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We want to hear from you
Visit letstalkadaptation.ca – the National Adaptation Strategy’s interactive consultation website (online until July 15).
We want to hear your experiences with climate change impacts and your priorities for action. Your input will help to strengthen the National Adaptation Strategy and ensure that targets, milestones and actions reflect the priorities of people living in Canada. Learn More.
Canada’s climate is warming rapidly – two times faster than the global average and three times faster in the North. Canadians are already experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change, like extreme weather, flooding, wildfires, and coastal erosion.
The science is clear. The costs of doing too little will be high. More must be done to adapt and prepare for the impacts of climate change, even as we take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Action by the Government of Canada is underway. In December 2020, it committed to developing Canada’s first National Adaptation Strategy. The commitment was reaffirmed at COP26 in Glasgow. The Strategy will outline how the Canadian economy and society can be more resilient and prepared for the impacts of climate change. It will strengthen and change the way we improve health outcomes, build and maintain infrastructure, steward the environment, support a strong economy, and reduce the risk of climate-related disasters.
Canada’s first National Adaptation Strategy is an opportunity to unite all orders of government through shared priorities, cohesive action, and a whole-of-society approach. The Strategy will include a national monitoring and evaluation system to measure progress and deliver outcomes for increased collaboration toward a safer and more resilient future.
Development of the National Adaptation Strategy
The development of Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy is happening in two phases:
- Phase I developed the framework of the Strategy, including long-term transformational goals, and medium-term objectives, working with experts, and reflecting the input of provinces and territories, national Indigenous organizations and representatives. (Completed March 2022)
- Phase II will seek broader public, partner and expert input on specific measurable and achievable action, finalizing the National Adaptation Strategy by the end of 2022.
Five expert advisory tables worked together in Phase I focussing on:
- Health and Wellbeing;
- Resilient Natural and Built Infrastructure;
- Thriving Natural Environment;
- Strong and Resilient Economy; and,
- Disaster Resilience and Security.
Each Advisory Table is co-chaired by a federal department along with an external partner or stakeholder and includes diverse membership representing Indigenous peoples, youth, professional associations, the private sector, environmental organizations, academia, adaptation experts, and others. The tables proposed transformational goals and concrete objectives for each of the thematic areas.
Health and Wellbeing
Co-chairs
Greg Carreau
Director General, Safe Environments Directorate, Health Canada
Federal representative on the Director General National Adaptation Strategy working group on behalf of Federal Health Partners. Federal DG lead for climate and health. Greg has served as the Director, Water and Air Quality Bureau. Greg has also played an important leadership role in advancing the 2021 renewal of the Chemicals Management Plan and amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
Dr. Sherilee Harper
Associate Professor / Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Health, School of Public Health, University of Alberta
Dr. Harper’s research investigates associations between weather, environment, and public health in the context of climate change. Dr. Harper collaborates with diverse partners to prioritise climate-related health actions, planning, interventions, and research. Dr. Harper is a Lead Author on the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC); Lead Author on the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6-WG2); served on the Gender Task Group for the IPCC; and is a Lead Author on Health Canada’s upcoming Climate Change and Health Assessment.
Members
Angie Woo, Climate Risk and Resilience, Manager, Facilities Management and Environmental Sustainability, Fraser Health
Dr. Anjali Helferty, Executive Director, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo, Founding Dean, School of Arctic & Subarctic Studies, Memorial University
Dr. Claudel Petrin-Desrosiers, Family doctor and clinical lecturer, University of Montréal, Faculty of Medicine
Dr. Craig Stephen, Clinical Professor, University of British Columbia
Dr. Deborah McGregor, Associate Professor / Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice, York University
Denise Baikie, Policy Advisor, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Dr. Eduardo Vides, Senior Health Policy Advisor, Métis National Council
Dr. Fiona Miller, Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation / Director, Centre for Sustainable Health Systems, University of Toronto
Ian Culbert, Executive Director, Canadian Public Health Association
Dr. Jacqueline Badcock, Senior Program Advisor, New Brunswick Public Health, Government of New Brunswick
Judith Eigenbrod, Senior Policy Advisor, Social Branch, Assembly of First Nations
Linda Varangu, Senior Policy Advisor, Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care
Louise Aubin, Director of Health Protection, Regional Municipality of Peel – Public Health
Dr. Myrle Ballard, Assistant Professor / Indigenous Scholar, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Manitoba
Dr. Patrick Leighton, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montreal
Pemma Muzumdar, Knowledge Translation Specialist, National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health
Dr. Peter Berry, Senior Policy Analyst/Science Advisor, Health Canada
Dr. Sarah Henderson, Scientific Director, Environmental Health Services at BCCDC
Dr. Sean Kidd, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
