Canada Invests $2.7M in Climate Change Adaptation

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/07

Natural Resources Canada is committed to improving the quality of life of Canadians by ensuring the country’s abundant natural resources are developed sustainably, competitively and inclusively. Canada’s Climate Change Adaptation Program (CCAP) invests $2.7 million in five projects across Northern Ontario, leveraging an additional $1.8 million in partner investments. These initiatives enhance climate resilience through workforce training, Indigenous-led adaptation tools, and professional development. With $6.6 billion committed to adaptation since 2015, Canada aims to reduce climate risks, strengthen infrastructure, and protect communities. Research suggests that every $1 spent on adaptation saves up to $15 in long-term disaster recovery costs, reinforcing the economic benefits of proactive climate measures. The National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) integrates these efforts, fostering a sustainable, climate-resilient economy nationwide.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Are these investments by Canada’s investment in climate change adaptation also going to help reach net zero by 2050? 

Natural Resources Canada: The focus of this funding is climate change adaptation. Climate change adaptation focuses on reducing risks associated with climate change impacts. Along with climate change mitigation, which focuses on avoiding or minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, these efforts are necessary to protect communities and industries from the worst impacts of climate change. Adaptation is about reducing risks and embracing new opportunities related to climate change for Canadians, communities, businesses, and the economy more broadly, and being better prepared for current and future changes in climate through proactive planning and action.  

Climate change adaptation actions often generate a range of co-benefits (e.g., flood protection, erosion prevention, etc.), which can also include reducing GHG emissions. Restoring natural ecosystems like wetlands, forests, and peatlands not only helps communities adapt to climate impacts but also sequesters carbon. Every $1 spent on climate change adaptation measures saves up to $15 in terms of the long-term costs involved in addressing climate change and extreme weather events, based on research by the Canadian Climate Institute (Damage Control: Reducing the Costs of Climate Impacts in Canada). 

Investing in climate-resilient infrastructure reduces the risk of damage from extreme weather, which in turn minimizes the carbon footprint associated with rebuilding and repairing. 

Jacobsen: For the five projects in northern Ontario under the Climate Change Adaptation Program (CCAP), how much was invested for each and in total? 

Natural Resources Canada: A total of $2.7 million in NRCan funding was provided for these five projects.  

NRCan contributions leverage investments by project partners that total $1.8 million. The total value of these five projects, including in-kind contributions, is more than $4.5 million.  

A backgrounder was included in the news release (Canada Invests in Climate Change Adaptation to Keep Communities Safe in Northern Ontario and Across Canada), which includes the project details below. Please find a brief overview of each project below. 

• The CanAdapt: Advancing a Climate-Ready Workforce Through Courses and Networks project ($1,300,000 in NRCan funding) will enhance access to climate change adaptation education, training, resources, and networks for professionals through the online CanAdapt portal. 
• The Partnership for Indigenous Climate Change Adaptation GeoHub and Microcredential Capacity Building Tools project ($546,195 in NRCan funding) will support staff in First Nation communities and Councils to assess climate change impacts and risks, develop adaptation plans, and identify adaptation actions. 
• The Professions Advancing Adaptation Competencies (PAAC): An Initiative of Canada’s National Engineering, Planning, Accounting and Landscape Architecture Associations project ($442,851 in NRCan funding) will help national professional associations integrate climate change adaptation into the profiles and responsibilities of specific professions (e.g., engineers, planners, accountants, landscape architects).  
• The Analysis and Reporting on Lessons Learned from Adaptation Implementation project ($259,045 in NRCan funding) will advance adaptation in the natural resource sectors by assessing and sharing best practices and lessons learned from previously implemented adaptation actions.  
• The Development of a National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Professional Development Program for Forest Professionals project ($190,687 in NRCan funding) will advance climate change adaptation in the forestry sector through targeted adaptation training for forest professionals across Canada. 

Jacobsen: Which officials and Members of Parliament have been integral to this funding and its announcement? 

Natural Resources Canada: This funding was announced by Marc G. Serré, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, along with Member 

of Parliament Viviane Lapointe and Member of Parliament Anthony Rota. Their ridings are in Northern Ontario, where several of the proponents leading these projects are located (although the focus for many of these projects are national and not limited to Northern Ontario).  

