On April 6, 2017, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) directed all wireless service providers to implement a wireless public alerting system on their LTE (long-term evolution) networks by April, 2018.This system will allow emergency management officials, such as fire marshals and police agencies, to warn Canadians on their mobile devices of dangers to life and property. The alerts will be sent to mobile devices connected to LTE networks, which are available to over 97% of Canadians.

Service providers have also been tasked by the CRTC to work with their federal, provincial and territorial counterparts to develop an awareness campaign and test schedule.

More information on WPAS is available from alertready.ca

The CRTC has published a report that summarizes the findings from mobile phone testing that was conducted in January 2020. CRTC staff planned the testing in partnership with the Communications Research Centre (CRC) as a result of complaints that the CRTC Client Services received following the transmission of public alerts. The full report including useful information about volume and do-not-disturb settings for wireless alerts is available here.