Canada wants to diversify trade but needs infrastructure built for climate change

The Canadian Climate Institute warns that Canada's trade infrastructure is vulnerable to climate change, citing the 2021 B.C. floods as a primary example of the economic risks. It calls for the federal government to embed climate risk assessments into new projects, upgrade existing corridors, invest in protective infrastructure, and provide stable funding for municipalities to avoid building assets based on outdated climate data.

• Climate-driven disasters pose a significant threat to Canada's economic stability, as evidenced by the 2021 atmospheric river in British Columbia. This event caused the Port of Vancouver to be cut off from the rest of the country, resulting in trade losses of approximately $2.5 billion and lost income and productivity between $800 million and $1.4 billion.
• Canada's infrastructure is currently underfunded and poorly prepared for future climate projections. The country has a $265 billion infrastructure deficit, with roads, bridges, and tunnels making up half of the assets requiring rehabilitation. Furthermore, new infrastructure is frequently constructed using outdated design standards based on historical data rather than future climate projections.
• To protect the economy and ensure the success of trade diversification, the author recommends four specific government actions: requiring climate risk assessments for all publicly funded trade-critical projects, using the Trade Diversification Corridors Fund for resilience upgrades, building protective infrastructure like dikes and levees, and providing long-term funding to municipalities, which own about 60 per cent of public infrastructure.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (2025). Canada wants to diversify trade but needs infrastructure built for climate change. https://climateinstitute.ca/canada-wants-to-diversify-trade-but-needs-infrastructure-built-for-climate-change/

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. Canada wants to diversify trade but needs infrastructure built for climate change. 2025. https://climateinstitute.ca/canada-wants-to-diversify-trade-but-needs-infrastructure-built-for-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=Canada wants to diversify trade but needs infrastructure built for climate change |date=16 October 2025 |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/canada-wants-to-diversify-trade-but-needs-infrastructure-built-for-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{canadianclimateinstitute2025canada, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{Canada wants to diversify trade but needs infrastructure built for climate change}}, publisher = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/canada-wants-to-diversify-trade-but-needs-infrastructure-built-for-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }