Canada experienced a year of unprecedented natural catastrophes in 2024, with insured losses surpassing $7 billion. From Calgary’s intense hailstorms to widespread flooding in Toronto and Montreal, and the destructive Jasper wildfire, these extreme weather events served as stark reminders of the escalating risks posed by climate change. But one type of event may stand out as more testing than all the others.
Joe Turcotte (pictured), EVP of insurance at First Onsite, emphasized that while floods can cause significant damage, wildfires have the most far-reaching and profound impact. He pointed to this summer’s Jasper wildfire as a stark example of the widespread destruction wildfires can inflict, isolating entire communities and overwhelming recovery efforts.
“With floods, the response is relatively straightforward—you pump out the water, repair drywall and flooring, and tackle mold. But with a wildfire, the damage is far more severe. Infrastructure is destroyed, homes are coated in soot, and the air quality is compromised, often leaving a lingering smoky odor inside.” Turcotte continued, “For us, it's much more devastating for a community to suffer a forest fire than it would be a flood.”
Causing $880 million in insured damages, the Jasper wildfire is considered the costliest insured event in Canadian national park history. Beyond the sheer scale of the damages, wildfires present significant logistical challenges during recovery efforts. Turcotte shared that one of the biggest hurdles in responding to the Jasper wildfire was restricted access. “Access was a major challenge for us,” he explained, highlighting the difficulty of reaching affected areas due to the park's remote setting.
Resources also posed a significant challenge. When relocating teams to Jasper to assist with the damage at Jasper Park Lodge, finding suitable housing for staff proved difficult. “We had to find accommodations for nearly 1,000 people just to initiate the recovery efforts,” Turcotte explained. This added another layer of complexity to managing large-scale responses in such remote and isolated locations.
While wildfires are a significant threat to Canada’s national parks, their impact extends to individual homeowners as well. Brokers play a crucial role in helping clients minimize their wildfire risk and protect their properties.
Here are some key tips to share with clients:
For Turcotte, being ready for natural disasters is essential. “I’d like to see more widespread awareness around disaster preparedness,” he said. “Many people have never considered whether they’re truly ready for an emergency. Do they have enough water? Enough food? How do they plan for a situation where they might be on their own for two weeks? Hopefully, it will never come to that, but it’s important to be prepared.”
Turcotte also reflected on the immense strain placed on restoration companies in 2024: “Despite having more than 100 offices across Canada, including 40 in Ontario, and a team of 1,100 people working around the clock, we still had to turn clients away.”
The impact of these events disrupted lives, damaged infrastructure, and pushed recovery resources to their limits. Turcotte explained the far-reaching consequences of seemingly smaller events: “Hailstorms may seem modest in comparison, but they wreak havoc on vehicles and property, particularly commercial buildings.” Meanwhile, flooding in major Canadian cities left thousands without power for days. In Toronto and southern Ontario, the flooding alone cost an alarming $940 million in insured losses.
“One of the trends we see is that many communities don’t manage their flood exposure very well. They don’t always consider where the water will go and how it will seep into the ground,” Turcotte said. “For instance, if you develop on a green space and remove just 10% of the area where water can naturally dissipate, that water will run off the pavement and into the nearest creek, causing flooding downstream. We've seen this happen in several rivers in Toronto, where areas near the lake are getting flooded.”
