July 17 2025
As Ontario faces one of the most devastating wildfire seasons in its history, the reality on the ground is deeply troubling. Firefighters who stand on the front lines of Canada’s growing climate crisis are stretched beyond their limits – understaffed, underpaid, and increasingly burned out. This is not just a staffing issue. It’s a crisis of public safety, workplace sustainability, and government responsibility.
The current conditions speak volumes
According to a July 6 story in the Toronto Star, nearly a third of Ontario’s fire aviation fleet is grounded due to a lack of pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers. Fourteen percent of frontline wildland firefighter positions are unfilled, and Ontario is short 27 percent of its fire ranger crews. The impact is unmistakable: slower response times, more fires escaping containment, and entire communities at greater risk. Fire rangers are working punishing schedules—three 19-day shifts with only two days off between—pushing human endurance to a dangerous brink.
“We are in an incredible crisis due to climate change, but also due to underfunding and understaffing,” says JP Hornick, President of OPSEU/SEFPO. “We’ve lost firefighters at the same time that the need for them has increased.”
The crisis is growing
A lack of public investment in personnel and training exacerbates this crisis. With over 100 fewer wildland firefighters than a decade ago, and a 40 percent turnover rate in aviation and emergency services, the province is relying heavily on inexperienced workers in high-risk roles. As OPSEU/SEFPO Vice-President Noah Freedman has noted, this growing inexperience combined with severe fatigue creates a dangerous work environment with escalating potential for errors and accidents.
What can be done
The official government response is that they are “comfortable with the number of crews we have” and to promise investments in aircraft that won’t arrive for nearly a decade. This rings hollow to those on the front lines. As Bert Blundon, President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), puts it: “You can’t fight wildfires with empty promises. Our members need proper staffing, proper pay, and real support—right now, not ten years from now.” He added, “We need immediate and sustained investment in Ontario’s wildfire services. This includes competitive wages to retain and attract skilled workers, fully staffing existing aircraft before purchasing new ones, and prioritizing the mental and physical well-being of those risking their lives to protect our communities.”
Our firefighters are not just tools in a response plan. They are people, doing extraordinary work in extraordinary times. Ontario must act decisively to support them before another preventable crisis unfolds.