Designing a Pan-Canadian Civilian Emergency Reserve: governance, finance, and workforce models to strengthen public health surge capacity

Canada's public health and emergency systems lack reliable "surge capacity", trained people who can be mobilized quickly, when crises emerge or overlap (e.g., pandemics, wildfires, floods, and other climate-related emergencies). During COVID-19, provinces repeatedly requested federal assistance and often relied on military support via the Canadian Armed Forces deployments to fill urgent staffing and operational gaps. While essential at times, routine reliance on military surge is costly, difficult to sustain, and not designed for long-term public health system needs. This project will design, compare, and validate options for a Pan-Canadian Civilian Emergency Reserve: a coordinated civilian workforce that can be activated to support response and recovery during health and humanitarian emergencies. Working with partners such as the Canadian Red Cross, provincial and federal decision-makers, and Indigenous and community stakeholders, we will focus on three core public health system "building blocks" emphasized by CIHR: governance, financing, and workforce. We will map and compare Canadian and international reserve models; model the costs and value for money of civilian versus military surge approaches; and use participatory co-design to develop practical options for how a reserve could be governed, funded, activated, and staffed. We will also examine feasibility, acceptability, sustainability, and equity impacts so the reserve can work across diverse communities and jurisdictions without worsening existing disparities. The project will produce implementation-ready models (minimum, moderate, and full-scale) and actionable policy options to strengthen preparedness, reduce inappropriate reliance on the CAF, and improve equitable emergency response across Canada.