Based on coverage from The Star, Castanet, and Financial Post.
Canada is getting a new push to use fire, on purpose, and more safely.
The University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus (UBCO) and the Weston Family Foundation have launched the Canadian Prescribed Fire Training Program, backed by $8 million from the foundation. The goal is to train more people to plan and carry out prescribed burns, a tool supporters say can improve ecosystem health and reduce the severity and risk of wildfires.
New $8M prescribed fire training program
The Canadian Prescribed Fire Training Program (CPFTP) is being described as a first-of-its-kind national training initiative. It’s co-developed by UBCO and the Weston Family Foundation, with the foundation providing the $8 million commitment.
Organizers say Canada has a “critical gap” in its ability to use prescribed fire at a meaningful scale, even though it’s widely described as a proven land management approach. The program is meant to build a national pool of trained practitioners who can use prescribed fire safely and effectively for ecological restoration and community safety.
Why prescribed fire matters in Canada
The program’s backers argue many Canadian ecosystems evolved with fire over thousands of years, and that long-term fire suppression has helped push some landscapes “out of balance.” Their point is straightforward: when vegetation builds up over time, it can act like kindling, making wildfires more intense and harder to control.
They also connect the issue to today’s wildfire reality. The announcement points to climate change and extreme wildfire events as reasons to lean more on proactive tools, rather than relying mostly on emergency response once a major fire is already burning.
Prescribed fire, as described in the release, is planned and controlled. It’s intended to enhance biodiversity, support ecological health, and reduce wildfire severity and risk.
Five regional hubs across Canada
A key design feature is the program’s five regional training hubs: western, northern, central, eastern, and Atlantic Canada.
The idea is that prescribed fire training can’t be one-size-fits-all in a country this big. CPFTP says the hubs will tailor training to local landscapes and conditions, and reflect “local ecosystems, governance structures, and operational realities.” In practice, that’s meant to help ensure what works in the fire-prone BC Interior isn’t automatically treated as the model for, say, Atlantic Canada.
CPFTP also emphasizes cross-disciplinary collaboration and “evidence-informed” practice, suggesting the training will draw on multiple fields rather than treating prescribed burning as a narrow technical skill.
Training gap and Indigenous fire stewardship
The organizers say prescribed fire remains underused in Canada partly because the benefits aren’t widely understood, but also because the training pipeline is thin.
They point to limited availability of training, mentorship, and chances to get real operational experience in the field. Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais, an assistant professor in UBCO’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science and director of the program, said Canada’s ability to expand prescribed fire has been constrained by “a lack of coordinated training and clear pathways to operational experience.” He said the program aims to establish national standards, deliver regionally grounded training, and build the capacity to apply prescribed fire “safely, responsibly, and at scale.”
The program also says it will respect and support Indigenous-led fire stewardship and cultural fire practices, positioning Indigenous knowledge and leadership as part of how prescribed fire capacity should grow in Canada.
What happens next for CPFTP
UBCO said media were invited to two virtual media availabilities on Wednesday, Feb. 25, with one French session and one English session, featuring a moderated discussion and a Q-and-A with Bourbonnais.
For Canadians, the practical question is whether this kind of training investment translates into more qualified crews, clearer standards, and more prescribed burns carried out safely across regions, especially as wildfire seasons continue to test communities and emergency systems.
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