A downed tree is shown in Winnipeg on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brittany Hobson)
WINNIPEG — Canada’s broadcasting and telecommunications regulator is looking into an “unusually high” number of wireless emergency alerts sent to Manitoba recipients on June 9.
The alerts came as a result of multiple active weather events across the province that brought massive hail, heavy rain and destructive winds. A tornado was also confirmed to have touched down near Ste. Anne. The same storm left nearly 17,000 customers without power in Winnipeg and brought wind gusts in excess of 100 km/h in some areas.
In a letter sent to telecom companies on Wednesday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is seeking to understand why so many alerts were distributed to wireless devices, including some outside of the affected regions.
“Commission staff have been informed of reports concerning tornado alerts that were issued in Winnipeg and southern Manitoba on 9 June 2026, in which members of the public reported receiving an unusually high number of wireless emergency alerts,” the letter said.
“Commission staff is gathering information on the event, any potential root causes that have been identified, as well as corrective actions that have or will be taken to address these causes.”
One of many wireless emergency alerts sent to Manitoba recipients on June 9, 2026. (CHRISD.CA FILE / COMPOSITE)
The letter was sent to Pelmorex Corp. — the parent company of The Weather Network — which operates the technical infrastructure for Canada’s emergency alerting system, known as Alert Ready. The CRTC is also seeking responses from Bell Mobility Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and TELUS Communications Inc.
The CRTC is asking each organization to explain its role in the June 9 emergency alerts, how its emergency alert system operated that day, any factors that could have triggered an over-alerting incident, and how the situation can be avoided in the future.
In some instances, upwards of 16 to 20 alerts were sent to individuals that day, including those outside of the immediate mobile coverage area related to severe weather.
Earlier this month, Environment and Climate Change Canada launched a new system for how it alerts the public of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.
The agency says the new system is more precise, allowing its meteorologists to dial into specific regions using a drawn “polygon.”
“Our forecasters can now target the area most likely to experience the highest impacts and issue severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings to people in only that area,” ECC says on its website.
“As the storm system moves, forecasters can update the polygon, triggering alert notifications along its route.”
The more precise weather-targeting system is expected to reduce future emergency alerts from wider swaths of geological coverage areas to only direct pockets where adverse weather is expected.
Responses to the CRTC’s investigation are due by September 11 and will be published on the government’s website at a later date.
— ChrisD.ca
