This article summarizes key insights from a recent webinar on turning climate adaptation plans into local infrastructure projects. An expert panel discussed the challenges in moving from project planning to implementation, offering strategies, tools and insights for prioritizing projects, getting buy-in and securing funding.

Watch the webinar

Municipalities of all sizes across Canada are building climate adaptation strategies into their municipal plans. But many are finding that going from planning to implementation of tangible infrastructure projects can be challenging.  

How do you know which projects to prioritize? Can you get buy-in for them? And how will you fund them?  

These challenges can be even greater for smaller municipalities, which face the similar or greater climate risks but with fewer dedicated staff and less funding to address them.

Morden, Manitoba (population about 10,000) has been hit with flooding, drought and extreme heat in the same calendar year. As the city completes its climate adaptation plan, deputy city manager Shawn Dias says they’ll need to choose new projects carefully. "Knowing that we've experienced these extreme events and that we want to implement adaptation measures, it's now figuring out the priority—where we want to focus our efforts,” Dias says.

Using climate risk data to prioritize projects

Huron County, Ontario, also is no stranger to extreme weather, recently completed a community climate risk assessment.  

Climate change and energy specialist Derry Wallis says the county leaned heavily on risk scores when deciding to prioritize winter travel emergency preparedness as a first project.  

“Because it was such a high risk, our public works team created a web page on the County of Huron’s website to showcase both access to county road data in real time as well as the provincial highways in rural areas,” Wallis says.

Climate hazard maps are another tool municipalities can use to help them focus their efforts. “You can think about which hazards have the greatest likelihood now, mid-century and end-of-century,” says Ewa Jackson, managing director of ICLEI Canada.  

Jackson describes how ICLEI’s climate hazard maps look at extreme heat, flooding, permafrost thaw and wildfire hazards across the country. Working with modelers and climate scientists, they use historic data, publicly available mapping and future climate scenarios to assign a likelihood score. They’ve also designed a high-level climate risk assessment for localized projects or assets. 

These tools are part of ICLEI’s Climate Insight platform. It includes other tools to guide municipalities through project realization, such as geospatial maps with datasets that can be layered, and a curated solutions finder.

As well as helping prioritize new projects, the data generated from tools like these can help build buy-in.

Co-benefits: Looking beyond the climate lens

“When it comes to convincing your council, getting staff on board and having all the pieces of the puzzle line up perfectly, another key piece is maximizing co-benefits,” says Rachel Mitchell, director of community climate initiatives for Clean Foundation.

Jackson also finds that focusing on co-benefits to be an effective strategy for getting projects approved and implemented. Projects that will improve quality of life while solving a climate problem are always good candidates.

Mitchell shares a case in point from Pictou, Nova Scotia. The community looked at how addressing climate risks like rising sea levels lined up with other community priorities, like redeveloping the waterfront in a way that supports local businesses, makes things more accessible for residents and encourages tourism.  

“A clear prioritization that that looks at what the community needs beyond just the lens of climate change makes it a lot easier for councils to say, ‘okay, we will provide a percentage of funding,” Mitchell says.  

Getting over the funding hurdle

You’ve prioritized a project, you’ve got buy-in—now you’ve got to figure out how to fund it.

Dias recommends being careful at this stage. Don’t put forward a project with a large portion anticipated from possible funding, because if you don't get that funding, the project dies.

Instead, he suggests that once a project has been prioritized it should be included in the capital budget. This way it’s clear that the project is going to move forward no matter what, although the hope is always that a grant will reduce costs for the municipality.

Everyone on the panel mentioned that finding and applying for funding is extra challenging for small municipalities, where staff often have to work “side of desk.” Wallis finds it helpful to follow closely the funding sources that you already know of for the project you have in mind, and to reach out to contacts who can share other sources you may not know of already.

Funding partnerships: Think locally, apply regionally  

Everyone agreed that spending already limited time applying for funding that hundreds of other applicants also want feels counterintuitive.  

Jackson suggests that one way around this is to form regional partnerships. Pooling resources and applying for a larger amount of funding can be more efficient for applicants—and it’s often more attractive to funders.  

To this end, Mitchell suggests building relationships with neighbouring communities whenever possible. If that’s not possible, she says not to dismiss working with one further away. Partnering with a community a hundred kilometres away with a similar scenario can work too.  

“It does make it a lot easier if you can pool those resources, talk to each other,” Mitchell says. “Then you’re a little less lonely navigating this space, and I think that makes a big difference.” 
 

Watch the webinar

Featured tools and resources:

• Adaptation Actions to Implement Climate Resilience: A GMF resource to help municipalities identify actions to take to address climate risks in their communities.
• Climate Insight: A free online platform for Canadian communities to find relevant, actionable data and information on building low-carbon, resilient housing and infrastructure.  
• Getting Ready to Finance Toolkit: Designed to help municipalities prepare resilient infrastructure projects for financing, it contains tools to identify and prioritize infrastructure projects and case studies of projects that can be done with innovative financing.  

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.