This is why you received an alert in Ottawa and Gatineau today

An alert appeared on smartphones, radios and televisions in Ottawa and Gatineau on Wednesday, as part of a test of Canada's national public alerting system.

The Alert Ready system was tested in Ontario at 12:55 p.m., and in Quebec at 1:55 p.m. Television and radio broadcasts were interrupted by the alert, while cellphones received a message saying, "This is a test of the Ontario Alert Ready System."

The Alert Ready message indicated it was not an emergency, and there was no danger to your health and safety.

Some residents of Ottawa and Gatineau received both the Ontario and Quebec alerts on cellphones depending on their location.

Alert Ready is designed to deliver critical and potentially life-saving alerts to Canadians through television, radio and LTE connected and compatible wireless devices.  Alerts are broadcast for several different reasons, including fire, hazardous and environmental threats, a civil emergency, an Amber Alert for missing children, and natural disasters such as a tornado, earthquake, flash flooding or a hurricane.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requires an alert test to be carried out every year, either in May or November.