Introduction to Canada

Canada is the second-largest country in the world, and it is located in North America. It has a population of 41,288,599,1 with 18% living in rural areas.2 Canada’s vast and diverse geography includes high mountains, prairie grasslands, various forest types, Arctic tundra, and numerous rivers and lakes. Climates and temperatures across Canada vary across different regions from subarctic and tundra conditions in the north and humid continental climate further south.3 The nation has the longest coastline in the world, and with this vast coastal boundary, rising sea levels pose significant risks, increasingly threatening coastal communities with flooding and storm surges.4 As temperatures rise, extreme heatwaves have affected Western Canada and Quebec; permafrost thaw has raised concerns in the Arctic, wildfires have impacted communities in British Columbia, Alberta, and Nova Scotia; droughts and intense hailstorms have occurred in the Prairies; and flooding has been experienced by every province in the country.5

The country’s service sector constitutes the majority of its economy at 71.1%, followed by the industry sector at 27.1%, and then the agricultural sector at 1.7%.6 The nation is abundant in natural resources, making it a leading mining country7 with a significant oil and gas sector, ranking as the fifth-largest crude oil producer in the world.8   

With a GDP per capita of USD 54,282.60 (CAD 74,357.12),9 Canada is grappling with a growing issue of income inequality. The nation recorded its highest inequality gap ever in the first quarter of spring 2025. The difference in the share of disposable income between households in the top 40% of the income distribution and those in the bottom 40% reached 49 percentage points.10 The unemployment rate stands at 6.9%,11 signaling a level of economic uncertainty that raises concerns given the added pressures of the climate crisis. Canada’s colonial history continues to perpetuate structures of inequality, and ongoing economic shifts and the climate crisis are projected to further deepen disparities for marginalized communities and displace Indigenous populations. 

Mapping Climate Events & Climate-Induced Displacement

Canada is relatively less vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis, yet it still faces significant challenges and risks. As of 2025, it ranks 25th out of 188 countries on the new Climate Fiscal Vulnerability Index developed by Columbia Climate University.12 The development of this index and the research indicates Canada has the capacity and financial resources to respond to the climate crisis, with its largest vulnerability being climate-induced displacement, where the nation scores a 7.4 out of 10.12  

Between 2008 and 2019, 380,000 individuals were displaced, with 370,000 of these displacements attributed to wildfires and floods.13 Between 2020 and 2024, there was a total of 338,000 internal displacements, and the majority of these displacements were caused by wildfires and floods.13 The number of internal displacements across both timeframes is similar despite the difference in the number of years, highlighting the increased intensity and frequency of these disasters. 

In November 2021, British Columbia, Canada, experienced one of the most severe natural disasters to occur in the region. Record-high rainfall triggered a series of mudslides and flooding, causing 20,000 people to be displaced.14 Research has discovered that there are socioeconomic and racial demographic disparities in flood vulnerability. Pluvial flood risk is greater in areas with higher proportions of Black, Indigenous, and other visible minority populations. Indigenous populations are more exposed to fluvial flood risk, while South Asian populations face greater coastal flood risk.15 Additionally, socioeconomic demographics such as economic insecurity, instability, disability, and persons living alone are strongly associated with inland flood risk zones.15  

Since data became available for the nation(2008), the highest number of climate-induced displacements occurred in 2023,16 the hottest summer on record for the nation in 76 years.16 The summer of 2023 was marked by devastating wildfires that produced nearly a quarter of the year’s global wildfire carbon emissions.16 These events triggered 185,000 of the 192,000 internal displacements documented that year.17 Indigenous peoples were disproportionately affected by these disasters. Although Indigenous peoples make up only about 5% of Canada’s population, over 16% of those displaced in 2023 were Indigenous peoples who lived on reserves.17 The risk of wildfires is highest in urban-wildland interfaces, forests, and prairies, areas where approximately 80% of Indigenous peoples reside.18 The frequency of climate-related disasters is projected to increase in the coming years, and targeted adaptation strategies must be implemented to protect the most vulnerable groups.

