Executive Summary

The Canadian Climate Institute warns that without policy changes, Canada could build over 150,000 homes in very high flood hazard areas and 220,000 in high wildfire hazard municipalities by 2030. This could lead to combined annual damages of up to $3 billion. The report argues that redirecting just 3% of planned new homes (approximately 150,000 units) away from high-flood hazard areas could reduce flood risk to new housing by nearly 80%. Key recommendations include strengthening provincial land use policies, reforming disaster assistance to deter risky development, updating hazard maps, and mandating risk disclosure in real estate transactions.

• Current policies may lead to the construction of over 150,000 homes in very high flood hazard areas and more than 220,000 homes in municipalities with high wildfire hazards by 2030. The resulting annual financial damages to new housing could range from a best-case scenario of $340 million in flood losses to a worst-case combined total of $3 billion per year for both floods and wildfires.
• A small proportion of homes in the highest-risk zones cause the majority of potential losses. Redirecting approximately 150,000 units—representing 3% of the homes targeted for construction by 2030—away from high-flood hazard areas could lower Canada's flood risk for new housing by nearly 80%.
• Gaps in land use policies in most provinces and territories allow for risky construction, often because municipalities prioritize immediate housing needs over long-term safety. Provinces with stronger land use policies, specifically Ontario and Saskatchewan, show relatively lower risks to their housing stock.
• Several policy factors contribute to unsafe development: outdated hazard maps leave stakeholders uninformed, a lack of mandatory risk disclosure in real estate transactions hides risks from buyers, and disaster assistance programs create a 'moral hazard' by encouraging reliance on post-disaster recovery instead of proactive avoidance.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (n.d.). Executive Summary. https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Executive-summary-Close-to-Home-Canadian-Climate-Institute.pdf

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. Executive Summary. n.d. https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Executive-summary-Close-to-Home-Canadian-Climate-Institute.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=Executive Summary |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Executive-summary-Close-to-Home-Canadian-Climate-Institute.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianclimateinstitutendexecutive, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{Executive Summary}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Executive-summary-Close-to-Home-Canadian-Climate-Institute.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }