Emergency Management Assistance Program

• Emergency Management FireSmart Program project funding application form
• Inspection report detailing the damages caused by the emergency event on primary residences or infrastructure for emergency recovery projects
• Recovery plan if the estimated recovery cost, including the estimated costs of long-term evacuation, exceeds $1.5 million

Who is eligible?

• First Nations communities

Eligible expenses

• The hiring of certified trainers and instructors, travel expenses if required, in-community workshops, room rental for training or community meetings, off-site emergency management training opportunities, and travel costs for community members
• Conducting exercises of emergency management response plans, flood plain mapping or landslide studies, research and recording Traditional Knowledge or Indigenous knowledge pertaining to emergency management and climate change, consultant fees, rental of equipment for mock exercises, signage, and tsunami equipment and installation fees if located in a tsunami zone
• Wildland fire emergency management training, wildland firefighting equipment and related items, wildland fire preparedness such as vegetation management costs, travel, accommodation and incidentals for First Nations participants to attend regional emergency management forums, and costs associated with hosting a regional emergency management forum including venue and equipment rentals
• Labour costs, equipment rental costs, air filtration units, portable air conditioner units, costs associated with responding to an imminent threat, pre-emptive measures such as snow removal around houses and critical infrastructures, ditch and culvert clearing, purchase and installation of culvert gates, sandbagging, ice breaking, rental or purchase of residential sump pumps, control burn, fire breaks and guards, clearing debris around houses, boarding up windows, and evacuation costs
• Aircraft costs, plane, helicopter, pilot, fuel, drones, fuel for recovery vehicles only such as boat, truck, 4 x 4, ski-doo, divers travel, accommodation and food, liability insurance for trained volunteer search and recovery personnel, professional search and recovery specialist, food for the recovery teams, professionals and volunteers, repairs for rented search equipment damaged during the search and recovery operation, and administrative fees limited to 10% of the total funding request

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Purchase of equipment costing over $10,000 or capital equipment items, except tsunami sirens for communities located within a tsunami zone
• Installation of equipment, except tsunami sirens for communities located within a tsunami zone
• Benefits, food or meals unless as part of travel, insurance, first aid or emergency management kits or evacuation boxes, and gifts or honorarium except for an honorarium for an elder at an event
• Salaries for existing employees funded by another Government of Canada program
• Interest and banking fees

Eligible geographic areas

• On a reserve or lands now part of modern treaty settlements

• Community risk
• Impact of the project
• Feasibility of the project
• Eligibility of expenditures
• Communities that have not previously benefited from the program supports will be given priority over returning applicants

• Complete the Emergency Management FireSmart Program project funding application.
• For the 2025 to 2026 application form, enter 6978382 in the Filter items box on the Proposals, applications, work plans web page.
• If your First Nation community is in British Columbia, contact First Nations Emergency Services Society for instructions and the application procedures.
• Submit the form to your ISC regional office emergency management contact.

• Regional offices review applications and may contact applicants if necessary to support completion of the application for review.
• Applicants are notified by the regional office on the status of their application and eligibility.
• ISC will review the damage assessment report and identify a source of funding within 60 business days of receiving all required documents from the First Nation applicant.

• Deadlines vary depending on the type of funding requested, and the 2025 to 2026 FireSmart proposal period is open on an ongoing basis until funding is exhausted.