Climate change-driven forest fires increasing the cost of owning a home in Canada: report
A new study says climate change is increasing the costs of home ownership in Canada due to the increase in wildfires and the associated insurance needed.
“Climate change has injected a new financial reality into home ownership,” according to MyChoice insurance brokers.
In Medicine Hat, Alta, according to the report, residents’ monthly insurance-to-mortgage payment ratio is 19 per cent, and Timmins, Ont. residents pay 14 per cent.
The summer of 2025 was marked by forest fires on a scale not seen in five years in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Manitoba.
Preventing the dead spiral of rising home insurance calls for a two-fold response: to help the citizens affected by extreme events and prevent the climate situation from worsening.
In 2024, the federal government announced a low-cost National Flood Insurance Program to help 1.5 million homeowners at high risk of flooding.
The Green Municipal Fund recently invested in climate adaptation projects in 70 municipalities. For example, the City of Wellington, Ont., received $105,000 to draw a weather-ready climate adaptation plan, and the town of Kentville, N.S., received $70,000 to assess its climate risk.
FireSmart Canada, launched last June, will help homeowners and communities identify and reduce wildfire risk.
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