Flooding continues to pose significant risks to communities across Canada, underscoring the need for practical, actionable approaches at the municipal level.   

Watch the webinar to learn how municipalities can move from understanding flood risk to taking action. Through applied tools and a case study from the City of Kitchener, you’ll explore how to assess flood risks in your community and begin integrating flood resilience into plans and projects. 

Featured tools and resources

• Municipal Flood Risk Check-Up - Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation: a self-assessment tool that helps communities better understand and manage local flood risks.  
• Build flood resilience with our video training series: a free, one-hour video training series to help municipal staff use the Municipal Flood Risk Check-Up tool developed by the GMF and the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo.

This session is designed for municipal staff across diverse departments, elected officials and municipal partners. No prior adaptation strategy or completed risk assessment is required to benefit from this webinar.

Speakers:

• Chris Nechacov, Design and Construction Project Manager, Sanitary and Stormwater Utilities, City of Kitchener, ON
• Dr. Anabela Bonada, Managing Director, Climate Science, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo
• Kathryn Bakos, Managing Director, Finance and Resilience, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo

The webinar was delivered in English with French simultaneous interpretation (SI).  

FCM’s Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation initiative is delivered through our Green Municipal Fund and funded by the Government of Canada. 

Small municipalities often understand their climate risks but turning that awareness into action can be challenging. Limited staff capacity, uncertainty about where to start and pressure to make the “right” choice can stall progress, even when there is interest in moving forward.  

Watch this webinar recording to learn how to bridge that gap. The session introduces step-by-step tools and tangible examples from small municipalities to help your community move from early thinking into on-the-ground adaptation activities.  

This webinar recording is helpful for municipal staff from small communities that are struggling to identify actions or facing barriers in progressing from planning into implementation. It will be especially useful for community building, parks and open space, forestry, infrastructure and operations, public health, project coordination and climate staff, as well as regional or partner organizations that support small municipalities.

Speakers:  

• Robyn Holme, Manager, Comox Valley Regional District, BC
• Jake Morassut, Deputy CAO/Director of Community Services, Essex, ON
• Jim Vanderwal, Director, Operations and Climate Change Programs, Fraser Basin Council

To support your learning, explore our related resources:    

• Flood resilience toolkit for small municipalities | Green Municipal Fund
• Heat resilience toolkit for small municipalities | Green Municipal Fund
• Resilient community facilities toolkit for small municipalities | Green Municipal Fund
• Wildfire resilience toolkit for small municipalities | Green Municipal Fund

The webinar was delivered in English with French simultaneous interpretation (SI).  

FCM’s Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation initiative is delivered through our Green Municipal Fund and funded by the Government of Canada. 

Climate adaptation planning benefits from working with other communities, people and partners. Collaborating with groups and individuals within and outside of your municipality brings diverse perspectives, expertise and lived experience that strengthen climate resilience.  

Watch our one-hour webinar on getting started with collaboration for municipal climate adaptation planning. You’ll explore how collaborating with external partners—such as neighbouring municipalities, Indigenous communities, equity-deserving groups and local organizations—can help you design and deliver more resilient, equitable climate adaptation initiatives.  

Speakers:  

• Lauren Saville, Community Climate Initiatives Coordinator, District Municipality of Muskoka
• Rebecca Wallace, Project Manager, Community Development Unit, Social Development, City of Toronto
• Imara Rolston, Policy Development Officer, Community Development Unit, Social Development, City of Toronto

This session was designed for municipal staff and elected officials who are starting or advancing their climate adaptation planning and want to strengthen collaboration with external partners and neighbouring municipalities. Whether you are identifying potential partners or deepening existing relationships, you’ll come away with practical ideas and tools to move forward.

To support your learning, explore our related resources:  

• Climate-Ready Communities Assessment Tool | Green Municipal Fund
• Tips for building the foundation for municipal climate adaptation

The webinar was delivered in English with French simultaneous interpretation (SI).  

FCM’s Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation initiative is delivered through our Green Municipal Fund and funded by the Government of Canada. 

Are you looking for advice on how to develop a local community efficiency financing initiative? These initiatives help remove barriers to home energy upgrades while lowering energy bills, improving comfort for homeowners and delivering economic, social and environmental benefits for your community.

