EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith demanded Friday the fire-stricken town of Jasper apologize and retract a report criticizing her government for its role in last summer's devastating blaze.
Smith, speaking at an unrelated press conference in Edmonton, also blamed the federal government for failing in the fire response by not asking sooner for provincial help and for not clearing out dead trees that provided fuel for the flames.
“I’m very disappointed that this report politicizes what actually should be a very successful example of unified command,” Smith said.
“This report come as a shot out of the blue. It’s unfair, it’s untrue and I would like them to withdraw it.”
Smith added: “This was a federal fire. It took place in a federal park, and it was a federal Parks Canada response.
“I would ask for an apology from the city (town of Jasper) as a result,” she continued.
“We want to work collaboratively with our municipal and federal partners, but pointing fingers at others when they should be looking at what they can do to improve their own response would have been a far better outcome.”
A spokesperson for the town and Mayor Richard Ireland did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The report, released Thursday, was commissioned by the town and reflects a survey of firefighters and other front-line staff who battled the blaze, which destroyed a third of buildings in the town located in the federally run Jasper National Park.
Feedback was also gathered through a one-day workshop with 68 attendees, including some from government agencies.
The report says Smith’s United Conservative Party government complicated the response by regularly requesting information and by attempting to make decisions despite not having jurisdiction.
"While Alberta Wildfire actively supported firefighting operations and participated in the (Incident Management Team), jurisdictional overlap with the province created political challenges that disrupted the focus of incident commanders leading to time spent managing inquiries and issues instead of directing the wildfire response and re-entry," the report reads.
Smith said her government had no involvement in the lead-up to the fire hitting the town but also that the report didn't accurately convey Alberta's contributions, including $181 million worth of support in disaster recovery funding, evacuation payments and more.
"We all have to look at what we have done in the past and how we can improve. And I don't think that Parks Canada and the town of Jasper have done an adequate job of that," Smith said.
"I hope they go back to the drawing board."
Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said in a statement Smith's response to the report put politics above people's lives.
"Rather than accepting responsibility and promising to do better, they do what they always do: lash out at any criticism, insult others and refuse to accept any blame for the mistakes they have made," Nenshi said.
Bill Given, Jasper's chief administrator, said in an interview before Smith's news conference that the report wasn't to lay blame.
It should be considered a chapter in an overall look at the fire response focusing on municipal improvements, he said.
"We were specifically asking, 'How can (the town) improve?' And in order to find out how you can improve, you look for gaps, you look at overlaps, you look for weaknesses, and then you go to address them moving forward."
Given said it was clear last July that Jasper's unique jurisdictional circumstance made the response complicated, and the report affirms the need for all parties to understand each other’s roles.
He also repeated that the report was written by independent consultants and based on surveys of those involved.
"The spirit that the report is being put into the public is one of continuous improvement," Given said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025.
Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press
