Canada ministers to provide update on 2026 wildfire season forecast

The Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience, and the Honourable Mandy Gull-Masty, Minister of Indigenous Services, will provide an update on the forecast for the 2026 wildfire season. The announcement follows a technical briefing hosted by Government of Canada officials to outline the seasonal outlook.

Journalists will have the opportunity to ask questions in a "for attribution" capacity during the technical briefing. All information and materials related to this briefing will be shared under embargo until the ministerial press conference begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT.

Event Details

The events will take place on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Participation is limited to accredited members of the Press Gallery. Media who are not members may contact pressres2@parl.gc.ca to request temporary access.

Event Type	Format	Date	Time	Location
Media Technical Briefing	Hybrid (in-person and virtual)	August 18, 2026	1:15 p.m. EDT	National Press Theatre, Room 325, Ottawa
Press Conference	Virtual	August 18, 2026	2:30 p.m. EDT	National Press Theatre, Room 325, Ottawa

Simultaneous translation and audio feed will be available for media on-site. Public Safety Canada invites the public to follow updates on X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

The average Canadian family dedicated 42% of its income to taxes in 2025, a share that now exceeds spending on housing, food, and clothing combined, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute. The independent public policy think-tank published the findings in its Taxes Versus the Necessities of Life: The Canadian Consumer Tax Index 2026 Edition.

Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the report, noted that taxes remain the largest household expense for Canadian families amid rising cost-of-living concerns.

Tax Burden vs Basic Necessities

In 2025, the average Canadian family, with an income of $121,111, paid $50,721 in total taxes. This expenditure pattern marks a dramatic reversal from historical norms. In 1961, the average family spent 33.5% of its income on taxes compared to 56.5% on basic necessities.

Expenditure Category:	1961 Share:	2025 Share:
Taxes:	33.5%	42%
Housing, Food, Clothing:	56.5%	36%

The total tax bill includes visible and hidden taxes paid to federal, provincial, and local governments. These encompass income taxes, payroll taxes, health taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, fuel taxes, carbon taxes, vehicle taxes, import taxes, and alcohol and tobacco taxes.

What the Numbers Show

The nominal increase in the average Canadian family's total tax bill since 1961 stands at 2,928%. This growth rate dwarfs the nominal cost increases for other essential categories:

Housing costs rose 2,349%
Food costs rose 952%
Clothing costs rose 526%

This divergence indicates that the tax burden has grown much more rapidly than any other single expenditure category for the average family over this period.

Fuss emphasized that while Canadians determine their own value assessment of tax dollars, understanding the magnitude of annual tax payments and their growth relative to other necessary costs is critical.