Jacobsen: What extreme weather events and long-term climate impacts were the reasons for these investments by Canada?  

Natural Resources Canada: There was no specific extreme weather event that was the reason for these investments. Climate change impacts are regional in nature, and each community and business have their own needs and considerations. NRCan’s climate change adaptation actions are designed to be flexible and support regions, communities, and businesses, and the professionals that they rely on, in addressing their individual needs and priorities. 

NRCan has been working on climate change adaptation for over two decades, providing science to strengthen understanding of how our lands, forests, and coasts will change with the climate, convening experts and leaders, and delivering programs that help businesses and communities acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and tools they need for adaptation.  

We know that Canadians are facing more frequent and extreme climate events such as floods, wildfires and heat waves, as well as gradual climate change impacts like thawing permafrost and rising sea levels, as detailed in Canada’s Changing Climate Report. These challenges affect the quality of life, health, environment and economy of communities across the country.   

We also know that costs associated with damage from extreme weather events in Canada are significant and rising. According to the Canada in a Changing Climate: National Issues Report, the scale of costs suggests that households, communities, businesses, and infrastructure are not currently prepared for current climate conditions and variability. 

Adapting to a changing climate is important to build climate resilient businesses and communities and protect Canadians’ homes and livelihoods. Investing in climate change adaptation also means that Canada can better plan for, withstand, and recover from climate impacts and reduce disaster recovery costs.  

Adaptation helps to avoid future costs associated with climate change impacts and ensures long-term viability of assets and investments.  

Additional information resources for Canadians: Canadians can access, visualize, and analyze climate data, and access information and tools to support adaptation planning and decision-making atclimatedata.ca. This platform is a free open access climate data portal produced collaboratively by the country’s leading climate organizations and supported, in part, by the Government of Canada.  Canadians can also access information on climate change adaptation actions through the  Map of Adaptation Actions, a collaboration between Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and NRCan. The Map is an interactive and searchable tool housing a collection of climate change adaptation examples that provide useful information to decision-makers and those taking action on climate change adaptation.  

Jacobsen: What are the expected outcomes from CCAP projects? 

Natural Resources Canada: CCAP is co-funding projects across Canada that enhance skills for adapting to climate change, advance adaptation in the natural resource sectors (forestry, mining, and energy), and expand knowledge on the economics of adaptation and on key emerging issues.  

NRCan works to help Canadian communities and industries adapt to climate change. To be more resilient to the impacts of climate change, they need to include adaptation in their plans and strategies and implement climate adaptation measures that address their region and sector-specific risks.  

Communities and industries rely on skilled professionals that have access to adaptation-related tools and information and know how to use these to inform their plans, strategies and overall adaptation decision-making.  

CCAP-supported projects equip these skilled professionals with tools, information and knowledge to support adaptation decision-making and actions by: 

• Increasing access to and use of information, tools, and resources to inform adaptation actions (e.g., guidance documents, case studies, business cases, economic tools, good practices, guidelines for meaningful engagement).  
• Enhancing adaptation knowledge and skills among Canada’s workforce and professionals (e.g., new requirements for professionals, delivery of training, peer-learning networks, adaptation in post-secondary curricula). 

Ultimately, these skilled professionals play a key role in increasing the number of Canadian communities and businesses that are identifying and implementing actions and helping them adapt to a changing climate.  

Additional information about CCAP and project updates are available on the NRCan website: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-program  

Please find some examples of previous success of the CCAP, below: 

