The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is urging Quebec's incoming Parti Québécois government to appoint a dedicated minister of resilience.
The appeal comes the day after an election that ended eight years of Coalition Avenir Québec rule.
The PQ won the most seats in Monday's vote but fell short of a majority. That leaves Paul St-Pierre Plamondon set to lead a minority government that will need opposition support to pass major legislation. The CAQ lost every seat it held.
IBC said a resilience minister would bring together work that is currently spread across government, including climate adaptation, land-use planning, infrastructure, civil protection and support for communities hit by disasters. It said the role would keep those efforts from becoming fragmented and allow public commitments to be tracked transparently.
"Assigning responsibility for resilience to a minister will help optimize the government's efforts and the impact on the public, at a time when every investment counts," said Laurent Fafard, IBC's vice president for Quebec.
The industry's case rests on a sharp rise in catastrophe claims. According to IBC, insured losses from natural disasters in Quebec reached $8.1 billion between 2016 and 2025, more than double the $3.7 billion recorded over the previous decade.
The biggest single event in that period was the remnants of Hurricane Debby in August 2024. IB reported that CatIQ's finalized estimate put Debby's insured losses at $2.8 billion, with more than 75,000 claims in Quebec alone.
This year has added to the total. The torrential rain that hit Montreal's West Island and nearby municipalities on June 20 and 21 has caused $442 million in insured losses, according to CatIQ's latest estimate in September, up from an initial $409 million. CatIQ recorded six catastrophes dominated by pluvial flooding and sewer backup in Ontario and Quebec between June and August, compared with one over the same period in 2025.
Alongside the ministerial post, IBC repeated three requests it has made to previous governments. It wants larger financial incentives for property owners to install protective measures such as backwater valves, better drainage and flood barriers. It wants more support for municipalities to plan, maintain and adapt public infrastructure. And it wants stricter land-use rules to limit new construction in areas most exposed to flooding and other natural hazards.
The land-use request is likely to be the most politically sensitive, because it affects municipal development and property values in flood-prone areas.
The requests bear directly on the availability and price of property coverage in Quebec. Flood and water-related events now account for roughly 39% of Canada's insured catastrophe losses, according to CatIQ data cited by IBC. Although 94% of Canadian homes now have access to overland flood insurance, a small share of high-risk properties accounts for most of the losses.
Mitigation subsidies and tighter building rules can lower that risk over time and help keep coverage affordable. For brokers with Quebec clients, the incoming government's response will help shape how affordable sewer backup and flood coverage remains in the province's most exposed areas.
A minority government also changes the dynamic. The PQ will need support from other parties to pass legislation, so resilience measures with backing from across the Assembly may have a better chance than more contested priorities.
