A fire truck travels past a devastated residential block in Jasper, Alta., on July 26. Wildfires encroaching into the townsite of Jasper forced an evacuation of the national park and have destroyed over 300 of the town's approximately 1100 structures, mainly impacting residential areas.AMBER BRACKEN/The Canadian Press
Ali Bhagat is an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University and author of the new book Governing the Displaced.
The wildfires that raged in Jasper last month indicate a new normal for summer in Canada and the United States. During the historic 2023 wildfire season, more than 230,000 people were evacuated, while 6,623 wildland fires burned over 15 million hectares of forest in Canada. Meanwhile, as I write this, in the U.S., wildfires are active in 13 states, with Texas experiencing 24 fires across 444,340 hectares and Oregon battling 81 fires across 255,348 hectares of land.
While there is widespread concern about health risks, forest sustainability, air quality, and loss of life when it comes to wildfires, there has been little attention paid to the looming crisis of internal displacement as a result of these types of disasters. Internal displacement refers to the forced movement of people in their own countries who, unlike refugees, do not cross international borders. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) face challenges in accessing basic services, shelter, and returning to their homes and livelihoods.
The crisis of internal displacement spans nearly all continents, particularly in countries facing longstanding conflict, such as Somalia, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Colombia, where conflict triggered 28.3 million people to be displaced worldwide. According to the International Organization for Migration, 75.9 million people live as IDPs; however, climate change-related internal displacement poses an alarming policy challenge to governments in the global North and global South. Between 2020 and 2023 alone, 113.7 million people were displaced due to various disasters. Surprisingly, there was a rise in disaster-related displacement in high-income countries where Canada and New Zealand reported their highest figures ever.
Due to rampant wildfires, Canada is at the forefront of a crisis concerning internal displacement in high-income countries. In 2023, Canada accounted for 43 per cent of people displaced by wildfires globally, with British Columbia and Alberta taking the brunt of this crisis. Both provincial and federal levels of government have committed to budget increases in order to tackle wildfires; however, as the recent events in Jasper show, a much more co-ordinated effort is required. For instance, while British Columbians welcomed displaced Albertans with open arms, B.C’s Emergency Management Minister stated, “The reality is British Columbia does not have the accommodations for those thousands and thousands of additional evacuees.”
Although the fires in Jasper have made national headlines due to its popularity as a tourist destination, a more insidious aspect of wildfire displacement is the impact it has on Indigenous communities in Canada, which often goes unreported. Wildfires from Nova Scotia to B.C. destroy the traditional and ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, threatening important cultural activities. As such, Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by wildfires and are also often left out of discussions about mitigation, forest management, and fire response. There are clear parallels here with people in global South countries who face the greatest risks of climate-related displacement while also being the least responsible for carbon emissions and climate change.
Calls to action around sustainable forest management practices, land-use planning, early warning systems, emergency planning, and rapid deployment of emergency services are already on the table in provincial and federal budgeting and planning. However, Canada must also develop a concrete plan for internal displacement that includes immediate and longer-term support for IDPs. This includes robust infrastructure development in temporary housing, medical services, financial support, rebuilding assistance and mental health. Ideally, these supports will be co-developed and led by Indigenous groups who bear the brunt of internal displacement in Canada. As climate change worsens, Canada has to contend with who is responsible for internal displacement, particularly when those who are displaced cannot return to their homes and livelihoods.