Emergency contacts
Call 911 for police, fire or ambulance.
Remember, cell phones are not always reliable in the backcountry or in remote areas.
Emergency dispatch
Parks Canada has two 24/7 Emergency Dispatch Centres that receive reports and assist in the management of safety, wildlife, or wildfire incidents.
To report emergencies for the National Parks listed below, contact 1-888-762-1422:
- Mingan Archipellago National Park Reserve
- Forillon National Park
- The Saguenay St-Lawrence Marine Park
- Banff National Park
- Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks
To report emergencies for most other National Parks, including the Chillkoot Trail National Historic Site, contact 1-877-852-3100
To report emergencies for La Mauricie National Park, contact 1-819-536-3180
General information and non-urgent assistance can be obtained through Parks Canada’s information line at 1-888-773-8888
Using a Garmin inReach to call Parks Canada for help
To use a Garmin inReach in an emergency in the National Parks:
- Push the SOS button and then exchange texts with the inReach Emergency Call Center (ECC) to clarify the location and nature of your emergency.
- The ECC will notify Parks Canada and pass this information on to the Parks Canada dispatch centre.
- The Parks Canada dispatch centre may send you the phone number of the Parks Canada Visitor Safety leader through the inReach ECC.
- If you receive the number for Parks Canada Visitor Safety, send the Visitor Safety leader a text from your inReach device to initiate two way texting directly with Visitor Safety.
Important information
- Currently Parks Canada emergency dispatch centres are not set up to receive texts directly. Only voice calls from a cell phone, satellite phone or VHF radio will go directly to the Parks Canada dispatch centre.
- Remember that all two way texting conversations using a Garmin inReach device must be initiated from the user’s device. Parks Canada Visitor Safety cannot initiate a text if they have not received a text from the InReach device first.
- Parks Canada Visitor Safety may also send an email to the inReach user to open communication lines if texting is not working.
- Keeping your emergency contacts up to date and informed about your activities helps speed up emergency responses, and helps emergency responders bring appropriate resources to the incident.
- Including information on how to reach the Parks Canada dispatch centre with your emergency contact information can help speed up responses within the National Parks.
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