During a test of the Alberta Emergency Alert system on March 1, 2023, residents reported multiple alerts being issued. (File photo: Alberta Emergency Alert)

By Justin Goulet

Province responds to issue during Alberta Emergency Alert test

Mar 2, 2023 | 6:47 AM

EDMONTON, AB – The Government of Alberta has issued a response following concerns surrounding a test of the provincial emergency alert system.

Earlier this week, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis sent out a statement noting that the province would be issuing an alert test at 1:55 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Reports show that as many as nine test messages were sent to Albertans between 1:55 and 2:01 p.m. on Wednesday, causing confusion across the province.

READ MORE: ‘Is Alberta glitching?’ Province’s emergency alert system sends multiple tests

Later on Wednesday, Ellis responded to the issue, noting that “a glitch caused multiple test alert messages to be distributed to compatible devices.”

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He said the Alberta Public Alerting team is working with its partners in the National Public Alerting System to identify and resolve what caused the repeated alerts. Ellis said incidents like what occurred on Wednesday “are exactly why we conduct testing on the Alert System.”

He said, “We need to ensure that the system is working as intended during an actual emergency to protect Albertans. We recognize the disruption these multiple alerts caused Albertans and are addressing this issue as quickly as possible to ensure the system works as intended so we can keep Albertans safe during an emergency.”

More on the Alberta Emergency Alert system is available at the provincial government website.

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