As catastrophic wildfires intensify across Canada - destroying homes, blanketing the country in smoke, forcing evacuations, and driving major economic losses - we ask in this episode what it will take to live with fire in a warming world.
David sits down with returning guest to the podcast, fire ecologist and professor Jen Baron, to hear how decades of suppression and the disruption of Indigenous cultural burning helped create today’s more severe, fast-moving fires. We also hear from Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland as he recounts the 2024 wildfire that destroyed 374 structures (including his own home!) despite strong preparation and makes the plea for disaster-ready, low-carbon housing and faster clean-energy transition to save other communities from the same destruction. David also speaks with Métis leader for the province of Alberta, Gabrielle Blatz, as she urges governments to include Indigenous knowledge and Métis women in emergency planning, and Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell to hear how the residents of his own small town continue to fight for mitigation projects in the face of destructive pipeline expansions.
Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis is supported by Elbows Up for Climate, The C40 Centre, and the University of Toronto Press.
Featured guests:
Dr Jen Baron, Assistant Professor of Fire Ecology at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in the Center for Wildfire Coexistence
Richard Ireland, Mayor of Jasper, AB
Gabrielle Blatz, Otipemisiwak Métis Government's Provincial Secretary of Women, Gender Equity & Inclusion
Merlin Blackwell, Mayor of Clearwater, BC
Links:
The Government of Canada provides an update regarding the 2026 wildfire season – August update - Public Safety Canada
Centre for Wildfire Coexistence
Indigenous Heritage in Kelowna - Tourism Kelowna
Attribution of the Influence of Human‐Induced Climate Change on an Extreme Fire Season - National Library of Medicine
America's Fires: A Historical Context for Policy and Practice - The University of North Carolina Press
Blending Indigenous and western science: Quantifying cultural burning impacts in Karuk Aboriginal Territory - The Ecological Society of America, Volume 34, Issue 4
What do you mean, ‘megafire’? - Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
How wildfire smoke travels from Ontario to New York City — and turns distant city skies orange - CBC News
How Canada helped in past U.S. wildfires as Ford says some are ‘chirping’ - Global News
Timeline of the Jasper Wildfire - Parks Canada
History of Jasper - Municipality of Jasper
Year Two Progress Report - Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre
Mayor of Jasper loses home in devastating mountain park wildfires: ‘I see memories of life taken’ - Global News
Lessons from the Jasper wildfire: build disaster-ready, energy-secure homes - The Hill Times
Secretary Spotlight: Gabrielle Blatz - Otipemisiwak Metis Government
Green Municipal Fund
Ma ma tâ wan sakâw Healing Forest - Porject Forest
Season 1 | Episode 1 | Good Fire Podcast - Indigenous Leadership Initiative
Clearwater adopts new wildfire resiliency plan - Clearwater Times
FireSmart Canada
Why the Lytton fire of 2021 won’t be forgotten, the community is trying to move forward - CBC News
Wells Gray Community Forest
Clearwater Financial Plan - District of Clearwater
If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries
Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/
Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.
Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.
Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/
Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/