Watch our webinar recording, How to Accelerate Local Home Energy Upgrades, to hear from sector experts on how to overcome common challenges, including tools and tactics you can use in your municipality.

In this webinar, you’ll learn:

• About inspiring Community Efficiency Financing (CEF) success stories from across Canada
• The benefits of local community financing initiatives
• Best practices and recommendations for developing your own financing initiatives

Speakers:

• Shannon Giebelhaus, Program Lead, Contractor Management, Sustainability Services, Alberta Municipalities
• Soren Christianson, Project Manager, Climate Leadership, Better Homes Kingston
• Caley Halcro, Project Manager, Sustainability Division, City of Saskatoon’s Home Energy Loan Program

Clean energy generation is a growing opportunity for municipalities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower long-term operating costs and improve energy resilience. By investing in renewable energy—such as solar, wind, hydro, biomass and geothermal—municipalities can advance their climate goals while strengthening local energy security.

However, successful projects begin with the basics. Our guide encourages decision-makers to first reduce energy use and maximize efficiency—especially through no- and low-cost measures. This strategic approach, following the Energy Hierarchy framework, ensures renewables are introduced at the right time for maximum benefit.

When you're ready to pursue renewable energy solutions, this guide will help you build a strong business case. It highlights key considerations, including financial viability, stakeholder engagement and grant opportunities.

You'll also find real-world examples of Alberta municipalities that have implemented renewable energy systems—along with insights into how they funded their projects.

In this guide, you'll find:

• an overview of the Energy Hierarchy framework
• what to include in a comprehensive business case
• types of renewable energy systems
• funding sources and grant opportunities in Alberta

Download the guide.

Does your community have a plan to care for its newly planted trees? The long-term health and sustainability of your community’s urban forests depend on a well-executed tree maintenance and monitoring plan. A strong plan will support healthy tree growth, track progress and respond to challenges over time.  

Use this template to create a tree maintenance and monitoring plan. You’ll document maintenance activities, collect data on your planting sites or species, define and measure and the success of your urban forestry project, and much more.  

Fill the template to start your plan 

This template will guide you through the process of developing a tree maintenance and monitoring plan.  

This includes:

• Planning for long-term care: outline how you will maintain trees over time and carry out reactive or unplanned maintenance.  
• Tracking and adapting over time: identify how you will monitor tree health, survival and site conditions, and use that information to respond to issues such as stress, pests, disease or extreme weather.
• Clarifying roles and responsibilities: define who will carry out maintenance and monitoring activities, how often they will occur, and how data will be stored and used to inform future maintenance or adaptive management activities.  

Download the template 

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This resource was created in partnership by Tree Canada and FCM’s Green Municipal Fund (GMF) for the Growing Canada’s Community Canopies initiative, which is delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and funded by the Government of Canada.

Energy efficiency isn’t just a technical upgrade, it’s a strategic investment in long-term affordability, resident well-being and climate resilience. For affordable housing providers, integrating energy-efficient measures into new builds or retrofit projects can raise questions about upfront costs and planning complexity. But the benefits are clear: lower operating costs, healthier indoor environments and improved comfort for residents.

If you represent a not-for-profit organization, housing co-operative or municipal authority engaged in affordable housing, this factsheet can help you build a compelling case for energy efficiency that resonates with your board and funders. By highlighting the financial, social and environmental returns early in the planning phase, you can strengthen support for including energy efficiency measures in your capital projects and ensure your housing investments deliver lasting value.

Review the information below to learn how to make the case to your board and funders and explore next steps for integrating energy efficiency into your buildings.
 

Be informed

 Efficient buildings lower operating costs

• Make it clear that a more efficient building will have lower ongoing operating costs for heating fuel and electricity.
   
• Implementing energy conservation measures (ECM) that reduce electricity and fuel usage will save you money on your energy bills. ECMs such as tuning up old equipment, purchasing higher-quality equipment and lowering equipment usage will help lower maintenance costs.
   
  • Explore GMF's Understanding energy efficiency guide for a comprehensive look into energy conservation measures to boost energy efficiency.
     
