[en] The Canadian Government's Federal Nuclear Emergency Response Plan (off-site) (FNERP) was issued in 1984. In this plan, a nuclear emergency is defined as an emergency involving the release of radionuclides but does not include the use of nuclear weapons against North America. Because of the federal nature of Canada and its large area, special considerations are required for the plan to cover both the response to nuclear emergencies where the national government has primary responsibility and to provincial requests for assistance where the federal response becomes secondary to the provincial. The nuclear emergencies requiring the implementation of this plan are: (a) an accident in the nuclear energy cycle in Canada with off-site implications; (b) an accident in the nuclear energy cycle in another country which may affect Canada; (c) nuclear weapons testing with off-site implications which may affect Canada; and (d) nuclear-powered devices impacting on Canadian territory. Each emergency requires a separate sub-plan and usually requires different organizations to respond. Some scenarios are described. The Department of National Health and Welfare has established a Federal Nuclear Emergency Control Centre (FNECC). The FNECC participated in September 1985 in an exercise involving a nuclear reactor facility in the Province of Ontario and the experience gained from this activity is presented. The FNECC co-operates with its counterparts in the United States of America through a nuclear emergency information system and this network is also described. (author)