SHERBROOKE, QC, Feb. 27, 2026 /CNW/ - Canada's vast and challenging landscapes make search and rescue (SAR) operations increasingly difficult, especially as climate‑related emergencies grow more frequent. Strengthening our SAR system requires sustained, coordinated efforts to ensure responders can reach people in distress wherever they are.
Today, Anthony Housefather, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience, and the Honourable Élisabeth Brière, Deputy Government Whip and Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke, announced one-time funding of nearly $500,000 under the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (SAR NIF) for a Université de Sherbrooke search and rescue project. The SAR NIF program supports projects that improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and innovation of search and rescue activities.
With this new funding, Université de Sherbrooke will work with Parks Canada, Avalanche Québec/Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and the Kativik Regional Government to create detailed snow‑depth and snow‑stability maps in remote alpine regions, strengthening avalanche forecasting and supporting safer, better‑informed decision‑making for communities across Nunavik.
The Government of Canada is committed to strengthening search and rescue by working with provinces, territories, communities, specialized organizations, and individuals to reduce the risk of injury and loss of life and to ensure timely, effective emergency response.
Quotes
"Search and rescue teams across Canada work tirelessly to keep people safe, often in challenging and unpredictable conditions. By supporting innovative projects and investing in new capabilities, our government is helping responders reach people more quickly and more effectively when it matters most. Together with our partners, we are strengthening community safety and building a more resilient Canada."
- The Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada
"Our search and rescue partners play an essential role in protecting Canadians, often in some of the most challenging environments in the country. By supporting projects like the Université de Sherbrooke's remote avalanche monitoring project, we are investing in the people, tools, and research that allow responders to act quickly and confidently when lives are at risk. These investments strengthen community safety in Nunavik and across the country."
- Anthony Housefather, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience
"The Carney government is committed to strengthening our capacity and training people here in Sherbrooke so we can act quickly and effectively to keep Canadians and our communities safe. As the Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke, I am pleased that the Université de Sherbrooke's search and rescue project is receiving this $500,000 in funding. I am also proud that Sherbrooke's expertise will help protect northern communities and support their everyday safety. This project will make it possible to better understand snow depth and stability in remote alpine regions, improve the accuracy of avalanche forecasting, and provide Nunavik communities with valuable data to inform their decision-making."
- The Honourable Élisabeth Brière, Deputy Government Whip and Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke
"We thank the Government of Canada for their financial support of this research project. I would like to acknowledge Professor Alexandre Langlois's excellence and expertise, and the CARTEL research group's essential contribution to a better understanding of the world we live in. By improving remote avalanche monitoring, the Université de Sherbrooke is strengthening safety for our communities and for teams in the field. This project will directly contribute to advancements in geomatics research and innovation. It will also help train a new generation of qualified workers, offering students unique opportunities to develop cutting-edge skills in an applied setting."
- Professor Anne Lessard, Vice-President of Research, Université de Sherbrooke
Quick Facts
- The search and rescue system draws on the resources and expertise of partners at all orders of government, Indigenous communities, volunteers, and the private sector to respond to people who are lost, missing or in distress.
- The SAR NIF is a contribution program that is managed by Public Safety Canada in partnership with other federal, provincial and territorial search and rescue organizations, who together determine its annual priorities.
- Projects are selected through a merit-based process using objective and measurable criteria. Each proposal must support at least one of the annual priorities to be considered for funding.
- Since 2015, following the transfer of the National Search and Rescue Secretariat to Public Safety Canada, the SAR NIF program has provided $61M towards search and rescue activities across Canada to enhance prevention and ensure responders are well equipped to reach people in distress wherever they are.
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Contacts: Soraya Lemur, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, [email protected]; Media Relations, Public Safety Canada, 613-991-0657, [email protected]
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