Emergency and disaster personnel in Australia and Canada already share a close relationship. Today, this commitment deepens further with a new partnership between our two countries.
The Joint Declaration of Intent (PDF 136KB) between Australia’s National Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada was signed today. This was part of several activities coinciding with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Australia.
The Declaration builds on several memoranda of understanding (MOUs) that already exist between Australia and Canada. These cover critical things like resource-sharing for wildfire management, and cooperation on emergency management and disaster risk reduction. For example, one MOU enabled recent deployments of Canadian firefighters to assist with Victorian fires in early 2026, and similarly, Australian firefighters were deployed to assist with response operations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba in mid-2025.
The Joint Declaration of Intent outlines areas Australia and Canada will cooperate on, including:
- continuing activities under the existing MOUs
- sharing targeted information which may include national warning systems and crisis communications
- strengthening emergency response mechanisms in both countries
- enhancing emergency management capabilities through joint exercises and sharing training and development resources
- strengthening community resilience by collaborating in research and innovation.
Australia has similar partnerships with both New Zealand and the United States. They allow all countries involved to continue to improve and implement best practices in emergency management and disaster response.
Image: High Commissioner for Canada to Australia Her Excellency Dr Julie Sunday, and Australia's Minister for Emergency Management the Hon Kristy McBain MP, sign English and French copies of the Joint Declaration of Intent.
