13 per cent of Canadians consider moving because of wildfires: survey

In wake of the wildfires that have ravaged communities across the country, some Canadians are considering moving to avoid future wildfire encounters.

According to a recent Angus Reid survey, 13 per cent of Canadians say they would consider relocating to a place that feels safer after experiencing the impacts of wildfire and smoke conditions in the last five years.

The survey found that Canadian women under 35 years old are most likely to relocate.

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As of Tuesday, there are 237 active wildfires in the Northwest Territories and more than 68 per cent of the territory's entire population has evacuated. In British Columbia, there are currently 377 active wildfires as of Tuesday.

Nineteen per cent of Canadians in B.C. and 16 per cent of residents living in Alberta say they would consider moving elsewhere to be less affected by future wildfires.

More than half of Canadians (55 per cent) are expecting even worse fire conditions in the future, while 26 per cent say this year's conditions, which led to a record-breaking wildfire season, will be the new normal.

According to the survey, young adult Canadians are more likely to be open to relocation than others as they consider where to settle down in the future.

The survey also found that 59 per cent of Canadians are nearly twice as likely to say that climate change is a factor in increased wildfire activity.

As for health impact, 20 per cent of those impacted by wildfire smoke this season say their health problems have worsened because of poor air quality.

With files from CTVNews.ca’s Melissa Lopez-Martinez