Mapping the Costs of the Climate Crisis

The costs of the climate crisis are already being felt across the nation, as disasters like wildfires and floods increase, income inequality grows, and insurance expenses surge. Flooding is Canada’s most costly and frequent disaster.19 Approximately 80% of Canada’s cities are partly built on floodplains, posing significant risks for densely populated areas and infrastructure damage.20 Within 30 years, coastal flooding and inland flooding are estimated to increase annual damages to homes by three to four times the current costs, resulting in projections between CAD 4.5 and CAD 5.5 billion (approximately USD 3.29 and 4.03 billion).21  In addition to floods and storms, wildfires have become a pertinent issue throughout the nation. In 2024, the Jasper wildfire became one of the costliest fires in the nation’s history, as it wiped out a third of the town’s infrastructure, costing about CAD 1.23 billion (approximately USD 901 million) in insured damages.22  

The increasing intensity and frequency of these disasters have led to higher costs of home insurance, reduced household incomes, and decreased overall affordability. Since 2019, Canada has witnessed a 485% increase in costs for the replacement and repairs of personal property.23 In the summer of 2024, disasters resulted in over CAD 7 billion (approximately USD 5.13 billion) in insured losses.23 Home insurance is becoming unaffordable, and as income inequality increases in the nation, these rapid changes will mostly impact those from low-income backgrounds. The climate crisis will also affect household income. By mid-century, the lowest income households are projected to face income losses of 5.8% under a high-emissions scenario and 4.8% under a low-emissions scenario, compared to losses of 4% and 3.2% for the highest income households.24  

The country’s economy is projected to experience significant costs due to the climate crisis if rapid and necessary changes are not made. Without intervention, the GDP is projected to decline by 4.4% by 2050 and by 13.08% by 2100.25 However, if adequate measures are taken to limit the global temperature rise to 2°C, the projected economic impact would decrease to 3.24% by 2050 and 4.76% by 2100.25

Mapping Resilience and Mitigation Pathways

The nation has signed the Paris Agreement and is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40–45% below 2005 levels by 2030, to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.26 The federal government has invested over CAD 100 billion (USD approximately 73.29 billion) in climate mitigation and implementation efforts since 2015.27  

Canada has one of the highest greenhouse gas emissions per capita; in 2023, emissions reached 19.39 metric tons per person.28 The nation has been working towards minimizing greenhouse gas emissions across various sectors. Currently, more than 80% of the country’s electricity grid is emissions-free, with plans to increase this to 90% by 2030, making it one of the cleanest energy grids in the world.27 The nation has allocated CAD 14.9 billion (USD 10.92 billion) towards establishing and expanding clean transportation infrastructure, including zero-emission buses, rural transit, subways, light-rail transit, and streetcars.27 By investing in the clean energy sector, jobs within the industry are projected to grow at a rate of 3.4% annually over the next decade.29  

Due to the alarming increase in natural disasters, Canada is investing in disaster mitigation plans. The Disaster and Mitigation Adaptation Fund (DMAF) was established in 2018 and has received approximately CAD 3.8 billion (approximately USD 2.78 billion)  since its inception,30 with CAD 138 million (approximately USD 101.14 million) of those funds reserved for Indigenous communities.31 Canada is collaborating with Indigenous communities to incorporate traditional knowledge and practices into disaster prevention and mitigation strategies. Provincial and municipal governments are beginning to implement the practice of cultural burning, which had previously been banned by local authorities.17 In May 2024, the National On Reserve All Hazards Emergency Management Plan was established by Indigenous Resources Canada in partnership with First Nation communities, which provides funds and resources to prepare for natural hazards and improve response and recovery efforts.17 The government is developing flood maps which can ultimately be used to inform evacuation methods, future planning and development of infrastructure, and expand adaptation strategies.32

Necessary Changes

Although Canada has taken preliminary steps towards addressing the climate crisis, the nation now stands at a crucial juncture to move towards a just transition. Canada has allocated funds to invest in the decarbonization of its economy. However, the country continues to invest in the fossil fuel sector, despite the oil and gas sector accounting for 30% of emissions as of 2023.33 Canada must shift away from its dependency on fossil fuels. As the nation works on the coal phase-out, a 2022 report completed by the  Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development found that the federal government had not yet developed legislation to support workers who would be impacted by the coal phase-out and the overall transition to a low-carbon economy.34 Indigenous peoples, immigrants, women, and other marginalized groups tend to be underrepresented in higher-paid energy sectors; thus, resources and opportunities must be extended to these groups to ensure they are not disproportionately impacted by these transitions.35 As of 2024, new legislation and funding have been established to support workers; however, the long-term effectiveness of these initiatives remains unknown and should be closely monitored.  

Internationally, Canada has doubled its climate finance commitment from CAD 2.65 billion (approximately USD 1.94 billion) (2015-2021) to CAD 5.3 billion (approximately USD 3.88 billion).36 The nation has been one of the most significant contributors to the international fossil fuel sector, providing around USD 11 billion annually between 2018 to 2020.37 In 2021, the nation signed the Statement on International Public Support for the Clean Energy Transition to end financing of fossil fuels internationally; however, it continues to invest billions into fossil fuel development domestically.38 As one of the largest emitters and a nation in the Global North that invested billions in this sector shortly before signing the statement, Canada must maintain credibility and climate leadership by aligning its domestic actions with its international commitments.