New federal grants help cities strengthen infrastructure and restore wetlands to combat climate change
The federal government has launched a new $530m grant program to help cities implement climate adaptation measures, such as restoring wetlands and strengthening dikes, roads, and bridges.
This program, according to The Globe and Mail, is part of the federal government’s National Adaptation Strategy, launched in June 2023, to support infrastructure against increasingly frequent and severe storms, floods, and wildfires caused by climate change.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) welcomed the funding, recognizing its potential to address the multibillion-dollar costs of climate adaptation.
However, mayors from three British Columbia communities devastated by 2021 flooding criticized the federal government for denying their disaster relief funding applications, leaving their residents and infrastructure in a precarious state.
The new grant program, administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF), managed by Infrastructure Canada, reflect the urgent need for municipal support to adapt and recover from climate impacts.
Merritt mayor Michael Goetz, at a press conference in Abbotsford, stated, “I have a community that is desperately in need of dikes. I have people that are desperately in need of protection. We don’t have any for them.”
Merritt, severely affected by flooding in 2021, seeks federal funds for rebuilding dikes and other restoration efforts.
Abbotsford mayor Ross Siemens and Princeton mayor Spencer Coyne joined Goetz in expressing frustration that their communities’ DMAF applications were rejected despite substantial effort from staff and consultants.
Micaal Ahmed, spokesperson for Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, confirmed the unsuccessful applications. He stated that all projects submitted to DMAF are assessed based on application information, including hazard risk, resilience, and return on investment.
Ahmed emphasized that Infrastructure Canada communicates decisions directly to applicants and will continue working with partners nationwide to finalize funding agreements.
Goetz noted that Merritt’s application was rejected for lacking information, despite a detailed 500-page submission. “I have to wonder if this would happen if we were on the East Coast – I’m not really sure it would have,” he remarked.
FCM will manage the new grant program, the Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation initiative, through the Green Municipal Fund, established in 2000. The program, with a maximum grant of $1m, aims to accelerate municipal climate adaptation projects over eight years.
Chris Boivin, managing director of the Green Municipal Fund and chief development officer with FCM, stated, “This is really meant to help accelerate action – many municipalities already have a sense of which projects they want to achieve, it’s a question of having the tailored funding to achieve it.”
Ottawa first announced the $530m for community projects in November 2022 as part of a $2bn climate-change package. The funds were formally approved in this year’s federal budget.
Joanna Eyquem, managing director of climate-resilient infrastructure at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo, acknowledged the program's significance but called it the “tip of the iceberg” in addressing climate adaptation investment needs.
A 2020 report by FCM and the Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated the cost to municipal governments of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change at $5.3bn annually.
Eyquem emphasized the importance of funding nature-based solutions, such as wetland management and enhanced tree canopies, alongside grey solutions like expanded storm-water systems.
“It is critical that funding is spent on actions that reduce risk on the ground, using land-use planning and natural infrastructure, like restored wetlands and enhanced tree canopy, not only grey solutions,” she said.
Ottawa city councillor Tim Tierney highlighted the importance of the new funding for increasing resilience in projects like improved retaining walls along the city’s waterfront.
“We’ll take anything we can and we’re just happy to finally actually have some kind of structure in place” for the funding to flow, said Tierney, whose also FCM’s third vice-president.
