Military sending 15 nurses to Alberta to help treat injured Wainwright soldiers

Military deploying 15 nurses to Alberta
Military deploying 15 nurses to Alberta
An ambulance enters CFB Wainwright as flowers hang on the front gates after four Armed Forces members died in a fire there earlier this week, in Wainwright, Alta., on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Writer

The military is sending 15 nurses to Alberta to relieve those who have been providing care to soldiers injured three weeks ago in a deadly fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright.

Acute Care Alberta says the nurses are set to arrive today and stay for more than a month.

Eleanor Olszewski, the federal emergency management minister, says in a social media post over the weekend that Alberta requested the nursing support.

She says the nurses will help at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton and Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary.

Four soldiers died and 39 were injured on Oct. 17, when a fast-moving grass fire overtook troops during a training exercise on the base southeast of Edmonton.

Last week, the military said 25 remained in various hospitals, with two of them recovering in facilities in Ontario and British Columbia.

"These nurses will supplement our existing staffing contingent by adding both capacity and flexibility," Acute Care Alberta said Monday in an email.

"This offers well-deserved respite to civilian staff who have been working around the clock to provide this highly specialized care."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2026.

Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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