Fact sheet
Community of Grande Prairie (CA), Alberta Fact sheet
Community of Grande Prairie (CA), Alberta

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In 2014, information on the emergency preparedness of people living in the Census Agglomeration^{Note 1} of Grande Prairie was collected through the Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada (SEPR).^{Note 2} This fact sheet presents information on the risk awareness and level of emergency preparedness of the residents of Grande Prairie, which could help improve the understanding of community resilience in the event of an emergency.^{Note 3}^{Note 4}

Risk awareness and anticipated sources of help in an emergency or disaster

Winter storms (including blizzards, ice storms and extreme cold) (93%), industrial or transportation accidents (78%) and wildfires (73%) were named by residents of Grande Prairie as the most likely events to occur within their community.
Residents most commonly anticipated turning to police or law enforcement as an initial source for help and information if they were faced with an act of terrorism or terrorist threat (43%), rioting or civil unrest (37%^{Note E: Use with caution}) or an industrial or transportation accident (26%) (Table 1.1).
Residents also stated that they would anticipate turning to a hospital, clinic, doctor or other medical professional in the event of an outbreak of a serious or life-threatening disease (61%) and to their utility company if they faced an extended power outage lasting 24 hours or longer (47%). They also reported news on the radio as an initial source of help and information in the event of a weather-related emergency or natural disaster (31%) and local government if they faced a contamination or shortage of water or food (29%).

Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disaster^{Note 5}

Over one-quarter (28%) of Grande Prairie residents has faced a major emergency or disaster in Canada in a community they were living in at the time of the event, more than half (55%) of whom reported experiencing severe disruptions to their daily activities as a result of the event.
Floods (26%^{Note E: Use with caution}) were the most commonly experienced emergencies or disasters by residents of Grande Prairie.
Common types of disruption to daily activities endured by residents who had experienced major emergencies or disasters included having to boil drinking water or drink bottled water (51%^{Note E: Use with caution})^{Note 6} and missing work or school (41%^{Note E: Use with caution}). More severe disruptions experienced were an inability to use roads or transportation within the community (43%^{Note E: Use with caution}) and home evacuation (26%^{Note E: Use with caution}).
Eight in ten (79%) residents who experienced an emergency or disaster were able to resume their daily activities within one week of the event, with more than one-third (37%^{Note E: Use with caution}) resuming their activities within 24 hours.
More than half (57%) of residents who had experienced an emergency or disaster received help during or immediately following the event.^{Note 7}

Emergency planning, precautionary and fire safety behaviours

Seven in ten (69%) people residing in Grande Prairie lived in households that were engaged in at least two emergency planning activities,^{Note 8} and four in ten (43%) lived in households with three or four such activities (Table 1.2).
Nearly half (46%) lived in a household with at least two precautionary measures^{Note 9} taken in case of an emergency, and less than one-quarter (22%) lived in a household with three or four such measures. Close to one-quarter (23%) of people lived in a household with no precautionary measures in place.
The vast majority (98%) of residents reported living in a household with a working smoke detector, and two-thirds (65%) reported living in a household with a working fire extinguisher (Table 1.3). Approximately six out of ten (63%) residents stated that they had a working carbon monoxide detector in their household. Less than one-half (44%) of residents of Grande Prairie stated that they had implemented all three fire safety measures within their households.
Generally, the number of emergency planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents of Grande Prairie did not significantly differ from residents in Alberta and Canada’s 10 provinces overall. There were two exceptions: residents of Grande Prairie were more likely to have no precautionary measures in place (23%) and less likely to have three precautionary measures in place (14%^{Note E: Use with caution}) compared to Canadians (16% and 20%, respectively).^{Note 10}
There were some differences in the types of activities and measures set in place by residents of Grande Prairie when compared to residents of Alberta and Canada in general. For example, Grande Prairie residents were more likely to have a back-up generator (30%) than residents of Alberta (22%) and Canada (23%), but they were less likely to have an alternate heat source (37%, 45% and 48%, respectively). In addition, Grande Prairie residents were more likely to have a vehicle emergency supply kit (71%) but less likely to have a list of emergency contact numbers (61%) or a wind-up or battery-operated radio (50%) compared to Canadians (59%, 69% and 58%, respectively).

Social networks and sense of belonging

Nearly half (47%) of Grande Prairie’s residents had a strong sense of belonging^{Note 11} to their community.
Most (84%) residents described the neighbourhood they lived in as a place where neighbours generally help each other.^{Note 12} Of those who did not describe their neighbourhood this way, the majority (76%) still described it as a place where neighbours would help each other in an emergency.
Many individuals had a large network of support in the event of an emergency or disaster, with more than five people to turn to for emotional support (60%), for help if physically injured (60%) as well as in case of a home evacuation (51%). About one in four (23%) residents had a large support network if financial help was needed. However, 9%^{Note E: Use with caution} reported that they had no one to turn to for financial help.
High levels of self-efficacy and social support, as well as civic engagement and involvement in political activities, were sometimes associated with a higher level of emergency preparedness (Table 1.4).

