The federal government has announced an additional $520 million to support Jasper’s recovery from the devastating 2024 wildfire, marking what officials described as the largest single investment ever made in a Canadian national park community.

The funding, announced Tuesday in Jasper by federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne alongside Minister of Emergency Management and Jasper recovery lead Eleanor Olszewski, builds on more than $385 million already committed to wildfire response and recovery over the past two years.

The new funding will help rebuild damaged Parks Canada infrastructure, continue interim housing for displaced residents through March 2028, complete fire risk reduction projects and accelerate reconstruction across Jasper National Park.

Standing before residents, stakeholders and local officials, Champagne called the announcement a landmark moment for the community.

“We are here for you, and Canada is there for you, and we’re going to rebuild Jasper together,” he said. “No one can remember in the history of Parks Canada such a significant investment in one particular community in one particular park.”

He described the announcement as “Canada coming together for the people of Jasper” and said the investment demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to helping the community recover stronger than before.

The wildfire burned approximately 32,700 hectares in the summer of 2024, destroying about 30 per cent of structures in the townsite and damaging roughly one-fifth of Parks Canada’s assets within the national park. More than 3,000 emergency personnel responded over six weeks, while approximately 20,000 residents and visitors were safely evacuated.

According to the federal government, previous recovery funding has already supported interim housing for more than 415 families, debris removal from every affected residential lot and active reconstruction on 118 properties.

Olszewski said the announcement reflects the complexity of Jasper’s ongoing recovery.

“Recovery doesn’t just mean some damaged property gets rebuilt,” she said. “It involves so many interconnected factors like housing and business, community and insurance, community well-being and workforce availability. All of those things interact, and they affect the recovery process.”

She added that rebuilding requires “strong coordination and sustained levels of support at all levels of government.”

Mayor Richard Ireland welcomed the announcement, saying it provides the certainty that residents have desperately needed since the wildfire.

“The funding and the commitments that you have announced today are so significant at so many levels,” Ireland said. “From a residents’ perspective, the announcement today provides an intangible element of recovery which is still desperately needed throughout the community: certainty.”

Ireland said extending interim housing funding until March 2028 will help not only the roughly 750 people currently living in temporary accommodation but also local businesses, schools, volunteer organizations and community services that depend on residents being able to remain in Jasper while rebuilding their homes.

“Recovery is so much more than rebuilding structures,” he said. “At its core, recovery [is] providing opportunities to re-establish the connections among people that are the essence of every community.”

The announcement also includes investments in wildfire mitigation and prevention measures throughout the park.

Asked by the Jasper Local how the federal government plans to apply lessons learned in Jasper to help protect other mountain communities, Champagne said the investment includes funding for advanced fire-risk reduction and new firefighting capabilities.

“We’re going to learn from that,” he said. “We’re putting significant dollars behind innovation practices and advanced fire risk mitigation techniques.”

Olszewski noted that, for the first time, the federal government has leased five water bombers and five heavy-lift helicopters to strengthen Canada’s wildfire response capacity. Parks Canada is also expanding prescribed burns, firebreak construction and FireSmart initiatives both in Jasper and across the national park system.

Interim Parks Canada CEO Andrew Campbell said Jasper has already become a model for wildfire preparedness.

“We’re looking at what is required in the new fire world with the new fire behaviours in order to take the highest prevention,” Campbell said. “We need to be FireSmart in our communities. We need to be FireSmart within national parks.”

Champagne said the latest investment brings total federal recovery commitments close to $900 million and reaffirmed the government’s long-term commitment to Jasper.

“Jasper is more than a park,” he said. “It’s a community. It’s a place you call home. It’s a symbol of Canada’s natural heritage.”

For residents still rebuilding nearly two years after the wildfire, Tuesday’s announcement represents both a financial commitment and a signal that federal support is far from over.

Bob Covey // info@thejasperlocal.com