\u2018Potential risk\u2019: Canada ends longtime Weatheradio service, leaving some forecast-less<\/p>\n
Published 8:33 am Saturday, March 21, 2026<\/p>\n
When one Revelstoke resident and former search and rescue volunteer recently tuned into Weatheradio \u2014 a service providing daily forecasts for communities across Canada \u2014 he was surprised to find the local channel turned off.<\/p>\n
On Monday, March 16, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) ended Weatheradio and telephone-based Hello Weather amid federal budget cuts, leaving a hole in valuable forecasting for rural communities.<\/p>\n
Launched in 1976, Weatheradio played an important role keeping residents, especially non-smartphone users, informed about incoming storms and extreme weather events in their area. By 2026, it comprised a network of some 230 radio transmitters operated by ECCC across Canada, allowing anyone anywhere with a radio signal to tune in.<\/p>\n
Areas such as Revelstoke, Nakusp and Rogers Pass received seven-day weather forecasts and also air quality forecasts, along with weather alerts for the West Columbia region and Trans-Canada Highway between Eagle Pass and Rogers Pass. Updates for weather alerts were provided on demand, and for weather observations came hourly.<\/p>\n
But ECCC spokesperson Samantha Bayard cited the increasing costs to operate Weatheradio and Hello Weather in the federal agency\u2019s decision to discontinue these services in favour of \u201cmore viable alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSince Weatheradio was introduced, there have been many technological advancements that have permitted us to increase the availability of our weather information services and products,\u201d Bayard told Black Press Media in a statement. \u201cCellular service in Canada continues to expand, and satellite internet is increasingly enabling remote communities across the country to access information.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Weatheradio gone, ECCC encourages Canadians to lean on notification options such as Alert Ready (for phones, TV and radio), the WeatherCAN mobile app, marine radio broadcasts, and media including local and regional FM stations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese channels offer multiple modern options to ensure Canadians can access timely and authoritative weather information,\u201d Bayard added.<\/p>\n
Mel Arnold, MP for Kamloops\u2014Shuswap\u2014Central Rockies, learned of ECCC\u2019s plan to cut Weatheradio more than a month ago. He told Black Press Media that terminating the service is an example of poor federal decision-making.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a disproportionate impact on rural Canadians,\u201d he said, adding that the federal government \u201cshould have looked at an alternative opportunity or service\u201d that also provided weather broadcasts to people without cell or data service.<\/p>\n
Marine radio broadcasts don\u2019t offer relevant weather information for inland residents, and options such as WeatherCAN \u201care only available within cell range,\u201d Arnold said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t help anyone that isn\u2019t cellphone-literate,\u201d he said \u2014 or who doesn\u2019t even have a cellphone.<\/p>\n
Arnold emphasized this particularly disadvantages seniors who may rely on pay-to-go call plans instead of using smartphones. But it also presents risk for anyone recreating in the backcountry, outside of broadband access.<\/p>\n
\u201cLots of backcountry hikers or backcountry skiers who potentially relied on these systems,\u201d he said, noting hand radio users have also been critical so far about ECCC ending Weatheradio.<\/p>\n
More than 90 per cent of Canadians live within range of a Weatheradio transmitter. Though Arnold recognizes the service might have grown redundant for urban communities with more reliable cell and data service, \u201cthere\u2019s a lot of transmitters in small communities where this is what they rely on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For some residents, Weatheradio was the sole warning system for extreme weather events that they had access to.<\/p>\n
A potentially life-saving feature of Weatheradio was its specific area message encoding (SAME) that would bring people\u2019s radios out of sleep mode to receive emergency weather alerts. This technique for pushing alerts allowed radios to save battery while still getting the most critical weather messaging.<\/p>\n
According to Arnold, ECCC will save $3.6 million by cutting Weatheradio \u2014 a sum he called insubstantial.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe costs to managing this across the country are so small,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Alternatively, the federal government could\u2019ve simply ended Weatheradio for urban communities that already enjoy reliable access to forecasting, and maintained it for rural communities, Arnold said. But going forward, he hopes Canada can field other communication options that ensure weather forecasting continues to reach all Canadians and leave no one in the dark.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlternative access needs to be the way out of this,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a potential risk if people don\u2019t know storms are coming.\u201d<\/p>\n