Data tables

Table 1.1
Most commonly anticipated sources of initial help and information, by type of emergency or disaster, residents of Grande Prairie, Alberta, 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of Most commonly anticipated sources of initial help and information. The information is grouped by Most common sources of initial help and information by type of emergency or disaster (appearing as row headers), percent (appearing as column headers).
Most common sources of initial help and information by type of emergency or disaster	percent
Weather-related emergency or natural disaster
News- Radio	31
News- Internet	26
News- Television	20
Extended power outages
Utility company	47
News- Radio	12^{Note E: Use with caution}
Local government	8^{Note E: Use with caution}
Outbreak of serious or life-threatening disease
Hospital, clinic, doctor or other medical professional	61
News- Radio	17^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Internet	17^{Note E: Use with caution}
Industrial or transportation accident
Police/law enforcement	26
News- Radio	25
News- Internet	17^{Note E: Use with caution}
Contamination or shortage of water or food
Local government	29
News- Internet	21^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Radio	19^{Note E: Use with caution}
Act of terrorism or terrorist threat
Police/law enforcement	43
News- Radio	26^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Television	21^{Note E: Use with caution}
Rioting or civil unrest
Police/law enforcement	37^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Radio	26^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Internet	26^{Note E: Use with caution}
^E use with caution Note: Respondents who perceived their community was at risk for any form of emergency or disaster were then asked where they would turn to first for information or assistance in the event of the perceived emergency or disaster. Respondents could provide more than one response. Responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents. Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014.

Table 1.2
Number of emergency planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents, community of Grande Prairie, Alberta, 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of Number of emergency planning activities. The information is grouped by Number of planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents (appearing as row headers), Grande Prairie, Alberta and Canada, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Number of planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents	Grande Prairie	Alberta	Canada
	percent
Number of emergency planning activities
None	Note F: too unreliable to be published	8	8
1 activity	19	17	17
2 activities	26	25	25
3 activities	24	26	27
4 activities	19	20	19
Number of precautionary measures
None	23^{Table 1.2, Note **}	21	16
1 measure	29	27	27
2 measures	24	23	28
3 measures	14^{Note E: Use with caution}^{Table 1.2, Note **}	18	20
4 measures	8^{Note E: Use with caution}	6	7
Number of fire safety measures^{Table 1.2, Note 1}^{Table 1.2, Note 2}^{Table 1.2, Note 3}
None	Note F: too unreliable to be published	1^{Note E: Use with caution}	1
1 measure	11^{Note E: Use with caution}	14	14
2 measures	37	31	38
3 measures	44	48	42
^E use with caution F too unreliable to be published Table 1.2, Note significantly different from Canada level estimate (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.2, note referrer Table 1.2, Note 1. Responses of 'don't know/not stated' were greater than 5% but not above 10% for 'Canada'. Return to Table 1.2, note 1 referrer Table 1.2, Note 2. Responses of 'don't know/not stated' were greater than 5% but not above 10% for 'Alberta'. Return to Table 1.2, note 2 referrer Table 1.2, Note 3. Responses of 'don't know/not stated' were greater than 5% but not above 10% for 'Grande Prairie'. Return to Table 1.2, note 3 referrer Note: Responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents. Emergency planning activities include: an emergency exit plan, an emergency supply kit, photocopies/electronic copies of important documents and a list of emergency contact numbers. Precautionary measures include: a battery-operated or wind-up radio, an alternative heat source, a back-up generator and an alternative water source. Fire safety measures include a working smoke detector, a working carbon monoxide detector and a working fire extinguisher. Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014.

