It alarms you if there's an ongoing kidnapping of a child near your area.

Amber alert - Wikipedia

Amber alert

>An Amber Alert (alternatively styled AMBER alert) or a child abduction emergency alert (SAME code: CAE) is a message distributed by a child abduction alert system to ask the public for help in finding abducted children. The system originated in the United States. AMBER is a backronym standing for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. It was created in reference to Amber Rene Hagerman, a girl who was abducted and later found murdered in 1996.

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> AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, TX, and then brutally murdered. Other states and communities soon set up their own AMBER plans as the idea was adopted across the nation.

When you have it set up it blasts a siren from your phone if a child is reported abducted with the info on the child and proposed abductor. Only happens if your in the area of the abduction.

I had no idea it was an acronym. Makes me wonder why they still call it that in Canada.

Why would they call it something else? Two different names for the same thing? Just to add confusion?

As I said, I didn’t even know it was an acronym. But since it starts with America, I was just mildly surprised they kept the same name, since we are not Americans.

You’re not similarly surprised that emergency numbers in other countries aren’t always 911, are you?

Here is what the Canadian site says:

History of the AMBER Alert System

In 1996, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was kidnapped from Arlington, Texas and brutally murdered. Her death had a profound impact on her community. In the wake of this tragedy, an emergency alert system was developed to facilitate the rapid distribution of information to the public about child abduction incidents. The system, named in remembrance of Amber Hagerman, was initially a voluntary partnership between law enforcement agencies and media broadcasters to send out emergency alerts to the public when a child was abducted and believed to be in imminent danger.

https://missingkids.ca/en/help-us-find/amber-alert/

As for 911 believe me. Being a 911 operator I wish it was a different number like 112 in the UK

Why is that? (Honest question)

So many dropped 911 calls from businesses that need to dial 9 to get out. Or people calling India 91 country code.

Makes sense