As wildfires tear through Canada's boreal forest, many trappers are confronting steep financial and cultural losses with little hope of compensation.
Insurance, often a safeguard in other industries, is largely out of reach for many in the trapping community due to high premiums, according to a report from The Canadian Press. Associations offer small relief payments but these are far from enough to cover the destruction of cabins, equipment and vehicles.
Alberta has, at times, provided support to trappers in the wake of disasters, but, in Manitoba, compensation is not available. A provincial spokesperson said losses tied to traplines are not eligible, as they are considered "an opportunity for harvest" rather than a guarantee of income. The position leaves trappers, many of them indigenous, without a safety net as they face one of the most damaging seasons in memory.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reports that 78,000 square kilometres of land have already burned this year, most of it on the Prairies. Manitoba has seen its worst fire season in at least three decades, with 20,000 square kilometres scorched, more than double the province’s next-worst season in 2013.
The impact on trappers is severe. Some operations risk losing hundreds of thousands of dollars as infrastructure, snowmobiles and cabins are destroyed. The Alberta Trappers Association said some families have “lost everything” after fires spread too quickly to defend property.
Access adds to the uncertainty. With trails and bridges burned, many trappers cannot reach their lines until freeze-up in the fall and winter. That means they cannot yet assess the full extent of the damage.
The economic toll is only part of the story. For many Indigenous families, traplines are a primary source of income during the November-to-May season, but they are also a foundation of cultural identity. Trappers harvest martens, beavers, lynxes and other animals, with pelts sometimes fetching significant sums. But traplines are equally important as places to hunt, gather medicines and teach youth through land-based learning.
Grand Chief Garrison Settee of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak has called for a First Nations disaster financial assistance program, stressing that the loss of traplines cannot be seen in the same way as losing ordinary property. He said these areas sustain Indigenous ways of life and should be recognized as such in provincial policy.
For now, however, trappers are left in a position similar to farmers hit by drought or flooding - carrying heavy losses from natural disasters with few avenues for support. Many are left waiting to see if governments will step in as the full costs of Canada’s second-worst wildfire season on record become clear.
