The country’s telecom regulator has started an investigation into the volume of emergency alerts sent to Manitobans during a storm on June 9. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has written a letter to Pelmorex, the company that runs Canada’ Emergency Alert System, asking them to answer questions about the wireless emergency alerts sent out in Winnipeg and southern Manitoba on June 9, 2026. “Commission staff have been informed of reports concerning tornado alerts that were issued in Winnipeg and southern Manitoba on 9 June 2026, in which members of the public reported receiving an unusually high number of wireless emergency alerts,” Simon Levasseur with the CRTC wrote in a letter dated Aug. 19 and posted online. “Commission staff is gathering information on the event, any potential root causes that have been identified, as well as corrective actions that have or will be taken to address these causes.” Bell Mobility, Telus, and Rogers Communication have also been asked to respond. All four organizations have until Sept. 11 to share their responses. Many Manitobans reported receiving multiple weather alerts during the evening of June 9, when severe thunderstorms took place in Winnipeg and throughout southern Manitoba. Tornadoes were confirmed in Dufrost and Ste. Anne, Man, that night. Levasseur’s letter asks Pelmorex and the telecommunications companies to answer questions about the creation and receipt of alerts, if any issues were reported, and identify any “procedural, environmental, or technical factors” that contributed to the over-reporting incident.