• Lower energy consumption also makes your ongoing expenses more predictable, as you will be less affected by energy cost increases and sudden price shocks. This stabilizes your budget and the rent you charge to residents. As prices increase, a more efficient building will be more competitive in the market. Run your business case by inputting several different values for annual fuel escalation costs to evaluate this risk.
   
• Explore real-world examples:

Case study: Pine Tree Park

The Pine Tree Park retrofit in Cape Breton, NS, demonstrates how deep energy upgrades and solar installations can significantly reduce operating costs. After replacing oil furnaces with high-efficiency heat pumps and installing a 700kW solar array, residents saw their monthly utility bills drop by approximately $200, translating to an annual savings of about $2,500 per household.

Case study: Heartland Housing Foundation

The Heartland Housing Foundation’s new net-zero affordable housing complex in Fort Saskatchewan, AB, showcases how smart design can drastically reduce operating costs. This 83-unit new build uses solar panels, electric HVAC systems, and a high-performance building envelope so that the housing units achieve net-zero energy by generating as much energy as they consume.

Case study: Sundance Housing Co-operative

The Sundance Housing Co-operative in Edmonton, AB, completed Canada’s largest panelized deep energy retrofit to eliminate natural gas use in its 59-unit townhouse complex. By installing prefabricated wall panels, upgrading insulation, replacing windows and doors, and adding electric heat pumps and rooftop solar panels, the co-op reduced energy consumption by up to 84 percent. Thanks to the reduction in externally supplied energy the co-op hopes to save members up to $100,000 cumulatively each year. Residents now enjoy quieter, more comfortable homes while preventing 330 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

To explore projects in your region, consult GMF's project database.  

• For more specific numbers, have an energy modeler and cost consultant on your design team run an analysis that’s specific to your building, location, and construction/utility costs. If there are other efficient or net-zero buildings in your area, you can talk to their operators to see how their costs have compared to a more conventional building.

Efficient buildings cut emissions and risk

• The building and equipment choices you make today can either lock in future risk or build long-term resilience and affordability.
   
• Buildings that rely on fossil fuels are more likely to face rising costs and uncertainty in the future due to evolving regulations and market pressure. By improving energy efficiency and/or switching to technologies like heat pumps, housing providers can reduce these risks and make their buildings more stable and affordable over time.
   
• Emitting greenhouse gases is likely to become less politically and publicly acceptable over time as the effects of climate change become more severe. Building efficiently now is cheaper than retrofitting later.

Higher building performance unlocks funding opportunities

• Improved energy efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions is a condition of obtaining approval for some funding or loan programs. In some cases, exceeding the minimum requirements makes it more likely that your project will be approved quickly.
   
• Learn about additional funding sources to support your affordable housing project through GMF's funders list for sustainable affordable housing.

Use energy efficiency to engage and empower residents

• By minimizing the energy use under your control as a building operator (e.g. heating, cooling, ventilation, common area lighting) you set a good example for your residents. This can encourage them to minimize the energy use within their control (e.g. lighting, plug-in appliances, hot water).
   
• If you have a building energy monitoring system (BEMS) you can even install a display in the lobby that encourages efficient behaviours by showing current and historical energy use. If you don’t have a BEMS, consider including it in your design.
   
• Learn more about how a building energy monitoring system can lower costs and emissions through this GMF factsheet: Get started on energy monitoring.

Design choices build community trust

• Improving energy efficiency shows you care about your surroundings and may make your project more acceptable to neighbours, reducing public opposition and making project approval from local authorities more likely.
   
• Energy-efficient new builds and deeply retrofitted homes help communities create dignified, comfortable living spaces that residents feel proud to call their own.
   
  • In addition to the benefits of energy savings, these design choices foster a sense of belonging and pride among residents, as one resident shared as part of GMF’s resident stories article series: “This place is my favourite out of everywhere I’ve lived. It’s safe, it’s beautiful, and it feels like home.” (Rossland Yards: Building stability and a sense of home) 

Efficient buildings support climate resilience and occupants’ well-being

• More efficient buildings also have features that can improve occupants’ well-being, such as better thermal comfort, indoor air quality and access to natural lighting.
   
