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Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Police-Initiated Public Safety Alerts

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In Canada, the National Public Alerting System, also known as Alert Ready, is a federal, provincial, and territorial system, owned and operated by a third party, that enables emergency management organizations across Canada to deliver critical and potentially life-saving emergency notifications, known as emergency alerts or public alerts.

Emergency alerts are intended to:

  • be used in the most serious and time-critical emergencies
  • solicit the public's attention
  • instruct the public to act (for example, asking the public to be on the lookout for an individual, or asking them to shelter in place or evacuate)

Police-Initiated Public Safety Alerts (PIPSA) are emergency alerts issued or initiated by law enforcement as an additional tool to enhance public safety during an emergency or critical incident. These alerts can provide direction to the public on how to stay safe by guiding them on what to do, where to go and what to expect.

Where the RCMP is the police of jurisdiction, we can issue emergency alert or public alert messages through Alert Ready for:

  • an Amber Alert; or
  • when there is a police-involved incident that could pose a threat to public safety.

How does an emergency alert work?

Alert Ready streamlines how public alerts are distributed to the public. This system is active in all provinces and territories, with some provinces or territories operating complementary local system equivalents.

The National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination System (NAADS) provides the technical infrastructure of Canada's national public alerting system that allows authorized Government Agencies across Canada a simple, easily accessible way to issue public safety messages that interrupt regular programming using a unique alert tone, known as the Canadian Alerting Attention Signal.

How will I receive an emergency alert?

Emergency alerts through Alert Ready can be broadcast on radio, television or compatible wireless devices.

What do I do if I receive an emergency alert?

If you receive an alert, you should:

  • follow the instructions in the Alert until directed otherwise
  • follow your province's RCMP accounts on X and Facebook for non-critical updates
  • check in with your loved ones in the affected area to ensure they are aware of what is happening

You should not:

  • call 9-1-1 unless you have an emergency or information specific to the incident that the alert was issued for
  • share police locations or photos of police operations during the incident

Why did I receive an alert for an incident outside of my location?

Emergency alerts are area specific or geo-targeted so only devices in the defined geographical area should receive the alert; however, it is possible and normal to receive an alert for an incident outside of your immediate location, including an alert from a neighbouring province.

If you receive an alert, it could be that the alert is relevant for your location, or because cell towers in the impacted area may extend outside the impacted area. This is common as the location, range, and coverage of each cell tower can vary.

This also means that if you travel elsewhere in Canada and an alert is issued for the location you find yourself in at that moment, you will receive the alert, provided you have a compatible cellphone that is connected to an Long Term Evolution (LTE) or 5G network.

Why didn't I receive the emergency alert?

To receive an emergency alert through Alert Ready:

  • you must be in the affected geographical area of the alert

and

  • you must have a wireless public alerting (WPA) compatible device (for example, a Smartphone)
  • your device must be operating the latest software
  • your device must be connected to LTE or 5G network at the time of the alert

or

  • your radio must be turned on (not streaming music)

or

  • your television must be turned on (not streaming services)

If you are in the affected area and did not get the alert, contact your service provider.

What other ways can I find out information?

Along with emergency alerts, the RCMP uses a variety of methods to communicate during a critical incident including:

  • social media (Facebook, X, etc.)
  • media interviews
  • news releases
  • community engagement such as direct conversations with affected residents and organizations

We will share information as frequently as we can while protecting the ongoing investigation.

Your local authorities may have other emergency notification systems that you can subscribe to. Check with your local government for more information.

Why isn't an alert issued right away?

Police need time to respond to a call, assess the situation and gather credible information. We make decisions based on the information we have at the time.

Public safety is top priority for the RCMP and we will issue an emergency alert and we will issue an emergency alert as soon as we feel it is in the best interest of the public.

How will I know when the alert is no longer in affect?

Police will not conclude an Alert until we are confident there is no further risk to the general public. Sometimes this takes time. Your patience and cooperation when an emergency alert has been issued will help keep everyone safe.

The public will be notified of significant updates, including when the incident is concluded through various methods of communication noted above, including an emergency alert.

The public will be notified of significant updates, including when the incident is concluded or cancelled through various methods of communication noted above. It's possible that there are times when cancellations are issued as another emergency alert through Alert Ready. This is because the police have deemed that the public needs to be advised immediately if it concerns their own or public safety.

Can I opt-out of receiving alerts?

Emergency alerts are sent to cell phones, television and radio without a subscription and at no cost. Given the importance of warning the Canadian public of imminent threats to the safety of life and property, it is not possible to opt out of receiving alerts.

Alert messages are sent through a dedicated messaging channel to all phones within range of the impacted area. This dedicated channel distributes alert messages without tracking the phone numbers or the physical locations of cellphones. The National Public Alert System does not locate or track individual cell phones, nor does it collect, have access to, or retain any contact or personal information in order to issue an emergency alert.

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