Feds fund research project to improve Canada’s resilience to flooding

Canada’s federal government is investing over $585,000 for a research project led by l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) that will examine how much flooding will cost in the future and how public policy can contribute to Canada’s resilience to climate change.

The project, completed in partnership with the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), the Université Laval and the University of Waterloo, builds on other work, including the interdisciplinary Task Force on Flood Insurance and Relocation’s report Adapting to Rising Flood Risk: An Analysis of Insurance Solutions for Canada, which provides the evidence and information required to support decision-making and the way forward on a national flood insurance program, with special considerations for potential strategic relocation of those in higher-risk areas.

In collaboration with the Université Laval and the University of Waterloo, the project will help develop leaders in actuarial science, risk management, and public policy design,” Mathieu Boudreault, actuary and professor at UQAM’s Department of Mathematics, and principal researcher for the project said in a Nov. 23 news release. “The ultimate objective is to strengthen Canadians’ resilience to climate change.”

Of the over $585,000 in federal funding, $318,359 will come from Public Safety Canada’s Policy Development Contribution Program; and $270,000 will come from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The Insurance Bureau of Canada is also providing funding of $30,991 for the research project.