Table 1.3
Planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures residents engaged in, community of Grande Prairie, Alberta, 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of Planning activities. The information is grouped by Residents whose households were involved in the following: (appearing as row headers), Grande Prairie, Alberta and Canada, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Residents whose households were involved in the following:	Grande Prairie	Alberta	Canada
Residents whose households were involved in the following:	percent
Emergency planning activities
Emergency exit plan	64	63	60
Exit plan has been practised/reviewed in last 12 months^{Table 1.3, Note 1}	49	45	46
Designated meeting place for household members^{Table 1.3, Note 2}	34	33	33
Contact plan for household members^{Table 1.3, Note 2}	52	55	55
Household emergency supply kit	47	43	47
Vehicle emergency supply kit^{Table 1.3, Note 3}	71^{Table 1.3, Note **}	69	59
Extra copies of important documents	53	55	53
List of emergency contact numbers	61^{Table 1.3, Note **}	68	69
Plan for meeting special health needs^{Table 1.3, Note 4}	58	64	62
Precautionary measures
Wind-up or battery-operated radio	50^{Table 1.3, Note **}	49	58
Alternate heat source	37^{Table 1.3, Note ***}	45	48
Back-up generator	30^{Table 1.3, Note ***}	22	23
Alternate water source	39	41	43
Other^{Table 1.3, Note 5}	17	17	21
Fire safety measures
Working smoke detector	98^{Table 1.3, Note *}	96	98
Working carbon monoxide detector	63	65	60
Working fire extinguisher	65	65	66
Table 1.3, Note * significantly different from provincial level estimate (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.3, note * referrer Table 1.3, Note significantly different from Canada level estimate (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.3, note referrer Table 1.3, Note * significantly different from both provincial and Canada level estimates (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.3, note * referrer Table 1.3, Note 1. Percentage based only on those indicating that they have an emergency exit plan. Return to Table 1.3, note 1 referrer Table 1.3, Note 2. Excludes Canadians living in single-person households. Return to Table 1.3, note 2 referrer Table 1.3, Note 3. Excludes those who reported that they lived in a household that did not have a vehicle. Return to Table 1.3, note 3 referrer Table 1.3, Note 4. Percentage based only on those indicating that they or someone in their household has special medical needs. Return to Table 1.3, note 4 referrer Table 1.3, Note 5. 'Other precautionary measures' include having an escape/rescue plan for pets, extra supply of fuel, checking and replenishing emergency supplies, and keeping exits clear. Return to Table 1.3, note 5 referrer Note: Responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents. Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014.

Table 1.4
High or moderately high levels of emergency planning, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents, by social and political involvement, community of Grande Prairie, Alberta, 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of High or moderately high levels of emergency planning. The information is grouped by Social and political involvement (appearing as row headers), Percentage of residents who had high or moderately high levels of..., Planning activities, Precautionary measures and Fire safety measures, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Social and political involvement	Percentage of residents who had high or moderately high levels of...
	Planning activities	Precautionary measures	Fire safety measures
	percent
Engagement in political activities^{Table 1.4, Note 1}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	51	24^{Note E: Use with caution}	44
No	32^{Note E: Use with caution}^{Table 1.4, Note *}	20^{Note E: Use with caution}	42
High level of civic engagement^{Table 1.4, Note 2}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	55	29^{Note E: Use with caution}	46
No	34^{Table 1.4, Note *}	17^{Note E: Use with caution}	41
High level of social support^{Table 1.4, Note 3}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	50	38^{Note E: Use with caution}	51
No^{Table 1.4, Note 7}	42	19^{Note E: Use with caution}^{Table 1.4, Note *}	43
Strong sense of belonging to community^{Table 1.4, Note 4}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note 7}^{Table 1.4, Note †}	47	27^{Note E: Use with caution}	51
No	42	19^{Note E: Use with caution}	39
High neighbourhood trust^{Table 1.4, Note 5}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note 8}^{Table 1.4, Note †}	50	34^{Note E: Use with caution}	53
No^{Table 1.4, Note 7}	41	19^{Note E: Use with caution}	41
High level of self-efficacy^{Table 1.4, Note 6}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note 7}^{Table 1.4, Note †}	54	33	54
No	34^{Table 1.4, Note *}	12^{Note E: Use with caution}^{Table 1.4, Note *}	34^{Table 1.4, Note *}
^E use with caution Table 1.4, Note * significantly different from reference category (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.4, note * referrer Table 1.4, Note † reference category Return to Table 1.4, note † referrer Table 1.4, Note 1. Includes individuals over the age of 17 years who are eligible to vote, and who have participated in or volunteered for political parties or events in the past 12 months, including municipal, provincial, or federal elections, or expressed views on political or social issues through signing a petition, contacting news agencies or politicians, or attended a meeting involving social or community issues. Return to Table 1.4, note 1 referrer Table 1.4, Note 2. Civic engagement measures individuals over the age of 17 years who were involved in a recreational group or organization in the past 12 months, and includes engagement in political activities. A 'high level' is defined as having been involved in at least 4 activities in the past 12 months. Return to Table 1.4, note 2 referrer Note 3. A 'high level of social support' is defined as having five or more people whom that individual could turn to for help in an emergency if they are physically injured, require emotional support, shelter, and/or financial assistance. Return to Table 1.4, note 3 referrer Note 4. A 'strong sense of belonging to community' is rating one's own sense of belonging to their community as a 4 or a 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents "very weak" and 5 "very strong". Return to Table 1.4, note 4 referrer Table 1.4, Note 5. 'High neighbourhood trust' is rating one's own trust in the people in one's neighbourhood as 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents "cannot be trusted at all" and 5 represents "can be trusted a lot", as well as having a response of "very likely" when asked about the likelihood of someone in their neighbourhood returning a lost wallet or purse containing two hundred dollars with the money still inside. Return to Table 1.4, note 5 referrer Table 1.4, Note 6. A 'high level of self-efficacy' is derived from having a high self-rating on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) for the following three categories: an ability to think clearly and solve day-to-day problems, to handle unexpected and difficult problems, and to figure out what to do if faced with an emergency situation. Return to Table 1.4, note 6 referrer Table 1.4, Note 7. Responses of 'don't know/not stated' were greater than 5% but not above 10% for 'Fire safety measures'. Return to Table 1.4, note 7 referrer Table 1.4, Note 8. Responses of 'don't know/not stated' were greater than 5% but not above 10% for 'Planning activities'. Return to Table 1.4, note 8 referrer Note: Responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents. Households with ‘moderately high’ or ‘high’ levels of emergency planning engaged in 3 or 4 of the following: having an exit plan, an emergency supply kit, extra copies of important documents and an emergency contact list. 'Moderately high' or 'high' levels of precautionary measures include having 3 or 4 of the following: a wind-up or battery operated radio, a back-up generator, an alternate source of heat and additional water. 'Moderately high' or 'high' levels of fire safety measure include having all 3 of the following: a working smoke detector, a working fire extinguisher, and a working carbon monoxide detector. Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014.

