Canadian homeowners facing growing flood risks remain without a promised national insurance program after six years of federal reviews, with Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin declining to say when the plan will be introduced.Blacklock's Reporter says in a letter to the House of Commons environment committee, Dabrusin acknowledged the government is still examining options for providing affordable flood insurance to households in high-risk areas.The proposal has been under consideration since 2020, but Ottawa has yet to establish a launch date.“Over the past few years, Public Safety Canada with support from CMHC has engaged provinces and territories, industry practitioners and implicated federal departments to inform consideration of a flood insurance program for high-risk households,” Dabrusin wrote.“The Government of Canada is continuing to assess potential approaches to addressing flood insurance gaps.”The minister was responding to a parliamentary committee report titled Protecting Canadian Residents From Extreme Weather Events, which called for changes to make disaster insurance more accessible and affordable.MPs recommended the government “establish an insurance program that would allow everyone to obtain affordable insurance against recurring natural disasters.”The committee also urged Ottawa to develop a national flood insurance program using accurate flood maps to identify vulnerable communities.However, Dabrusin indicated the government's insurance planning is not directly connected to its flood mapping initiative.“Public Safety Canada’s work in this area is informed by commercially available flood risk modeling used by the insurance industry and is not directly linked to the Government of Canada’s efforts to advance flood hazard mapping,” she wrote.The minister provided no further explanation.Previously released federal documents reveal officials have considered requiring homeowners in flood-prone areas to pay additional insurance premiums or risk losing access to taxpayer-funded disaster assistance.A 2025 Department of Finance memorandum obtained through Access To Information outlined a proposal involving a $350 insurance premium threshold for homeowners considered at high risk of flooding.“The Department of Public Safety clarified that high risk will be determined using the premium for overland flood coverage as a proxy,” stated the memo, Working Group On Flood Insurance: Record Of Discussion.“The premium threshold is currently envisioned as being set at $350.”.Under the proposal, homeowners could become ineligible for federal disaster assistance once flood insurance was considered available.“A home will be ineligible for federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements once flood insurance is deemed to be available,” the department wrote.The memo said federal disaster assistance would remain available where flood insurance could not be obtained, including cases where primary home insurance was unavailable.Decisions about whether homeowners could rebuild on flood-damaged properties would remain with provincial or municipal governments.“The decision to allow a homeowner to rebuild in a specific area following a flood would lie with the municipality or province,” the document stated.Private insurers began offering optional overland flood insurance in Canada in 2015, but relatively few homeowners have purchased the coverage.Since 2019, the insurance industry has been lobbying Ottawa to establish a federally managed insurance pool to spread the financial risks associated with flooding.Federal research indicates a relatively small proportion of Canadian properties account for most potential flood losses.A Department of Finance memorandum titled Natural Disaster Insurance: Climate Change And The Role For Government estimated that 10% of homeowners account for 90% of the country's flood risk.“For example, the 15,000 riskiest residential buildings represent 0.1 percent of all residential buildings in Canada but carry 6.5 percent of Canadian flood risk,” the memo stated.“The top 0.5 percent of buildings carries 21.5 percent of the risk.”The findings highlight the challenge of creating an affordable national insurance system while covering properties facing repeated or severe flooding.Internal correspondence also shows growing frustration within the insurance industry over the federal government's prolonged review.“The flood insurance file has been a difficult one to advance and our members are frustrated that we are not yet over the finish line,” an Insurance Bureau of Canada executive wrote to the finance department.Despite years of discussions involving federal departments, provincial governments and insurers, Ottawa has not announced a final program, eligibility rules or an implementation schedule.Dabrusin's latest response leaves unanswered when homeowners in flood-prone communities might receive access to the national insurance coverage the federal government has been considering since 2020.
