Emergency numbers and help in Canada

The numbers

• 911 covers the whole country for police, fire and ambulance, and the operator will ask which one you need. A very small number of remote areas still lack coverage.
• 988 is the national suicide crisis helpline, by call or text, in English and French.
• Do not use 911 for a stolen wallet or a noise complaint. Every city has a non-emergency police line, and using it keeps the emergency line clear.
• Calls work from a locked phone and without a SIM.

Being findable

• Know your address or your coordinates. Canada is big and empty in places, and "I am on a trail" is not a location.
• what3words is used by a number of Canadian emergency services, including RCMP detachments, and gives a three-word label for a 3 m square. Worth having on the phone before a hike rather than after.
• Alert Ready will push emergency alerts to your phone automatically on any Canadian network, for wildfires, floods, tornadoes and Amber alerts. It is extremely loud, it overrides silent mode, and you cannot turn it off.

Before anything goes wrong

• Save your insurer's emergency assistance number somewhere you can reach without a working data connection. Most policies require you to call before major treatment.
• Know where your consulate is. Most countries have consulates in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, with the embassy in Ottawa.
• Tell someone your route before anything remote. Search and rescue in the north and in the mountain parks is capable but slow, and knowing where to look is most of the problem.
• In the backcountry, carry a satellite messenger. Mobile coverage ends quickly outside the settled corridors, and this is normal practice rather than excessive caution.