Emergency management financial supports

Last updated on May 2, 2025

Funding options for Indigenous communities and local governments are available for disaster mitigation, disaster response, and after a disaster may have happened.

Response operations finance claims

Your community may be eligible for emergency response and recovery costs if you've experienced a disaster.

Emergency response operations - financial guidance for Indigenous governing bodies and local authorities

Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA)

Following a disaster, the provincial government may declare certain events eligible for funding to repair or replace damaged infrastructure.

Indigenous Engagement Requirement Funding

Indigenous Engagement Requirement (IER) Funding is available to First Nations, local authorities, and Indigenous Governing Bodies for engagement requirements as outlined in the Emergency and Disaster Management Act (EDMA).

Mitigation funding

Funding programs that offer support to Indigenous communities, municipalities and regional districts for permanent disaster mitigation measures. If you have any questions about disaster mitigation funding programs, please e-mail: embcdisastermitigation@gov.bc.ca.

Wildfire prevention funding is supported through a different program area.

Expand All | Collapse All

Open programs

Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF) streams

The Community Emergency Preparedness Funding (CEPF) streams enhance the resiliency of local governments, First Nations, and communities in responding to emergencies. Funding is provided by the province and is administered by Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM). The CEPF website lists additional details, current intake status, and future intake dates.

Emergency Operations Centres and Training

Supports the purchase of equipment and supplies required to maintain or improve emergency operations centres (EOC) and to enhance EOC capacity through training and exercises.

Emergency Operations Centres and Training

Emergency Support Services

Supports eligible applicants to build local capacity to provide emergency support services through volunteer recruitment, retention and training, including in-house training, and the purchase of ESS equipment.

Emergency Support Services

Public Notification and Evacuation Route Planning

Supports eligible applicants to develop evacuation route plans and/or public notification plans that provide information for local governments, First Nations, and community members in the event of an emergency.

Evacuation Route Planning

Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility Training

Supports eligible applicants to enhance cultural safety and humility in the delivery of local emergency management programs and services. Activities include cultural safety and humility training, adapting emergency management tools to be inclusive of Indigenous peoples, and activities related to partnering with, or providing assistance to, Indigenous communities during emergency mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Indigenous Cultural Safety and Cultural Humility Training

Volunteer and Composite Fire Department Equipment and Training

Builds the resiliency of volunteer and composite fire departments in preparing for and responding to emergencies through the purchase of new or replacement equipment and to facilitate the delivery of training.

Ongoing operational costs and the purchase of major fire apparatus are not eligible

Volunteer & Composite Fire Department Equipment and Training

Community Resiliency Investment Program

The Community Resiliency Investment program funds wildfire risk reduction and mitigation programs for communities.

Disaster Resilience and Innovation Funding (DRIF) program

The Disaster Resilience and Innovation Funding program (DRIF) program provides funding for:

activities that support community resilience by providing data, building partnerships, and supporting long-term disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation planning; and
structural and non-structural disaster risk reduction projects.

Intake: Open

Closed programs

Adaptation, Resilience and Disaster Mitigation (ARDM) program - Covid-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream (CVRIS)

ARDM funds structural and natural infrastructure projects that address the impacts of flooding and flood-related hazards up to a value of up to ten million dollars.

Intake: Closed

Adaptation, Resilience and Disaster Mitigation (ARDM) program – Green Infrastructure

This ARDM sub-stream is under the Green Infrastructure (Green-ARDM) stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

Green-ARDM focuses on investing in increased structural capacity and/or increased natural capacity to adapt to climate impacts, natural disasters and/or extreme weather events. It is distinct from the Covid-19 Resilience and Infrastructure program (CVRIS-ARDM) that was launched in January 2021.