Canada Testing Emergency Wireless Alerts on Wednesday, May 5 [Update]

Select provinces and territories are set to receive a test emergency wireless alert on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 (Update: Not the 4th as previously reported; #needmorecoffee).

The public alerting tests will exclude Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Nunavut. The emergency alerts will take place on TV, radio and mobile devices connected to LTE and 5G networks.

“Ongoing testing of the National Public Alerting System provides an opportunity for stakeholders to validate and improve the system’s performance and reliability to ensure it operates as intended in the event of a life-threatening situation,” explained the CRTC on Monday morning.

The wireless test alert times set for Wednesday, May 5, are below:

• Alberta – 1:55 PM (MDT)
• British Columbia – 1:55 PM (PDT)
• Manitoba – 1:55 PM (CDT)
• New Brunswick – 10:55 AM (ADT)
• Newfoundland & Labrador – 10:55 AM (NDT)
• Northwest Territories – 1:55 PM (MDT)
• Nova Scotia – *no test scheduled*
• Nunavut – *no test scheduled*
• Ontario – *no test scheduled*
• Prince Edward Island – 12:55 PM (ADT)
• Quebec – *no test scheduled*
• Saskatchewan – 1:55 PM (CST)
• Yukon – 1:55 PM (PDT)

How to opt-out of wireless test alerts? Disable LTE or 5G on your iPhone ahead of the test alert time in your area (just set a reminder with Siri). Go to Settings > Cellular > Primary > Voice & Data > 3G. For those with Android devices, disable LTE in your settings.

For shift workers, either turn off your phone or enable airplane mode to skip the wireless alert tomorrow, so you don’t wake up to a heart attack.