Quick answer
Build a 72-hour kit around water, food, light, radio and charging, medications and personal needs, documents, warmth, and household-specific requirements. Avoid generic survival-kit junk that nobody actually maintains. Customize for kids, pets, medical devices, your climate, and your housing type. A kit that sits untouched in a closet for three years is not a plan.
What belongs in a basic 72-hour kit
72-hour kit checklist
- Water — the current federal checklist starts at 2 litres per person per day; Health Canada separately says to think about adding another 2 litres per person per day for cooking and cleaning
- Shelf-stable food — no-cook, non-perishable items your household actually eats
- Manual can opener — the electric one is useless in a power outage
- Flashlight or headlamp — headlamps leave hands free for carrying, cleaning, or repairs
- Spare batteries or a rechargeable battery setup with a power bank
- Radio — battery, hand-crank, or both, for alerts when internet and cell service are down
- Power bank — charged and tested, with the right cables for your devices
- First aid kit — include any prescription medications you or your household need
- Medications and prescriptions — enough for several days, with a plan for refills during extended disruptions
- Copies of documents — identification, insurance, medical info, emergency contacts, stored in a waterproof bag
- Cash — small bills, since debit and credit may not work during an extended outage
- Hygiene items — hand sanitizer, wipes, toilet paper, sanitary supplies, diapers if relevant
- Warm layers or blankets — even in summer, an extended outage can leave you without heat
- Phone chargers — wall charger plus car charger plus power bank
- Pet supplies — food, water, leash, carrier, medications, vaccination records
- Household-specific items — baby formula, glasses, hearing aid batteries, mobility aids, medical device power requirements
Do the water math separately: use ReadyHome’s Emergency Water Storage Calculator to see the federal basic amount, the separate cooking/cleaning allowance, your own household extras, what you already have stored, and the remaining gap.
What most generic kits get wrong
Minimum / better / overkill by household type
Minimum / better / overkill by household type
Apartment or renter
- Minimum
- Water, food, flashlight, radio, power bank, first aid kit, documents
- Better
- Add headlamp, spare batteries, cash, hygiene kit, pet supplies
- Overkill
- Large multi-day kit, camping stove (check building rules), full tool kit
Family home
- Minimum
- Water, food, lights, radio, power bank, first aid, medications, pet supplies
- Better
- Add headlamps for each person, spare batteries, document copies, cash, warm blankets
- Overkill
- Multiple kits (home + car), backup power for essentials, two-week food supply
Winter-storm household
- Minimum
- All basic items plus extra warm layers, blankets, gloves, hats
- Better
- Add hand warmers and a cold-weather water/storage plan
- Overkill
- Full winter kit including backup power for critical loads where technically appropriate
Evacuation-ready household
- Minimum
- Grab-and-go bag with water, food, documents, medications, phone charger, pet carrier
- Better
- Pre-packed duffel with change of clothes, toiletries, copies of documents
- Overkill
- Evacuation kit plus pre-planned routes, meeting points, and out-of-area contacts
Outage-prone household
- Minimum
- 72-hour kit plus extra batteries, power bank, radio, headlamps
- Better
- Kit plus portable power station or UPS for suitable loads
- Overkill
- Purpose-designed backup power system with safe connection and fuel/energy planning
Canadian context
Canadian context
A 72-hour kit in Canada is different from most generic preparedness checklists because Canadian hazards are specific:
- Winter storms — power outages in winter are about staying warm without furnace power, keeping pipes from freezing, and having a car that can get through snow. Your kit needs to account for extreme cold, not just darkness.
- Wildfire smoke — if you are in a wildfire-smoke event, your kit may need N95 masks and a clean-air plan. See the wildfire smoke hub.
- Power outages — many Canadian outages are caused by ice storms, windstorms, or heavy snow. These can last days, not hours. Plan for longer than 72 hours if your location and local guidance make that prudent.
- Water advisories — boil-water, do-not-consume and do-not-use advisories mean different things. Stored potable water gives you options while you follow local instructions.
- Apartment and condo constraints — no indoor or balcony generator, limited storage space, shared building systems. Renters and condo owners need compact, portable, building-safe kit contents.
- Rural and remote considerations — longer response and resupply times, greater distance to supplies, and more reliance on private systems can justify a larger reserve.
Public Safety Canada’s current emergency kit checklist is the national baseline. Use it as a starting point and adapt for your household and local hazards.
Buying guidance
Category-first, not product-first:
- Build your own kit — the recommended approach for most households. Buy components separately so you choose actual quality where it matters and skip filler.
- Buy a starter kit only if the contents are transparent and useful — some pre-assembled kits are reasonable starting points. Read the actual contents list.
- Upgrade lights, radio, water, and first aid separately — these are the items where quality differences matter most.
- Avoid tacticool garbage bundles — kits that look like military surplus with “survival” branding are often full of low-quality, irrelevant items that add weight and cost.
Maintenance checklist
Maintenance checklist
- Rotate food before expiry or according to package guidance
- Inspect stored water, seals and containers; follow manufacturer dates for commercial water and current local/provincial guidance for self-filled water
- Charge power banks and check battery levels
- Replace depleted or aging batteries in lights, radios, and sensors
- Update documents and medication lists as they change
- Review and adjust seasonal contents — add warm layers before winter and summer heat/smoke items when relevant
- Test radio, lights, and any electronic devices to confirm they still work
- Check that phone cables, adapters, and power banks are compatible with current devices
- Confirm pet supplies, medications and records are current
Related links
- Emergency water storage calculator and guide
- Emergency kits hub
- Car emergency kit Canada
- Emergency radios and flashlights
- Keep Wi-Fi on during a power outage
- Food safety during a power outage
- Wildfire smoke hub
- Winter hub
Frequently asked questions
What should be in a 72-hour kit in Canada?
Water, food, flashlight or headlamp, radio, power bank, first aid kit, medications, copies of documents, cash, warm layers, hygiene items, and pet supplies if applicable. Tailor it to your household and local hazards.
How much water do I need?
Current federal guidance is not one perfectly uniform sentence. Health Canada’s May 2026 emergency page lists 2 litres per person per day in the basic kit and separately says to think about adding 2 additional litres per person per day for cooking and cleaning. Public Safety Canada’s April 2026 checklist also uses a 2 L/person/day figure but describes its uses differently. Some provincial guidance uses 4 L/person/day as a combined amount. Use the Emergency Water Storage Calculator to keep those layers explicit.
What food should I keep?
Shelf-stable, no-cook or low-cook items your household actually eats. Remember that dehydrated foods can increase your water and fuel requirements.
How often should I update my kit?
Review it regularly. Spring and fall are easy reminders. Rotate food, inspect water and containers, charge batteries, update documents and medications, and adjust for seasonal needs.
What should families with kids add?
Age-appropriate food, infant formula if applicable, diapers, wipes, bottles, comfort items, children’s medications, and activities that do not need screens or power. Follow current Health Canada instructions for preparing infant formula rather than using a generic emergency-water estimate.
What should renters keep?
A compact, portable kit that fits in a closet or under a bed. Focus on items that work without building modifications: water, food, flashlight, radio, power bank, first aid kit, documents, cash, warm layers. Check building rules before storing anything that uses fuel or generates heat.
Sources & further reading
Check the original guidance for details that apply to your home. How we use sources
- Public Safety Canada / Canada.ca
Canadian household outage risks and 72-hour preparedness framing.
- Health Canada
Food and drinking water safety in an emergency
Official fridge/freezer outage time windows and discard guidance.
- Public Safety Canada / Canada.ca
Canadian 72-hour household preparedness baseline.