Red Cross Society of China and Montréal Chinese groups aid Fort McMurray fire victims

In early May 2016, a wildfire tore through Fort McMurray, Alberta, and more than 80,000 people fled through smoke and fire to reach safety ^[1]. On 13 May, Minister Wang Wentian of the Chinese Embassy met Susan Johnson, Senior Vice President of the Canadian Red Cross, and presented a donation of US$50,000 from the Red Cross Society of China for relief of the Alberta wildfire disaster ^[2].

On the evening of 22 May in Montréal, 43 Chinese community organizations, among them the Montreal Chinese Community United Center, jointly held a relief fundraiser for the people affected by the fires ^[3][4]. Nearly 500 Chinese community representatives attended, along with officials from the Canadian Red Cross and the City of Montréal ^[3]. In the two-hour evening they gave C$65,000 to help those affected ^[3].

The Canadian Red Cross reports that it provided more than 2,500 cots, 3,000 blankets and 2,800 hygiene kits to support 8 evacuation shelters in Edmonton, Calgary and Lac La Biche, and that over 10 years it helped people affected by the Horse River Wildfire recover from the disaster ^[1].