Climate Change Risks and Resilience Options for Canada’s Built Infrastructure

This fact sheet outlines the risks posed by various climate hazards to Canada's built infrastructure and suggests corresponding resilience options across several sectors, including waterC water, buildings, transportation, and energy.

• Sectors such as wastewater and stormwater infrastructure face risks from higher temperatures and changing precipitation, including harder-to-disinfect influent flows and exceeded drainage systems. Resilience options include applying natural infrastructure solutions like green roofs and urban forests, and reducing impervious surfaces.
• Buildings are susceptible to damage from extreme heat, precipitation changes, and permafrost degradation, which can lead to roof collapse, foundation damage, and accelerated material ageing. Recommended mitigations include installing thermally reflective materials, backwater valves, and selecting concrete aggregates that perform better in freezeS freeze-thaw cycles.
• Transportation infrastructure, including land and marine systems, is threatened by sea ice changes, permafrost melt, and extreme weather. Impacts include the shortening of winter ice road seasons, pavement rutting, and inundation of ports. Resilience strategies include transforming ice roads into all-season roads, using heat-tolerant pavement mixtures, and restoring shoreline habitats.
• Energy and communication infrastructure risks include power outages from storms, damage to transmission lines from wildfires, and overheating of ICT data centres. Proposed solutions include burying transmission lines, installing microgrids for community backup, and increasing cooling system capacity for data centres.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Climate Change Risks and Resilience Options for Canada’s Built Infrastructure. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-07/infographic-climate-change-risks-resilience-options-canada-built-infrastructure.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Climate Change Risks and Resilience Options for Canada’s Built Infrastructure. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-07/infographic-climate-change-risks-resilience-options-canada-built-infrastructure.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Climate Change Risks and Resilience Options for Canada’s Built Infrastructure |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-07/infographic-climate-change-risks-resilience-options-canada-built-infrastructure.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndclimate, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Climate Change Risks and Resilience Options for Canada’s Built Infrastructure}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-07/infographic-climate-change-risks-resilience-options-canada-built-infrastructure.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }