Canadian Alert Ready practice drill runs this week

Canada's National Public Alert System has a practice run on Wednesday.

A test of Alert Ready, Canada’s National Public Alerting System, will take place on Wednesday, across most provinces and territories (not in Quebec).

Canadians will receive a message from their provincial emergency management organization over television, radio and compatible wireless devices at:

PROVINCE OR TERRITORY TIME OF TEST

Alberta 1:55 PM MDT

British Columbia 1:55 PM PDT

Manitoba 1:55 PM CDT

New Brunswick 10:55 AM ADT

Newfoundland & Labrador 10:45 AM NDT

Northwest Territories 9:55 AM MDT

Nova Scotia 1:55 PM ADT

Nunavut 2:00 PM EDT

Ontario 12:55 PM EDT

Prince Edward Island 12:55 PM ADT

Quebec No test

Saskatchewan 1:55 PM CST

Yukon 1:55 PM YST

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requires wireless service providers and broadcasters to send at least one test alert each year.

• Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox

The test message will simulate an emergency alert, beginning with the alert tone, known as the Canadian Alert Attention Signal that will indicate that it is a test and does not require action from the public.

Testing of the Alert Ready system provides:

• Increases public awareness about the system, and encourages emergency preparedness conversations, so that Canadians can be ready and prepared in the event of an actual emergency
• Validate the effectiveness and reliability of the system to ensure it operates as intended from end-to-end
• Provides an opportunity for Emergency Management officials to practice sending alerts to the public

The test alert will be sent out on TV, radio and wireless, however, not all Canadians will receive the test alert on their mobile device. This may occur for a variety of reasons – device compatibility, connection to an LTE or 5G network, cell tower coverage and device software and settings.