Call 911 ONLY in the case of an emergency and if there is a threat to your health, safety or property. 

Emergency situations

  • Person or property in immediate danger
  • An injury or illness that poses an immediate risk to a person's life like having trouble breathing, collapsing or in severe pain
  • Fire
  • Serious accident
  • Crime in progress
  • Poisoning

NOT an emergency

  • Administrative matters or information requests
  • Transferring patients between medical facilities with ambulance services
  • Calling to see if 911 works

For non-emergency information, dial 411 or 1-506-555-1212 for information, or the number provided by your service provider. TTY/TDD users can call 711 or 1-800-222-9708. 

Note: Email and phone messages to this department and branch are not monitored 24/7. Do not report any emergencies to the non-emergency voicemail or email. 

What happens when you call 911

  1. The operator will answer your call in English and French: “911 Where is your emergency?” or “911 Où est votre urgence?”
  2. The operator will ask what your emergency is, your location and your full 10-digit phone number.  
  3. If your call is an emergency, based on the information you give the operator, you may be transferred to the police, fire department, ambulance or poison control dispatcher. The 911 operator will stay on the line until the right connection is made. 
  4. If your call is not an emergency, the operator will give you further instructions. 
  5. It is possible that many people will be calling about the same emergency. When this occurs, the 911 operator will take your information and advise you that the emergency has already been reported. 

Civic addressing

A civic address is the number, the street or road name and the community name assigned to residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings.

Other 911 tips and information

  • Speak clearly so that the operator can understand the emergency.
  • Keep your phone on after you hang up in case the 911 operator needs to call you back to get more information.
  • Never pre-program 911 into your telephone. If you press the pre-programmed number by mistake, the 911 operator will need to verify your call.
  • Calls to 911 from payphones are free.
  • All calls to 911 are recorded.
  • Deactivated phones can still call 911 even if there is no plan or SIM card.
  • Never call 911 to see if it works. When police investigate accidental calls or misuse of 911, they use precious time and resources that would be much better spent responding to emergencies.

Accessible 911 for hard of hearing, hearing-impaired and deaf users 

Deaf, hard of hearing, or hearing-impaired individuals can text with 911 but must be registered with their wireless service provider. More information on this service can be found at textwith911.ca.

Deaf and hard of hearing people can also use TTY/TDD to dial 911 for emergency assistance.