Wildfire smoke blankets Calgary in June as construction continues on the new downtown arena.Todd Korol/Reuters
Natalia Moudrak is a director on the MaRS Climate Innovation Board and an expert in adaptation and resilience. Shawn McCarthy is an independent writer on energy transition and climate risk.
The world is changing dramatically, as Prime Minister Mark Carney constantly reminds us. And smart people will anticipate the disruptions and build resilience into our society so we can cope with them.
Some shifts are more predictable than others: Climate change is upon us and its extreme weather effects will only worsen.
Given that certainty, smart people build for it.
Canada can be a leader in adopting adaptation and resilience technology and systems into our infrastructure building. Such an approach would protect our investments at home and offer growth and export opportunities for Canadian businesses.
Federal and provincial governments are pursuing generational investments in housing, in energy supply and transmission, in ports and highways and so on.
We’re not alone in that regard.
The rise of climate-resilient construction in Canada
McKinsey & Company has estimated the world will require an estimated US$106-trillion in infrastructure investment by 2040. The demand is driven by energy transition, AI and rapid urbanization resulting in the need for housing, transportation and water and waste-water infrastructure.
For its part, the Canadian government has committed to accelerate its infrastructure spending as well, with $115-billion planned over the next five years for core infrastructure, supplemented by the $51-billion Build Communities Strong Fund and $25-billion for housing.
Investors in that infrastructure have an incentive to protect their assets from future climate effects and other risks.
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As the government increases spending on infrastructure and housing, the country is also experiencing an unprecedented rise in extreme weather events.
Canada recorded $8.5-billion in insured catastrophe losses from floods and wildfires in 2024, its worst year on record. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the country’s annual catastrophic losses now routinely exceed $2 billion – a massive increase from $450-million annual averages seen prior to 2008.
On Canada Day this year, record rainfall in Eastern Ontario and western Quebec flooded basements and roadways and washed out new track laid for Ottawa’s extension of its light rail transit.
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We must protect our investments to achieve resilient growth, and ensure the infrastructure and homes being built today serve us for the long term.
To do that, federal and provincial governments should make it a core requirement that every new asset and every new home that is built with government support applies a resilience lens from the start.
There is already a significant base of expert knowledge and technological innovation available for project planners.
WSP, a Montreal-based global consulting firm, assembled an inventory of 158 guidance documents for climate-resilient infrastructure that were developed across different jurisdictions and asset types in Canada.
Some of this guidance is simple. For example, we should avoid development in areas highly prone to flooding and wildfires.
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Canada has long been an innovator of leading technologies that help prevent, prepare, recover and respond to climate-related catastrophes.
Today, these technologies span mature companies that are using AI to predict and model climate risk; infrastructure hardening solutions that help assets to withstand extreme weather effects; and more.
Entrepreneurs are developing new tools for resilience and adaptation. Toronto-based MaRS launched an Adaptech Accelerator to help earlier-stage companies in this space grow and scale.
A recent insurance industry report backed by the World Bank highlighted that many jurisdictions do not require consideration of physical climate risks and forward-looking climate data as new infrastructure projects are being designed and built.
Request for proposals (RFPs), contracts and procurement processes should include stipulations that would require project proponents to assess and address these risks from the onset, the report said.
Take housing, for example.
To direct a massive build-out, the government established the Build Canada Homes Crown corporation, which is tasked to build more homes and faster, and to help make housing more affordable for Canadians.
Build Canada Homes can be particularly impactful to drive long-term resilience for Canadians.
It can create stronger demand signals and incentives to leverage existing guidelines and standards, and employ home-grown A&R technologies to ensure new waves of homes are built not only fast – but also to last.
Speed is of the essence, but we would do well to heed the old proverb: Great haste makes great waste. Future-proofing those investments will ensure they remain investable, insurable and operational in the face of climate disruption.