Canada’s First Nations Are Climate Refugees in Their Own Country

What is happening in Northern Ontario right now is devastating.Nearly 200 wildfires are burning. Six communities have been ordered to evacuate. The community of Collins is gone. The Chief says her people ran from their houses with only the clothes on their backs. Families escaped by boat as the trees beside their homes caught fire. Tonight, some evacuees are sleeping in their cars in Thunder Bay because there is nowhere left to put them.For years, Ontario firefighters warned that our wildland fire program was understaffed and under resourced. Those warnings were ignored. Communities that should have been protected were left exposed. That is a failure of leadership.There’s a way of thinking taking hold in this country that building a stronger Canada means walking away from our climate commitments. But I don’t believe you can build a stronger country on the ashes of its communities. It’s one that prepares for it.The people suffering most from Canada’s wildfire crisis are not politicians. They are Indigenous communities.Indigenous people make up about five percent of Canada’s population, yet they account for a disproportionate share of wildfire evacuations. In 2025, more than 85,000 people were forced from their homes by wildfires. More than 45,000 were members of First Nations communities. These communities are becoming climate refugees in their own country. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe