The Bill Fisch Forest Stewardship and Education Centre by DIALOG generates more energy than it consumes. Photo by Cindy Blazevic
Canadian buildings and infrastructure are being more and more challenged by the impacts of climate change and an increase in extreme weather events such as damaging floods and devastating high winds. In response to this new reality, the National Research Council (NRC) along with Infrastructure Canada is upgrading codes, specifications, guidelines, and assessment tools to keep Canadians safe.
Over the next five years, the National Research Council will conduct research, evaluations, as well as risk analyses to develop new solutions to factor climate resilience into the design of future buildings and infrastructure in Canada. This includes houses, roads, bridges, water systems, and rapid transit networks. “With climate change, the total annual precipitation is increasing, as well as the frequency and severity of extreme events, such as heat waves, high winds, floods, and droughts, all of which is resulting in increased stress on built structures,” says Richard Tremblay, General Manager of Construction at the National Research Council of Canada. “In 2017, it is a necessity to start planning to adapt our buildings and infrastructure to withstand the new loads.”  
The Government of Canada is investing $40-million into these efforts from the Investing in Canada plan, which provides more than $180 billion in infrastructure fundin...