The Canadian Press

Canada is experiencing its worst wildfire season of the 21st century.

Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair announced the grim milestone Monday, saying more than 47,000 square kilometres have burned so far this year, with 431 wildfires currently burning across Canada. 

One of those continues to threaten the Alberta community of Edson, where 8,400 residents remain under an evacuation order issued Friday.

Wildfires are burning dangerously close to a central Albertan town in what federal officials say is an "unprecedented" fire season across Canada. Here's a look at developments Sunday:

Central Alberta wildfires continue to grow

An official in Yellowhead County west of Edmonton says wildfires threatening the area continued to grow overnight but got no closer to evacuated communities.

That includes the town of Edson, Alta., where about 8,400 people were ordered to leave late Friday.

It’s election day in Alberta in what polls suggest could be a nail-biter finish between the province's two dominant parties. 

Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party is fighting to win a second consecutive majority government, while Rachel Notley’s NDP is trying to regain the government it lost to the UCP in 2019. 

Both leaders have been premier and leaders of the official Opposition. 

A wildfire that has damaged or destroyed dozens of homes in suburban Halifax is still burning out of control because of gusty winds and dry conditions.

Halifax deputy fire Chief David Meldrum says an estimated 14,000 people were forced to flee their homes after the rapidly spreading fire broke out Sunday afternoon in Tantallon, a 30-minute drive northwest of downtown Halifax.

A Florida man pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges Friday in a case linked to the discovery last year of a family of four migrants from India found frozen to death just steps from the Canada-U.S. border. 

Steve Shand, 48, waived the reading of the indictment before entering the plea via videoconference as part of a brief but long-awaited arraignment in Duluth, Minn.

The WestJet Group says it's ramping up operations as quickly as possible after reaching a last-minute deal with the airline's pilots to avert a strike.

However, it warns that the full resumption of operations will take time and encouraged travellers to continue to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.

WestJet and the Air Line Pilots Association announced a tentative agreement to avoid the job action early Friday morning.

Talks between WestJet and the pilots' union continue amid the countdown toward a Friday strike deadline, with the airline saying it has started to cancel flights ahead of the anticipated work stoppage.

Some 1,800 pilots at the carrier and its Swoop subsidiary are poised to walk off the job as of 3 a.m. eastern daylight time after the Air Line Pilots Association issued a strike notice Monday.

Air quality statements continue to blanket much of British Columbia and the Prairie provinces as scores of wildfires rage.

As of Tuesday evening, more than 19,500 people in Alberta have been forced out of their homes with 91 active wildfires burning in the province, 27 of which are considered out of control.

Meanwhile, the northeast British Columbia city of Fort St. John, with a population of about 21,000, remains under an evacuation alert in response to a wildfire that's more than 130 square kilometres in size.

The federal government says the Security and Intelligence Threats Task Force will be closely monitoring byelections in four ridings next month for signs of interference. 

Votes are being held June 19 in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount, Oxford, Portage–Lisgar and Winnipeg South Centre. 

The task force, known as SITE, is expected to provide regular assessments of foreign interference threats to a committee of deputy ministers, who will brief members of cabinet if needed. 

The City of Fort St. John in northeastern British Columbia has issued an evacuation alert telling all of its approximately 21,000 residents to get ready to leave in response to a wildfire that's grown to more than 130 square kilometres in size.

An update from the BC Wildfire Service Monday afternoon says the Stoddart Creek wildfire was burning out of control and continuing to spread.

The fire has previously triggered evacuation alerts and orders for other properties in its path in the Peace River Regional District since it was discovered on Saturday.