Notes

^E use with caution

Footnote 1.

A Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) or a Census Agglomeration (CA) is formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre (known as the core). A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more must live in the core. A CA must have a core population of at least 10,000. To be included in the CMA or CA, other adjacent municipalities must have a high degree of integration with the core as measured by commuting flows derived from census data.

Return to note 1 referrer

Footnote 2.

The target population for the SEPR included all persons 15 years of age or older, residing in households in Canada’s 10 provinces, excluding full-time residents of institutions (e.g. nursing homes, group homes, hospitals).

Return to note 2 referrer

Footnote 3.

The SEPR covers three types of communities: Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), Census Agglomerations (CAs) with population greater than 50,000, and ‘smaller communities’ which include CAs with population 50,000 or less and those areas that fall outside of CMAs and CAs. All CMAs and CAs (with population greater than 50,000) were included in the SEPR. A sample of households were selected from smaller communities within each province to represent all households within the province in similar communities. Additional information on the SEPR and its sampling methodology can be found in the ‘Survey description’ section.

Return to note 3 referrer

Footnote 4.

Throughout this fact sheet, responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents.

Return to note 4 referrer

Footnote 5.

This section focuses on personal experiences with emergencies or disasters that happened in Canada, in a community where the person was living at the time, and was significant enough to severely interrupt the individual’s regular daily activities.

Return to note 5 referrer

Footnote 6.

Responses of ‘don't know/not stated’ were greater than 5% but not above 10% when respondents were asked about whether the emergency they experienced caused them to have to boil drinking water or use bottled water for drinking.

Return to note 6 referrer

Footnote 7.

Responses of ‘don't know/not stated’ were greater than 5% but not above 10% when respondents were asked about the source of information or assistance they received during or immediately following the emergency they experienced.

Return to note 7 referrer

Footnote 8.

Emergency planning activities include: having an emergency exit plan, a household emergency supply kit, extra copies of important documents and an emergency contact list.

Return to note 8 referrer

Footnote 9.

Precautionary measures include: having a wind-up or battery-operated radio, an alternate heat source such as a non-electric stove or heater or a wood-burning fireplace, a back-up generator and an alternative water source such as a well, tank or litres of stored water.

Return to note 9 referrer

Footnote 10.

Unless otherwise specified, differences are statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Return to note 10 referrer

Footnote 11.

A 'strong sense of belonging to community' is rating one's own sense of belonging to their community as a 4 or a 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents "very weak" and 5 "very strong".

Return to note 11 referrer

Footnote 12.

A proportion (16%) of respondents were not asked questions regarding neighbourhood helpfulness in the event of an emergency and as such these cases are not included in the analysis on neighbourhood helpfulness in general or in the event of an emergency.

Return to note 12 referrer

Date modified:: 2016-10-13

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Fact sheet
Community of Grande Prairie (CA), Alberta Fact sheet
Community of Grande Prairie (CA), Alberta

Risk awareness and anticipated sources of help in an emergency or disaster

Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disaster^{Note 5}

Emergency planning, precautionary and fire safety behaviours

Social networks and sense of belonging

Data tables

Notes

Fact sheetCommunity of Grande Prairie (CA), Alberta Fact sheetCommunity of Grande Prairie (CA), Alberta

Risk awareness and anticipated sources of help in an emergency or disaster

Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disasterNote 5

Emergency planning, precautionary and fire safety behaviours

Social networks and sense of belonging

Data tables

Notes

Note of appreciation

Standards of service to the public

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Fact sheet
Community of Grande Prairie (CA), Alberta Fact sheet
Community of Grande Prairie (CA), Alberta

Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disaster^{Note 5}