Canada’s wildfire insurance market is under sustained pressure. Annual insured losses from wildfire have climbed from an average of $84 million between 2003 and 2014 to $706 million since 2014, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). Home insurance costs rose 5.28% nationally in 2025 and by as much as 9.07% in Alberta, with premiums in Kamloops, B.C. – one of the country’s highest-exposure cities – nearly doubling between 2023 and 2025, according to a 2025 analysis by MyChoice and real estate data firm Wahi.
Credit ratings agency Morningstar DBRS, in its July 2026 assessment of the wildfire season, flagged that Canada still has no dedicated public-private backstop for extreme wildfire losses – leaving insurers and policyholders exposed if losses return to 2024 levels. The agency noted that Canadian property and casualty (P&C) insurers entered 2026 in a strong financial position, with combined ratios below 95% among major publicly traded carriers. It cautioned, however, that conditions could shift quickly.
Against that backdrop, carriers have started directing resources into prevention rather than waiting for claims. The latest example is Wawanesa Insurance, which has raised the ceiling on its Community Wildfire Prevention Grants to $40,000 per grant, bringing the total pool for the current round to $240,000 across six awards – the second consecutive annual increase. Applications are open until December 18, 2026.
Read more: Wawanesa insurance expands wildfire prevention grants to $200,000
Wawanesa developed the program with the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) and the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR). Since the grants launched, 46 communities across Canada have received funding for vegetation management, risk assessments, public awareness campaigns, and local FireSmart projects – a national program that helps property owners reduce wildfire exposure. For the current round, Wawanesa has expanded eligibility to include initiative-specific term staff and community incentives, aimed at removing implementation barriers at the local level.
Mitchell McEwen, director of sustainability, climate resilience & community impact at Wawanesa Insurance in Winnipeg, said the program adjustments reflect what previous recipients and partners have reported.
“As wildfire risks continue to shift, it was important for us to step back, listen to communities and our partners, and make sure our support continues to meet today’s challenges,” McEwen said.
Adam Johnston, CIFFC’s prevention and mitigation director, said the grants serve a practical function: bridging the gap between what communities know about wildfire risk and what they can afford to do about it.
“Understanding local wildfire risk and identifying appropriate risk reduction actions are important steps toward community wildfire resilience. But without sufficient support, it can be challenging for communities to put this understanding into action,” Johnston said.
Other Canadian carriers have made similar moves. Intact Financial Corporation launched Keep It Intact in 2025, a national prevention program providing tools and guidance to help homeowners reduce wildfire exposure. Intact, along with Aviva Canada, Gore Mutual Insurance, and Economical, have partnered with Montana-based Wildfire Defense Systems, which dispatches field staff to at-risk properties in Alberta and B.C. to set up sprinklers, seal structures, and clear flammable materials ahead of an approaching fire, as reported by CBC News. Co-operators and BCAA Insurance offer premium discounts to policyholders who complete FireSmart home assessments.
The federal government has also committed funding. In June 2025, the Government of Canada, together with British Columbia, Alberta, and several other provinces, announced a combined $104 million investment through the Resilient Communities through FireSmart (RCF) Program, administered through Natural Resources Canada and the CIFFC.
Read more: Canadian insurers well positioned to absorb wildfire losses despite above-average burn season, DBRS
The scale of recent losses explains the urgency. Severe weather insured losses reached $9.4 billion in 2024 – the highest annual total ever recorded – before easing to $2.4 billion in 2025. Between 2016 and 2025, annual insured losses from catastrophic weather events and wildfires totalled $37 billion, nearly triple the $14 billion recorded across the preceding decade, IBC reported in January 2026. The 2025 wildfire season burned more than 8.9 million hectares nationally – the second-worst on record – with more than 75,000 people evacuated, according to CBC.
Paul Kovacs, executive director of the ICLR in Toronto, said prevention investment has become a strategic necessity.
“Local action is our first and best line of defense against the growing threat of wildfire. By expanding support for community-led initiatives, Wawanesa is empowering local leaders with the vital resources they need to implement practical, boots-on-the-ground solutions,” Kovacs said.
For brokers placing property risks in wildfire-exposed regions, the question is whether industry-wide prevention investment is enough to keep coverage accessible. The IBC’s annual severe weather loss data and the absence of a federal backstop mechanism are the two figures worth watching at renewal time.