• Efficient buildings tend to be more resilient to extreme weather events and other effects of climate change. For example, a well-insulated building will keep occupants warm in a winter power outage for much longer. A building with good passive solar shading will keep its occupants’ cooler in case of a summer outage.

Local sourcing strengthens regional economies

• Local sourcing helps regional economies by keeping money within the community, supporting local fuel harvesting and processing jobs and reducing dependence on imported conventional fuels, when these resources are used sustainably and are locally available.

Make your case

Next steps

This resource was created with contributions from the Rural Development Network.

Fire-resistant retrofits cut ignition pathways, buying time for buildings and people during fires. Replacing vulnerable components within the building envelope and surrounding structures (roofs, siding, vents, decks, fences) with fire-resistant assemblies reduces ember entry and direct flame contact, primary causes of structure loss in wildland–urban interface fires.

For small and rural communities who face longer response times to wildfires and limited capacity in emergency response, targeted material upgrades are a fast, effective way to lower risks for priority facilities.

This guidance outlines key steps, best practices, costing information and case studies to help municipalities plan and deliver fire-resistant material installation projects.

Key steps for successful implementation

• Identify priority buildings and zones: Start with community-serving sites such as clinics, community centres and libraries, and a non-combustible zone of 0–1.5 metres at foundations, decks and attachments.
• Select compliant materials: Use non-combustible or class-A rated assemblies for roofing, siding, soffits, vents and decks (e.g., metal or class-A shingles; stucco/brick/fibre-cement; metal vents with three millimetres of screening mesh)
• Detail for ember resistance: Enclose deck undersides, screen vents and openings, block soffits/fascia, and remove combustible mulch that is against walls
• Permit, procure and stage works: Align with local and national guidelines¹; bundle small scopes of work, such as roofs and vents, to reduce mobilization costs
• Inspect and maintain: Schedule annual checks of sealants, screens and flashings; keep zones clear of fine fuels

Best practices for design and delivery

• Pick proven assemblies: Favour stucco, brick or fibre-cement siding; metal or class-A roof shingles; non-combustible fascia/soffits; metal vents with three millimetres of screening mesh; and fire-rated decking or enclosed deck bases
• Design for affordability and upkeep: Choose readily available, code-recognized products (e.g., fibre-cement, metal) and simple details that crews can easily maintain
• Use municipal lists/templates: Access regional or provincial templates (e.g., via CanadaBuys² or InfraGuide³) or document current project practices to build internal reference tools

Equity and community considerations

• Prioritize facilities serving those most at-risk during emergencies: Retrofit public buildings such as clinics and social housing; upgrades like fire-resistant roofs, vents and siding can help these facilities function as clean air/warm air/cool air refuges during emergencies
• Pair retrofits with public education: Use retrofit projects as opportunities to raise awareness about wildfire risks and the role of resilient infrastructure
• Build local capacity: Where possible, engage local vendors and offer training to support workforce development and economic resilience

Costing and budgeting information

Fire-resistant material installation can cost $30–$400 per square metre of building envelope, depending on building type, material selection and retrofit complexity.

Typical cost drivers include the following: permits/inspections (Wildfire DPA/bylaw compliance); mobilization for remote sites; disposal of old materials; and post-retrofit maintenance.

To help reduce overall costs:

• Treat the highest-risk areas first (the first 0–10 metres around buildings), expanding as funds allow
• Standardize specs and buy in bulk by coordinating purchases across departments and projects
• Leverage in-house staff and volunteers for light work such as clearing vegetation around buildings, installing ember-resistant vent screens or painting fire-resistant coatings (tasks that can be completed through supervised community work bees or maintenance days)
• Share or rent equipment like chippers or brush cutters with neighbours
• Book shoulder-season vendor rates and use municipal materials lists to streamline procurement

Case studies and lessons learned

Bylaw-driven wildfire resilience through design standards (Nelson, BC, 2022)

The City of Nelson adopted wildfire design guidelines based on FireSmart principles, requiring a non-combustible 0–1.5 metre zone around buildings and prescribing fire-resistant materials in the 1.5–10 metre zone. These standards are tied directly to development approvals, streamlining compliance and embedding wildfire resilience into everyday municipal planning.

