Canadians are faced with a duality of challenges when it comes to where they live. They need to protect any property they have from the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, while balancing the extra costs that might come with that, at a time in which there’s a housing and affordability crisis in Canada.
“Finding the right balance so people can have and afford housing, while also optimizing for energy use, greenhouse gases and climate change resilience, is the challenge facing us all,” says Frank Lohmann, senior director of building science with the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA).
Lohmann says that, together with partner organizations such as the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, CHBA is working on cost-effective solutions for protection from flooding, high winds, hail and wildfires.
Increasing focus on strengthening homes’ resilience
A big challenge is ambitious national energy requirements that were just mandated in many provinces through the National Building Code of Canada 2020 and – for the first time – greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements that will further add to housing costs. More onerous structural requirements will also be part of those new code changes, Lohmann says.
Protecting your home against extreme weather elements is a timely issue. Sharon Donaldson, show director for the National Home Show, which is held annually at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, says she has seen a definite shift toward smarter ways to protect the home from climate change and extreme weather events, both from the 85,000 people who attended the show over 10 days in March and the more than 500 vendors and experts who exhibited there.
“When homeowners are investing in something significant for their home, like a new roofing system, new windows or a big renovation, they are going in with energy efficiency and climate resiliency in mind,” she says. “Because, if you’re going to be spending all that money, you might as well do it right. We are getting several exhibitors now who are really leaning into that messaging.”
It’s not just about weather-proofing the home, Donaldson says. The priority now is more about building a strong enough building envelope so that it’s resilient to some of the weather events that may happen.
And extreme weather-related catastrophes have been happening with increasing frequency, such as intense flash flooding in Ontario in July 2024, hailstorms in Alberta over the past number of years and wildfires in British Columbia, such as the one in 2021 that destroyed the village of Lytton.
Solutions for protecting homes
For many Canadians, buying a home is the most important financial decision they will make in their lifetimes. The equity they build over the years will backstop their retirement once their working days end so protecting that investment is paramount. And Lohmann says millions of existing housing units in Canada are not well-protected against weather events and homeowners need to be aware of solutions designed to help.
Strengthening structural resilience through such things as roof upgrades that use wind-resistant and impact-resistant materials can help against wind uplift and hail impact, hurricane clips that can help hold a roof down during high winds, and impact-resistant windows and doors that can resist debris impact during a tornado and prevent water damage after the storm.
Flood risks can be mitigated by installing backflow valves and sump pumps and using urban flooding management techniques such as rain gardens to absorb excess water.
Retrofits such as sealing gaps in siding with caulk, clearing gutters of debris and protecting vents with small-hole metal covers can help protect homes from embers from wildfires. Often, the most damage from wildfires is caused by vegetation or wood piles close to the home that catch fire and then the fire spreads to the home through the siding. Leaves in the gutter can catch fire and ignite the roof and embers flying from far away – even across lakes – can ignite by landing on top of the home or flying into attic vents.
“If you can replace vinyl siding with fibre-cement siding in a hail or wildfire region, you could reduce two climate risks with one low-cost upgrade,” Lohmann says.
Upgrading insulation in walls, attics and doors, and paying extra attention to airtightness will optimize the use of air conditioning at a low cost to combat extreme heat.
Although more costly, newer technology such as solar arrays with battery storage or portable generators can ensure cooling systems remain operational during outages.
When it comes to wildfires, it helps when everyone works to try to prevent catastrophic damage. “The best ways to protect against these failure modes in a wildfire event would be to have the homeowner, landscaper and builder work together and provide low or no vegetation in the immediate ignition zone around the home, and for the homeowner to maintain that zone and for the builder or renovator to install low-ignition or non-combustible roofing, siding and soffits and vents with small enough holes,” Lohmann says.
“The construction of new homes and the retrofitting of existing homes should always be supported by infrastructure upgrades,” he adds. “For example, forest management to reduce the risk of wildfires spreading, or catch basins or natural infrastructure against flooding to minimize the exposure to individual homes. A new home can have good grading, shedding the torrential rainfall water all it wants, but if the municipal infrastructure cannot handle the amount of floodwater, all the good flood-resilient landscaping measures at the home level are ineffective.”
Donaldson says the National Home Show has partnered with Green Building Learning Zone, a collective of professionals dedicated to green buildings and sustainability, giving the organization free space to set up booths and displays to help educate homeowners about how to build a more climate-resistant home.
“Whether it’s improvements [to an existing home] or a new custom home, there’s a lot of things homeowners can do to integrate improvements into that building design,” she says.
Overall, it’s important to make sure you have the right insurance coverage for your home. Some insurance providers support and reward their customers for taking the right precautions and proactive actions to protect their valuables. For example, Allstate home insurance customers have access to the company’s Climate Mitigation Solution program, which can support customers that take steps to prepare their home prior to a weather emergency or to upgrade materials in their home to be more resilient to weather damage.
Visit Allstate’s website to learn more!
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