An emergency radio should be simple enough to operate without your phone or home internet.
Power matters more than extra features
Look for a reliable AM/FM receiver with a clear tuning interface, good battery access and reception where you live. A hand-crank or solar option can be useful but is not a substitute for testing the radio and keeping backup batteries. A flashlight or USB charging feature is a secondary convenience.
Check Canadian compatibility
Some products advertise American NOAA weather-radio channels; those claims alone do not guarantee useful reception of Canadian emergency information in every region. Verify the actual broadcasting options available locally and look at Canadian alerts delivered through radio and official channels.
Test it before storing it
Run a reception test at home, note a local information station, learn the radio's power modes and keep its instructions with the kit. During an outage, use battery power sparingly and obtain updates from official sources.