Lesson learned: Clear, enforceable municipal standards make consistent fire-resistant retrofits feasible at scale and reduce case-by-case negotiation.

Post-fire analysis to guide fire-resistant retrofits and detailing (Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, AB, 2019)

Following the Fort McMurray wildfire, post-fire analysis by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction revealed that homes with ignition-resistant roofs and cladding were more likely to survive. However, many losses were traced to vulnerable attachments, such as vents, soffits, decks, fences and nearby vegetation. This highlighted the importance of whole-building detailing.

Lesson learned: For small communities, upgrading headline materials like roofing is not enough. Addressing edge conditions and interfaces (e.g., vents, decks, fences) is also important to reduce ignition pathways and improve building survivability.

Locally produced hemp blocks offer fire and moisture resilience with economic co-benefits (Elk Point, AB, 2025)

Asinikahtamwak, a company majority-owned by Frog Lake First Nation, produces hemp–cement blocks that are lighter than cinder blocks and resistant to mold and fire. For small communities, locally produced blocks can cut transport costs and provide culturally aligned, lower-carbon materials for community facilities.

Lesson learned: Emerging bio-based masonry can pair resilience in both fire and moisture performance with economic co-benefits, especially when supply chains are regional and culturally grounded.

*Note: The case studies included on this page are for informational purposes and were not supported by the Green Municipal Fund.

Additional resources

National guide for wildland–urban interface fires (National Research Council of Canada) – This resource offers technical guidance on hazard/exposure assessment and property protection. It also discusses the Canadian Board for Harmonized Construction Codes’ role in updating these codes to ensure they meet the evolving needs of safety, energy efficiency and environmental considerations in the building sector.

Home development guide (FireSmart) – This guide outlines materials and assembly guidance for roofs, siding, decks and vents with practical diagrams. It also highlights community-level planning and preparedness, encouraging neighbourhoods to collaborate and mitigate wildfire threats. Although the guide focuses on residential properties, similar principles and approaches apply to community facilities.

Construction and landscaping checklists (FireSmart BC and the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction) – These checklists provide guidance for builders, developers and planners to create homes and communities that are more resilient to wildland fires by following best practices in site planning, architectural design, materials selection and landscaping. Examples include product characteristics, test standards and detailing tips.

FireSmart materials list (City of Nelson) – This is a list of pre-vetted local materials for less-flammable construction. Practical, actionable strategies for enhancing community and individual home resilience, including considerations for plants, construction materials and general property maintenance are also discussed.

Explore more community facilities resilience activities

Learn about other community facilities resilience project types and how they can support your community:

• Green roof installation projects
• Battery back-ups and battery-powered generator projects

Return to the Resilient Community Facilities Toolkit for Municipalities

Related toolkits

GMF offers additional toolkits to support municipalities facing different climate risks. 

• Flood Resilience Toolkit
• Wildfire Resilience Toolkit
• Heat Resilience Toolkit

Glossary

Wildland–urban interface (WUI): The zone where human development meets or intermingles with wildland vegetation, often at high wildfire risk

Fire-resistant assemblies: Building components (e.g., roofs, siding) designed to withstand ignition from embers or flames  

Non-combustible zone: A defensible space (typically 0–1.5 metres around buildings) cleared of flammable materials to reduce fire risk

Class-A rated materials: Building products tested and certified to offer the highest level of fire resistance

Ember resistance: Design features that prevent wind-driven embers from entering or igniting structures

FireSmart: A Canadian program offering guidelines and best practices for wildfire resilience in communities

Soffits: Architectural features that require screening or sealing to prevent ember intrusion

Mobilization costs: Expenses related to transporting materials, equipment and labour to remote or rural retrofit sites

Bio-based masonry: Sustainable building materials (e.g., hemp–cement blocks) offering fire and moisture resistance

Priority Zone 1a: The critical area within 0–1.5 metres of a structure, prioritized for fire-resistant upgrades

Select resources

1. https://nrc.canada.ca/en/certifications-evaluations-standards/codes-canada/construction-innovation/new-national-guide-wildland-urban-interface-fires
2. https://canadabuys.canada.ca/en
3. https://greenmunicipalfund.ca/resources/infraguide-national-guide-sustainable-municipal-infrastructure