Public Safety Canada
February 19, 2026
RE: Public engagement on how to strengthen federal leadership in emergency management.
To whom it may concern,
I am attaching to this email the Green Party of Canada’s submission to the 2021 consultation on Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy. I am disappointed that, five years later, little action has been taken on the recommendations outlined.
Emergency management is an economic and moral imperative for Canada. Climate change-fueled disasters cost Canada billions of dollars every year. Thousands of lives have already been tragically lost. I think especially of the horrific 2021 heat dome that claimed 619 lives in my province of BC. We cannot simply prepare and respond to emergencies; we must actively work to mitigate, adapt to and prevent them. The burden can no longer fall onto municipalities: the federal government must step up.
It is absolutely shocking that the only emergency preparedness measure in Budget 2025 was $257.6 million over four years to lease four water bombers. We have experienced year after year of devastating heatwaves, wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events. This is a completely insufficient measure to meet the scale of this moment.
We need immediate action on a coordinated, cross-jurisdictional plan to respond to, rebuild from and adapt for climate disasters. We need shared decision-making tables that bring actors from different levels of government together to respond to crises. We need warning systems that can reach everyone, especially those in rural, remote and Indigenous communities. We need significantly more investment in our firefighting capacity. We need a National Recovery Strategy that quickly and fairly compensates communities for damage. We need a National Flood Insurance program to provide Canadians coverage where private insurers will not.
Now is the time to act. Thank you for your consideration of my comments.
Elizabeth May, O.C.
Member of Parliament
Saanich-Gulf Islands
Leader of the Green Party of Canada
Read the full submission here: National Adaptation Strategy Submission – GPC