Ottawa braces for 2026 wildfire season by leasing 10 new firefighting aircraft

A water bomber provides a steady steam of water to assist crews on the ground at the Paddy's Pond wildfire, just outside St. John's, N.L., on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly

OTTAWA — The federal government is leasing 10 new firefighting planes and helicopters to help provinces and territories respond to wildfires this summer.

Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski says provincial and territorial wildfire agencies will be able to request the use of four air tankers, one spotter plane and five heavy lift helicopters to fight wildfires.

In a news release, the government says the new assets will boost national firefighting surge capacity by increasing provincial and territorial access to aircraft during periods of intense wildfire activity.

The release says it is the first time Ottawa will have federal firefighting planes to loan to the provinces, paid for by a new $317-million budget allocation to establish a national aerial firefighting surge capacity.

The government says the assets will be positioned within Canada based on fire activity forecasts and current wildfire activity.

The 2025 wildfire season was Canada’s second-worst on record, with nearly 90,000 square kilometres consumed as of September 2025 — an area larger than New Brunswick.