National Risk Profile: Strengthening Canada's All-Hazards Approach to Emergency Management

Canada is subject to a wide range of natural hazards because of the extent and diversity of its geography. These hazards include floods, wildland fires, extreme heat events, earthquakes, winter storms, space weather events and hurricanes. Hazards can also be human-induced, and include any physical event, phenomenon or activity that has the potential to cause damage.

Disasters occur when a hazard affects a community in a way that exceeds its ability to cope. Disasters may cause serious harm to safety, health, welfare, property and the environment. They can be sudden (e.g., earthquakes) or slow-moving (e.g., permafrost thaw). When a disaster strikes a densely populated area, it causes more damage and affects a greater number of people, and many Canadian cities are located near or within hazardous zones such as flood zones, coasts and seismic fault lines.

The frequency and severity of disasters is increasing across Canada due to many factors, including climate change. Canada's climate is warming at an alarming rate, as is clear from the findings of a number of reports and analyses in this area.

A 2021 public opinion survey on emergency preparedness found:

• most Canadians (74%) believe they live in a low or moderate-risk area; and
• only 11% of Canadians (one in 10) have taken steps to reduce the risk of their home being affected by a weather-related emergency or a disaster. As a result, Canadians may not be prepared for an emergency or take the action necessary to reduce their risk.

In the face of more frequent and dangerous disasters, we can better protect ourselves if we understand the risks. The National Risk Profile is a disaster awareness tool to help Canadians better understand the risks they face in order to prepare for, manage, and recover from emergencies.

Impact of earthquakes in Canada

• Thousands of earthquakes occur in Canada every year as reported on Earthquakes Canada
• Over 40% of Canadians live in a moderate or high risk seismic hazard zone. Within Canada, 60% of earthquakes occur along British Columbia's coast.
• The most active region in eastern Canada is the Charlevoix seismic zone, located in north-eastern Quebec. Over the past 350 years, at least five earthquakes greater than magnitude 6.0 have occurred in this region.
• Expected direct losses from a large earthquake could be as high as $75 billion.

Key findings on earthquakes

• The risks from earthquakes are increasing due to:
  • population growth and increasing population and property density in urban areas; and
  • increasing reliance on infrastructure systems.
• The National Risk Profile identified the following gaps in Canada's earthquake resilience:
  • seismic retrofit programs to make existing buildings stronger and more resistant;
  • access to public information;
  • many Canadians are underinsured or uninsured for earthquake damages; and
  • challenges in the emergency management system and limited access to services in remote, isolated and Indigenous communities.

Reducing the impact of earthquakes

To reduce the impact of earthquakes, the Government of Canada is:

• launching a national earthquake early warning system in 2024 that will provide advance warning of shaking from an earthquake to protect populations and critical infrastructure;
• investing $5.95 million over five years in Budget 2019 for a National Earthquake Risk Assessment Framework to, for example, develop a neighbourhood-level profile of earthquake risk from ground shaking;
• managing the Canadian National Seismograph Network, which rapidly informs emergency planning and disaster relief agencies and the general public of the locations and magnitude for an earthquake; and
• engaging with industry on solutions to earthquake insurance and other evolving climate-related insurance market challenges.

Get prepared for earthquakes

The Get Prepared website has information and resources that you can use to help protect yourself and your loved ones during an emergency. It includes information to help you prepare for, respond to and recover from earthquakes.

More information on earthquakes

This section provides an overview of the first National Risk Profile's findings on earthquakes. For more detailed information, please read the backgrounder on Earthquakes.

Impact of wildland fires in Canada

Driven by periods of intense drought and record-breaking high temperatures, recent wildland fire seasons have been longer and more intense than usual.

The 2021 wildland fire season saw well above average fire activity with over 6,500 fires burning over 4 million hectares of land. For comparison, the 10-year average was approximately 5,200 fires and 2.5 million hectares burned. There were 5 fatalities resulting from wildland fire or suppression activity in 2021, the most in Canada since 1986.

• The area burned annually by wildland fires has more than doubled since the 1970s. It is predicted that, by 2100, the area burned could double again.
• Approximately 7,000 wildland fires occur each year in Canada. In the last decade, a number of wildland fires in western Canada have caused more than $10 million in damages, with the 2016 Fort MacMurray fires causing over $7 billion in losses.
• A 2020 study analyzing the health impact from wildfire smoke in Canada revealed that wildland fire smoke was estimated to cause between 570 to 2,500 premature deaths annually between 2013 and 2018.
• Indigenous peoples are 30% more likely to be impacted by wildland fires compared to non-Indigenous Canadians.

Key findings on wildland fires

• The risk of wildland fires will likely increase over time because climate change is creating longer and more intense fire seasons.
• Current trends point to more people and infrastructure in harm's way in the event of a wildland fire.
• The National Risk Profile identified the following gaps in Canada's wildland fire resilience:
• low public awareness and low preventative action to protect homes, properties, and neighbourhoods;
• gaps in scientific knowledge and wildland fire management tools and technologies;
• inclusion of Indigenous peoples and diverse Indigenous knowledge in wildland fire management and response; and 
• structural resilience to wildland fires, especially in high-risk areas.

