Yes. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has shut down Weatheradio and its Hello Weather phone line; the Canadian Coast Guard dates the end to 16 March 2026. For weather alerts in Canada, use the free WeatherCAN app and ECCC’s weather map, and rely on Alert Ready for emergency alerts on TV, radio and compatible phones. A crank radio is still worth having for AM/FM news, light and phone top-ups; a NOAA weather radio only receives US broadcasts.
The ice storms page brings the radio, light, backup power and storm-damage pros together in one place.
What happened to Weatheradio Canada
Weatheradio was ECCC’s network of VHF transmitters that broadcast forecasts and warnings around the clock to weather radios. ECCC’s service page now says plainly that Weatheradio and Hello Weather are no longer in service (ECCC: Weatheradio, page dated 29 September 2026). The Canadian Coast Guard’s Radio Aids to Marine Navigation 2026 gives the date: both services were discontinued on 16 March 2026 (CCG, Part 5, section 5.9.3).
So if a weather radio in a Canadian home has gone quiet on its weather band since March, it is very likely not broken: there is nothing on the air for it to receive. ECCC’s notice doesn’t say the service will return; it points people elsewhere.
How to get weather alerts in Canada now
ECCC’s notice names three replacements, and the national emergency alerting system covers the rest.
The WeatherCAN app
WeatherCAN is ECCC’s own free app for iPhone and Android, in English and French. It sends push alerts for weather watches and warnings, air quality and extreme temperatures for the places you save, and gives forecasts for more than 10,000 Canadian locations, with radar and lightning. You can also set your own alerts: an Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) level from 3 to 10+, which is useful in wildfire smoke season, and high or low temperature, humidex and wind chill thresholds (one threshold applies to all your saved places). See ECCC: WeatherCAN.
Alert Ready, for emergencies
Alert Ready is Canada’s emergency alerting system. Alerts reach people through television, radio and compatible wireless devices (alertready.ca). For a phone to get them, Alert Ready says it must be a compatible device connected to an LTE network when the alert goes out (or join one while it is still active) and run the latest version of its operating software. Its wireless page links to each carrier’s support pages, so you can check your phone (Alert Ready: wireless).
The weather map and marine forecasts
For a browser, ECCC points to its interactive weather map for local forecasts and alerts. Boaters lost Weatheradio’s marine forecasts too: the Coast Guard says ECCC’s marine observations and forecasts are still available on its own continuous marine broadcast.
The catch: WeatherCAN needs a charged phone with a connection, and phone alerts need an LTE network. In a long ice storm the power goes out and phones run flat. That is where a battery or crank radio and a power bank earn their place: see our ice storm and power outage checklist.
Is a weather radio still worth having in Canada?
Not for its weather band, but often for everything else. Many “emergency weather radios” are really crank and solar AM/FM radios with a flashlight and a USB port. AM/FM works anywhere, and because Alert Ready also reaches people through radio, a battery radio tuned to a local station is a way to follow an emergency when the power is out and your phone is flat. Look for three things:
- More than one way to power it: a rechargeable battery, a hand crank, solar and ideally ordinary AA cells as a backup.
- A USB output to top up a phone, so you can still open WeatherCAN. Expect slow charging: these are small batteries.
- A USB-C charging port if you can get one; some well-known models still use micro-USB.
The Midland ER310 covers the basics: AM/FM, a rechargeable battery with crank and solar, six AA cells as a backup, a phone-charging USB port and an LED flashlight with an SOS strobe. It charges by micro-USB, and Midland says to charge it fully by USB first, because solar only stretches a charged battery and won’t revive a flat one.
The Sangean MMR-99 is the tougher option: rated IP55 against dust and splashing water (with its port covers closed), it charges over USB-C in about three hours and has a 2600 mAh battery, crank, solar, Bluetooth and three flashlight beams. Its USB-A output gives 1 A, so phone top-ups are slow, and a minute of cranking buys about ten minutes of listening.
For a light that comes on by itself when the power fails and more phone charging, compare our lanterns and power banks, and use flashlights or lanterns, not candles, in an outage, as the US Consumer Product Safety Commission advises (CPSC winter safety tips).
NOAA weather radios: in the US, and near the border
In the US, NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is still the backbone of weather alerting: the National Weather Service broadcasts warnings 24 hours a day from more than 1,000 transmitters on seven VHF frequencies from 162.400 to 162.550 MHz, covering all 50 states and US territories (NWS: NOAA Weather Radio). The NWS suggests a receiver with SAME, which sounds only for the areas you select, battery backup for storms, and a Public Alert or NWR All Hazards logo; some have a jack for a strobe light or bed shaker (NWS: receiver information).
For a US bedside, the Midland WR120B is built for that job: SAME codes for up to 25 counties, a 90 dB siren, three AA cells as backup and jacks for an external antenna and a strobe or bed shaker. It has no AM/FM and no crank. The ER310 and the US version of the MMR-99 also receive NOAA alerts, but without SAME the ER310 sounds for every alert on its channel, weekly tests included.
Near the border? A NOAA radio in Canada will play a US transmitter only if one is in range, and what it hears are US National Weather Service forecasts and warnings for US counties. SAME location codes are US county codes, so there is no code for a Canadian town. We haven’t verified how far into Canada any US transmitter reaches. For Canadian warnings, use WeatherCAN and Alert Ready whatever radio you own.
Ready to compare? See every radio we track, or the whole emergency kit.
Weatheradio questions
When did Weatheradio Canada shut down?
The Canadian Coast Guard’s 2026 marine radio guide dates the end of Weatheradio and Hello Weather to 16 March 2026, and ECCC’s own page now says both are no longer in service. ECCC points to its weather map and the WeatherCAN app instead.
Is my weather radio broken?
Probably not. If it is in Canada and the weather band has been silent since March 2026, there is simply no Canadian broadcast left to receive. Check its AM/FM bands: if those work, the radio is fine. A NOAA radio near the border may still pick up a US NOAA transmitter.
How do I get weather warnings on my phone in Canada?
Install ECCC’s free WeatherCAN app and save your locations: it pushes watches, warnings, air-quality and extreme-temperature alerts. Emergency alerts come separately through Alert Ready to compatible phones on an LTE network with up-to-date software; check yours through your carrier’s link on alertready.ca.
Should I still buy a crank radio?
For outages, yes. Its weather band is useless in most of Canada now, but AM/FM news, a flashlight and a USB port to top up your phone all keep working when the power and cell network don’t. Pick one with several power sources, including ordinary batteries.
Can I still get marine forecasts by radio?
Yes. The Canadian Coast Guard says ECCC’s marine weather observations and forecasts remain available on its continuous marine broadcast.
