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Severe weather in Canada caused over $3B in insured damage

2023 is now the fourth-worst year for insured losses in Canada due to severe weather events and natural catastrophic events.

Canada reached $3.1 billion in insured damage from those events, according to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ).

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says as a result of escalating losses and revised risk modelling, Canada is viewed now as a riskier place to insure.

Over 1.5 million high-risk households cannot access affordable flood insurance. It is also becoming harder for some households to obtain insurance for earthquakes and related hazards.

Severe weather events last year include the Atlantic Canada cold snap; Ontario and Quebec spring ice storm; the Tantallon, Nova Scotia, wildfire; Nova Scotia flooding; Prairies summer storms; the Winnipeg hailstorm; Ontario severe summer storms; the Okanagan and Shuswap, BC, area wildfires; and the Behchokǫ̀-Yellowknife and Hay River, NWT, wildfires.

2023 Insured Catastrophic Losses (CNW Group/Insurance Bureau of Canada)

“The increasing frequency and severity of climate-related disasters should be of concern to all Canadians, even if they have yet to be directly affected,” said Craig Stewart, Vice-President, Climate Change and Federal Issues, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).
  • Tara Clow is a multi-award-winning news anchor and reporter with more than 30 years of experience at radio stations across Canada. She is a graduate of the Radio and TV Arts program at Toronto Metropolitan University and the Humber College radio broadcasting program. She is based in Moncton and covers stories across Canada. Contact Tara at clow.tara@radioabl.ca.

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Kenora, CA
12:11 am, Apr 10, 2026
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