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The quick read: The 2026 Canadian Wildfire Conference drew 305 participants to Kelowna on October 28 and 29, filling the KF Centre for Excellence with fire service leaders, government officials and industry experts. The outdoor display featured nine wildfire aircraft and four ground vehicles, one of the largest such displays in Canada this year. After the devastating fire seasons the Okanagan knows too well, Kelowna was exactly the right place for this conversation.

Kelowna knows wildfire the way few Canadian cities do, and last week the country's firefighting brain trust came here to get better at fighting it.

The 2026 Canadian Wildfire Conference drew 305 participants to Kelowna on October 28 and 29, including 188 registered attendees and 117 exhibitors, according to Fire Fighting in Canada. The two-day event was held at the KF Centre for Excellence, the aviation museum at Kelowna International Airport.

Nine aircraft on the tarmac

A major highlight was the outdoor static display featuring nine wildfire aircraft and four ground vehicles, making it one of the largest wildfire equipment displays in Canada this year. VIH Helicopters director of operations Shane Palmer led a demonstration during the conference.

The keynote sessions examined interagency coordination, emerging technologies and wildfire management strategies. Ontario deputy ministers Drew Vanderduim and Matthew Pegg opened the conference with a discussion of Ontario's approach to wildfire response and evacuation management, while Mathieu Bourbonnais of UBC Okanagan explored the role of remote sensing and prescribed fire in strengthening wildfire resilience.

Why it matters here

Every session across the two days drew strong attendance and plenty of discussion, reflecting continued interest in improving collaboration and operational readiness across Canada's wildfire sector. For Okanagan families who have watched smoke darken summer skies and flames threaten neighbourhoods, that readiness is not an abstraction. It is the difference between an orderly evacuation and chaos, between a fire stopped early and a fire that runs.

Kelowna hosting this conference also says something about the city itself: a community that has lived through fire seasons is now helping lead the national conversation on how to face the next one. That is worth noting, and worth being proud of.

Source: Fire Fighting in Canada, November 2, 2026.