Key Takeaways
- Misinformation and conspiracy theories can spread quickly during crises, undermining public trust and emergency response efforts
- Climate change is exacerbating the problem, with misinformation becoming a public safety threat in Canada
- The Canadian government needs to shift from reactive correction to proactive preparedness, investing in public education and institutional coordination to combat misinformation
- Trusted messengers, such as community leaders and local organizations, can play a crucial role in countering false claims and promoting public trust
- Climate resilience requires not only physical infrastructure but also a focus on information integrity and public trust
Introduction to the Problem
When a crisis strikes, rumors and conspiracy theories often spread faster than emergency officials can respond and issue corrections. In Canada, social media posts have falsely claimed wildfires were intentionally set, that evacuation orders were government overreach, or that smoke maps were being manipulated. This misinformation has directly shaped how Canadians responded to real danger, with people delaying evacuations due to uncertainty about which information to trust. This is not just online noise; it has real-world consequences, reducing the state’s ability to protect lives and critical infrastructure. At this point, misinformation is no longer merely a communications problem but a national security risk.
The Impact on Emergency Response
Emergency response systems depend on public trust to function. When that trust erodes, response capacity weakens, and preventable harm increases. Canada is entering an era where climate misinformation is becoming a public safety threat. As wildfires, floods, and droughts grow more frequent, emergency systems rely on one fragile assumption: that people believe the information they receive. When that assumption fails, the entire chain of crisis communication begins to break down. This dynamic extends far beyond acute disasters, also affecting long-running climate policy and adaptation efforts. When trust in institutions erodes, and misinformation becomes easier to absorb than scientific evidence, public support for proactive climate action collapses.
The Role of Cognitive Dynamics
Recent research on how people perceive droughts shows that members of the public often rely on lived experiences, memories, identity, and social and institutional cues to decide whether they are experiencing a drought, even when official information suggests otherwise. These complex cognitive dynamics create predictable vulnerabilities. Evidence from Canada and abroad documents how false narratives during climate emergencies reduce protective behavior, amplify confusion, and weaken institutional authority. This highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of how people process information during crises and the importance of addressing these cognitive biases in emergency response efforts.
Tackling Misinformation in Canada
Canada has invested billions of dollars in physical resiliency, firefighting capacity, flood resiliency, and energy reliability. The Canadian government has also recently joined the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change to investigate false narratives and strengthen response capacity. However, Canada still approaches misinformation as secondary rather than a key component of climate-risk management. This leaves responsibility for effective messaging fragmented across public safety, environment, emergency management, and digital policy, with no single entity accountable for monitoring, anticipating, or responding to information threats during crises. The cost of this fragmentation is slower response, weaker coordination, and greater risk to public safety.
The Need for Proactive Preparedness
Canada needs to shift from reactive correction to proactive preparedness. With wildfire season only months ahead, this is the window when preparation matters most. Waiting for the next crisis to expose the same weaknesses is not resilience but repetition. This shift requires systemic planning, including proactive public preparedness, institutional coordination, and partnerships with trusted messengers. Federal and provincial emergency agencies should treat public understanding of alerts, evacuation systems, and climate risks as a standing responsibility, not an emergency add-on. This information must be communicated well before disaster strikes, through the platforms people actually use, with clear expectations about where authoritative information will come from.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Climate resilience is not only about physical systems; it is also about whether people believe the warnings meant to protect them. Canada’s long-term security depends on taking that reality seriously. By investing in public education, institutional coordination, and partnerships with trusted messengers, Canada can strengthen public trust and information integrity, reducing the risk of misinformation and improving emergency response efforts. This requires a proactive and systemic approach, recognizing that misinformation is not just a communications problem but a national security risk. By taking these steps, Canada can build a more resilient and secure future, better equipped to face the challenges of climate change.