A test of Alert Ready, Canada’s National Public Alerting System, will take place on Wednesday (Nov. 20) across most provinces and territories including Ontario.
Canadians will receive one test message from their respective provincial or territorial emergency management organization over TV, radio and compatible wireless devices with the timing for Ontario at 12:55 PM EST.
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requires wireless service providers and broadcasters to send at least one test alert per year, either in May during Emergency Preparedness Week and/or in November.
The test message will simulate an emergency alert, beginning with the alert tone, known as the Canadian Alert Attention Signal and will indicate that it is a test and does not require action from the public.
In 2024, the Alert Ready system delivered more than 845 public emergency alert messages to Canadians.