Annual cost of fighting B.C. wildfires doubled in a decade, SFU report says

Rising Costs, Rising Debate

British Columbia's annual spending on wildfire suppression has doubled over the past decade, according to a new report from Simon Fraser University (SFU). The province spent an average of $525 million a year on firefighting from 2016 to 2025, compared to $252 million a year in the decade prior. In 2024 and 2025 alone, suppression costs reached $1.3 billion, the report found.

The report's authors, including Andy Hira, a professor of political science and director of SFU's clean energy research group, point to a striking parallel: during that same two-year period, the province received $1.5 billion in natural gas revenue. Hira called the comparison a helpful illustration, noting that reliable estimates of climate change's full costs don't exist. He attributed the lack of good data to 'wilful ignorance' among policy-makers.

Industry and Critics Respond

The report has drawn responses from industry representatives and energy commentators who challenge the direct link between fossil fuel revenues and wildfire costs. Lisa Baiton, CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), said B.C.'s natural gas industry represents only 'a fraction of global emissions' and cited a 51% methane emissions reduction from the oil and gas sector as of 2023, according to Canada's 2025 National Inventory Report.

Dan McTeague, a former Liberal MP and now an energy commentator, rejected the comparison of wildfire costs to royalties. He argued that the energy sector's much-bigger economic footprint, including jobs, Indigenous partnerships, and manufacturing of chemicals and fertilizer, gets lost when the debate narrows to royalties alone. According to CAPP, in 2024 the oil and gas sector generated 68,000 jobs with a total compensation of $189,000 per job and contributed $14 billion to the economy. McTeague also noted that global demand for natural gas remains strong, particularly as buyers look to diversify away from Russian supply.

On the other side, Thomas Green, a climate economist at the David Suzuki Foundation, said investment, shipping, and burning fossil fuels from B.C. will 'boomerang,' leading to worse fire seasons, regardless of emission reductions.

The Bigger Picture

The report comes as B.C. and Ottawa have committed $4 billion in public funding through 2030 to the LNG sector, including LNG Canada's Kitimat facility, which began exporting gas last year. The provincial government's budget projections expect royalties will bring in more than $1 billion a year for at least the next several years.

Hira argued that investment would be better spent on other sectors, like critical minerals, batteries, and biotech, where Canada and B.C. could be competitive. He also pointed to many countries in the Middle East that are investing heavily in AI, transportation, and electric vehicles as a way to diversify their economies away from fossil fuels.

Perspectives

Researchers (SFU): The doubling of wildfire costs is a direct consequence of climate change worsened by fossil fuel burning, and the comparison to gas royalties illustrates the hidden costs households are already paying.

Industry (CAPP, Dan McTeague): The energy sector's economic contributions—jobs, partnerships, and manufacturing—far outweigh the royalty comparison, and global demand for natural gas remains strong.

Environmental advocates (David Suzuki Foundation): Continued investment in fossil fuels will exacerbate climate impacts, leading to worse fire seasons regardless of emission reduction efforts.