Wildfire fighters welcome federal water bomber funding but seek more ground support

The federal budget has pledged billions to boost production of water bombers, a move welcomed by wildfire crews but one they say must be paired with greater support for ground operations. The financing of up to $2.5 billion aims to help De Havilland Canada double its annual output of Canadair water bombers to 20 by adding a second assembly line in Alberta. Front-line firefighters say aerial attack is a critical tool, especially for containing small fires before they grow. They argue, however, that aircraft are only one part of the response and that managing wildfires remains a provincial responsibility.

"Typically when they're most effective is before the fire has got gotten quite large," said Riley Moskaluk, a wildfire fighter since 2016. He explained that water bombers can deliver a large volume of water quickly to suppress a new blaze. Yet he noted high winds or poor visibility can ground them, as happened several times during British Columbia's destructive 2026 season. Moskaluk believes the federal government should focus its involvement on funding the people who do the hands-on work.

"I think investing in the people on the ground is probably the best thing we could do long term," Moskaluk said. He cited the physically demanding nature of the job, exposure to toxins, and weaker retirement and health benefits compared to municipal firefighters as reasons for high industry turnover. This loss of experienced personnel has serious consequences, according to Sebastian Kollos, a wildland firefighter and union vice-president. "If you don't have the experience, you can start to make mistakes and, and those mistakes can unfortunately lead to people losing their houses," Kollos said.

Chad Thomas, a veteran firefighter and director of Aboriginal Land Protection Services, said federal help could extend to funding prescribed and cultural burns and other mitigation in remote and First Nations communities. He also called for a national accreditation program for contract firefighters to allow crews to work across provincial lines. Thomas said the current lack of national standards leads to underutilizing domestic firefighting capacity. "We had about 16,000 firefighters across the country between First Nation contractors and contractors that were ready to respond to Ontario and British Columbia this year," he said. "There's just so much capacity that's there that's not being utilized." In the 2026 wildfire season, more than 500 structures were destroyed or damaged in B.C. as 1,474 fires burned over 4,700 square kilometres. Your Space Hamilton reported in November that Canada was poised to announce a deal for 50 new water bombers amid worsening wildfires.

With files from The Canadian Press and CBC News