Reducing the impact of wildland fires

To reduce the impact of wildland fires, the Government of Canada is:

• investing $170 million over 11 years in Budget 2022 to develop WildFireSat, the world's first purpose-built satellite system for monitoring wildland fires;
• as part of the National Adaptation Strategy, investing $284 million over five years to enhance the FireSmart Canada program, and establish a Centre of Excellence in Wildfire Innovation and Resilience. FireSmart Canada develops resources and programs to help Canadians understand the threat of wildfire and the actions they can take to build resilience;
• investing $346.1 million in Budget 2022 to train 1,000 fire fighters and support provinces and territories to acquire new firefighting equipment;
• through the Canadian Forest Service, operating the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, which creates daily fire weather and fire behaviour maps year-round and hot spot maps throughout the forest fire season; and
• through the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, taking steps to achieve better wildland fire management by 2030 through the endorsement of the Wildland Fire Management Working Group's 2021-2026 Action Plan.

Get prepared for wildland fires

The Get Prepared website has information and resources that you can use to help protect yourself and your loved ones during an emergency. It includes information to help you prepare, respond and recover from wildland fires.

More information on wildland fires

This section provides an overview of the first National Risk Profile report's findings on wildland fires. For more detailed information, please read the Backgrounder on Wildland Fires.

Impact of floods in Canada

• Floods can occur at any time of year, near and far from bodies of water, and can be triggered by heavy rainfall, snowmelt runoff, ice jams, coastal storm surges, natural or man-made dam failures, and other natural or human-induced processes.
• In coastal areas, sea levels are expected to rise and increase flood risk along most of the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines, and the Beaufort coast in the western Arctic.
• Flooding is Canada's most common and costliest disaster. In recent years, flooding has caused approximately $1.5 billion in household, property and infrastructure damages annually (~$700 million in insured losses and $800 million in uninsured losses), with residential property owners bearing approximately 75% of uninsured losses each year.
• There are significant human impacts after flood events, including the destruction of homes and community infrastructure, and negative mental health effects.
• Not all Canadians have access to flood insurance even in high risk areas for flooding. In some instances and regions, it may be impossible to get flood insurance.

Key findings on floods

• The risks from flood events will increase over time due to the impacts of climate change on weather patterns and the increasing number of people living in urban areas.
• The NRP identified the following gaps in Canada's flood resilience:
  • coordination among governments to manage flood risk;
  • lack of flood risk information, that impacts the management of evacuations;
  • low awareness among Canadians of their personal flood risk; and
  • lack of sustained investment in a national flood insurance arrangement and in natural infrastructure measures for flood prevention, like planting trees to prevent erosion.

Reducing the impact of floods

To reduce the impact of floods, the Government of Canada is:

• as announced in Budget 2023:
  • providing  $31.7 million to stand-up a low-cost flood insurance program, aimed at protecting households at high risk of flooding and without access to adequate insurance;
  • providing $48.1 million over five years, starting in 2023-24, and $3.1 million ongoing to identify high-risk flood areas and implement a modernized Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements program, which will incentivize mitigation efforts and ensure there is an updated system available to provinces and territories for disaster recovery;
  • providing $15.3 million over three years, starting in 2023-24, to create a publicly accessible online portal where Canadians can access information on their exposure to flooding;
• investing over $228 million in the Flood Mapping and Hazard Identification Program to create flood hazard maps for high-risk areas and beyond;
• providing, through Budget 2019, $10.3 million over five years to gather key data and geospatial tools to support flood mapping;
• examining home flood insurance needs of First Nations on reserve through Indigenous Services Canada's Steering Committee on First Nations Home Flood Insurance Needs;
• investing over $585,000 for a research project to examine how much flooding will cost in the future and how government policy can contribute to Canada's resilience to climate change; and
• developing guidelines and standards for flood resistant buildings, flood resilient communities, and coastal flood risk assessments through the Climate-Resilient Buildings and Core Public Infrastructure Initiative.

Get prepared for a flood

The Get Flood Ready website provides simple steps to protect your home and property against potential flood damage.

The Get Prepared website has information and resources that you can use to help protect yourself and your loved ones during an emergency. It includes information to help you prepare for, respond to and recover from floods.

More information on floods

This section provides an overview of the first National Risk Profile's findings on floods. For more detailed information, please read the Backgrounder on Floods.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a powerful example of the serious threat that emerging infectious diseases pose to Canadians.

During the National Risk Profile risk and capability assessment sessions, participants were asked to consider the impacts that a pandemic would have on emergency response to earthquakes, wildland fires, and floods. Pandemics were not assessed using the same methods as earthquakes, wildland fires and floods, and the National Risk Profile is not an assessment or review of the past, or current, government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key findings on pandemics

• Pandemics and other public health emergencies require intersectoral collaboration and a whole-of-society response.
• Climate change exacerbates existing population health challenges and inequities, including the spread of climate sensitive infectious diseases.
• Health, social and economic well-being are connected, and the impacts of pre-existing inequalities on Indigenous communities and diverse groups of Canadians must be recognized.
• Capacity gaps in the healthcare system led to capacity gaps in hazard response, specifically during evacuations for extreme weather events.
• The NRP identified the following gaps in Canada's pandemic resilience:
• timely information sharing to support effective pandemic response;
• partnerships across governments, civil society, community and the private sector to respond to pandemics and coordinate actions to address crises; and
• attention to the needs of vulnerable populations as part of a whole-of-society response.

These findings show how pandemics can highlight needed improvements to emergency planning and preparedness to ensure overall resilience.