Here is when you will receive an alert during the Alert Ready test in Ottawa and Gatineau

An alert appeared on smartphones, radios and televisions in Ottawa and Gatineau on Wednesday, as part of a test of Canada's national public alerting system.

Residents in Ottawa and Gatineau may receive an alert on their smartphones, radios and televisions on Wednesday, as officials conduct a test of Canada's national public alerting system.

As part of Emergency Preparedness Week, Alert Ready will be distributing a test alert on TV, radio and compatible wireless devices in Quebec on May 8, and in Ontario on May 15.

"The Alert Ready system is a critical service that helps keep Canadians safe," Martin Belanger, Director of Public Alerting at Pelmorex, said in a statement. "Testing provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the Alert Ready system and to validate that it works as intended in case of an actual emergency."

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The Alert Ready message will indicate it is not an emergency, saying "This is a test of the Alert Ready System."

Some residents of Ottawa and Gatineau may receive both the Ontario and Quebec alerts on their smartphones depending on their location.

The Alert Ready test in Quebec was at 1:55 p.m. on May 8. The Alert Ready test in Ontario will be conducted on Wednesday, May 15 at 12:55 p.m.

Alert Ready is designed to deliver critical and potentially life-saving alerts to Canadians through television, radio and LTE connected and compatible wireless devices.  Alerts are broadcast for several different reasons, including fire, hazardous and environmental threats, a civil emergency, an Amber Alert for missing children, and natural disasters such as a tornado, earthquake, flash flooding or a hurricane.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requires an alert test to be carried out every year, either in May or November.