• CCAP builds on two decades of past NRCan adaptation research, analysis and programming that has advanced our understanding of climate change impacts, approaches to adaptation, and how to help businesses and communities adapt to a changing climate. Many of the assessments, adaptation tools and resources continue to benefit the natural resource sectors.  
• NRCan supported projects led by Electricity Canada (EC) that produced Adaptation guidance for the electricity sector. 85% of EC’s members have used these guidance tools and 60% have completed detailed climate change risk assessments within their organizations. 
• With support from NRCan, the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) produced a Guide on Climate Change Adaptation in the Mining Sector. This guide helps mining companies to plan and report on their management of climate change impacts. 
• NRCan supported Engineers Canada in developing the Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC) Protocol – a risk assessment tool for Engineers that includes training, a practitioners’ network, and many case studies showing how the tool was implemented.  
• The tool has also been expanded to include options for single assets, groups of assets, PIEVC green, and an Indigenous focus.  
• They now have international partnerships with Germany (GIZ) and are using the tool around the world.  
• The Climate Risk Institute (CRI) and the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) are now delivering the program, but the work started with Engineers Canada in 2005. 
• NRCan funded the University of British Columbia Faculty of Forestry’s Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation Micro-Certificate – a flexible, online program that provides working forest professionals (e.g., foresters, technicians, tree planters, policy makers) with an understanding of climate science, vulnerability and adaptation, and how to apply both the theory and the science of vulnerability assessments in their work.  
• NRCan provided funding to the Stewardship Centre for British Columbia for the Green Shores program. Launched in 2010, the Green Shores program encourages adoption of sustainability principles in the design and construction of projects on coastal and lake shores. Professionals and landowners can access tools for planning, design, and construction that minimizes the environmental impacts and costs of their projects. 
• The Manitoba Climate Resilience Training Project, funded by the NRCan, created tailored approaches to integrate climate risk and opportunities into decision-making and planning within the Northern Business, Indigenous, Planning, and Infrastructure sectors in Manitoba. The project included development and delivery of a suite of training and capacity building courses. 

Jacobsen: How will the $2.7 million fit within the broader investment framework? 

Natural Resources Canada: The Government of Canada remains committed to advancing climate change adaptation to reduce risks and protect Canadians, communities, businesses, and the economy more broadly, as well as prepare for current and future impacts of climate change. That’s why Canada has invested over $6.6 billion in climate change adaptation since 2015, including $2.1 billion in new commitments since Fall 2022.   

NRCan’s Climate Change Adaptation Program (CCAP) (2022-2027) is a $39.5 million initiative that advances the National Adaptation Strategy, along with the Climate-Resilient Coastal Communities Program (CRCC), by supporting Canada’s regions and sectors to adapt to a changing climate by: 

• supporting decision-makers in identifying and implementing adaptation actions;  
• enhancing adaptation knowledge and skills among Canada’s workforce;  
• and increasing access to climate change adaptation tools and resources. 

Jacobsen: How much long-term cost saving is associated with each $1 spent on climate change adaptation measures? 

Natural Resources Canada: Every $1 spent on climate change adaptation measures saves up to $15 in terms of the long-term costs involved in addressing climate change and extreme weather events, based on research by the Canadian Climate Institute (Damage Control: Reducing the Costs of Climate Impacts in Canada). 

According to the Canada in a Changing Climate: Synthesis Report, there is a strong business case for adaptation, with the benefits (including avoided costs) gained through adaptation measures generally exceeding the costs of implementation. For instance, a review of 60 Canadian adaptation projects found that “soft-engineering” actions, such as beach nourishment, were more efficient investments than “hard-engineering” measures, such as concrete walls and rock armour. Soft-engineering solutions saved on average $10 for each $1 invested, compared with savings of $3 for each $1 invested in hard-engineering. 

In 2024, for the first time in Canadian history, insured damage caused by severe weather events surpassed $8 billion, according to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. The previous record was $6 billion from 2016, following the Fort McMurray wildfires. (Insurance Bureau of Canada, 2024 shatters record for costliest year for severe weather-related losses in Canadian history at $8.5 billion) 

Jacobsen: How does the National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) connect to the initiatives and funding programs? 

Natural Resources Canada: Canada released its first National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) in June 2023. It provides a whole-of-society plan focused on protecting Canadian lives and building more resilient and prosperous communities.  

NRCan is also supporting coastal regions across Canada to adapt to climate challenges through its $41 million Climate-Resilient Coastal Communities Program (2023-2028) (CRCC) under the Government of Canada Adaptation Action Plan (GOCAAP), linked to the National Adaptation Strategy. 

Both the Climate-Resilient Coastal Communities Program (2023-2028) (CRCC) and Climate Change Adaptation Program (CCAP) (2022-2027) contribute to the goals of the National Adaptation Strategy by supporting initiatives that help to build climate resilience in Canadian communities and industries.  

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time.

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