfire.
Manitoba
As of June 6, there had been 70 fires in Manitoba, below the province's average number for that point in the season. Compared to past years, human caused fires were less frequent, with lightning causing the majority. As of May 27, there were six active wildfires in the province, including a fire near Cross Lake First Nation and Pimicikamak Cree Nation. On June 2, Manitoba only had three wildfires active in the province. Lightning over June 3 and 4 raised the total fire count to 12 by June 5, and to 14 by June 6. Of those, four were considered out of control. On June 6, officials were focused on monitoring and containing fires near Little Grand Rapids, Pauingassi First Nation, and St. Theresa Point First Nation.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick had experienced 177 wildfires as of June 7, including fires in West Branch, Alnwick Parish, and Valley Road in Kars. A fire near Saint Andrews, which had started on May 28, was brought under control on June 5.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador saw 34 wildfires before May 1, far outpacing the 2022 season, which saw only 2 fires in that same period. This was attributed to dry conditions. Between May 1 and 19, 19 other fires were recorded. Wet conditions in early June created a low fire risk for Newfoundland, allowing water bombers from Newfoundland to be deployed to assist with firefighting efforts in Labrador, Nova Scotia and Quebec.
On June 8, there were 72 active wildfires in the province.
Northwest Territories
On June 7, there were eleven active wildfires in the Northwest Territories. At that point, there had been 21 total fires, affecting 403,815 hectares (997,850 acres). By August 15, there were over 230 wildfires throughout the territory. By August 17, they were within 17 km (11 mi) of the capital city, Yellowknife, leading to an evacuation order. The wildfires caused telecommunication and internet signals to be cut off throughout the South Slave Region, which led to concerns about the feasibility of a safe evacuation.
By August 23, wildfires in the territory had produced 97 megatonnes of carbon, accounting for roughly a fourth of the total 327 megatonnes produced by Canada's wildfires in 2023.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia saw the largest recorded wildfires in its history. On average, in Nova Scotia, only about 3% of wildfires are caused by lightning, with the remaining being caused by human activity. Of those caused by human activity, about a third of Nova Scotia's fires are caused by people on or near their own property, and about a quarter are caused by arson. On June 1, there were four out-of-control fires in the province.
The fires that started in the Tantallon area were caused by a resident who was burning debris in their yard. The resident was warned by the fire department, but continued to burn debris until it got out of control.
The fires that started in the Shelburne area were caused by three residents who were lighting tires on fire and rolling them down a hill. Once word of their actions got out they fled the province for their safety.
As of January 18, 2024 charges have been laid in relation to the Shelburne wildfire.
In suburban Halifax, an estimated 200 structures were destroyed by fire. By June 1, the Halifax fire was 50% contained, but was not considered under control. At the time, no missing people or injuries from the Halifax fire were reported. By June 4, the Halifax fire was 100% contained. The Barrington Lake fire in Shelburne County, which started May 27, covered 230 square kilometres (89 sq mi) at its largest. On June 7, officials announced it was successfully contained. As of June 7, the fire had destroyed 60 residences and 150 other structures.
Barrington Lake wildfire
A major wildfire started around May 27 near Barrington Lake in Shelburne County. The fire burned around 23,015 hectares (56,871 acres) and between 30 and 40 structures were destroyed. The response to the fire included widespread evacuation orders of the surrounding area, displacing around 5000 people. This wildfire was the largest recorded in the history of Nova Scotia.