Partnering for adaptation
P4A launches new Climate Resilient Retrofits site
Climate change is leading to unprecedented pressure to do more frequent and unanticipated repairs and upgrades to properties. That’s why Partners for Action (P4A) is happy to share our new website, ClimateResilientRetrofits.ca.
Climate Resilient Retrofits offers solutions for how we can prepare Canadian homes and buildings for a multi-hazard reality. The resource hub is designed to help people learn how to adapt homes and buildings to withstand multiple hazards, including floods/extreme precipitation, fires, extreme heat, extreme wind, and ice/snow.
Multi-Hazard Resilient Retrofits Database
ClimateResilientRetrofits.ca features our Multi-Hazard Resilient Retrofits Database, which showcases building adaptation measures for climate conditions and hazards of concern in Canada. The retrofit options are categorized into easy-to-find fields based on need, and each measure is rated for its relative cost, time and effort required, expertise needed, and degree of invasiveness. Unique to this database is an assessment of which measures conflict or work well together, and which measures increase energy efficiency and/or decrease greenhouse gas emissions for the added benefit of climate mitigation.
Funding for this work was provided by Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Canada and the National Research Council of Canada’s Climate Resilient Built Environment Initiative. This is in support of the Government of Canada’s Adaptation Action Plan and achievement of commitments under the National Adaptation Strategy. Preliminary research was conducted in partnership with Halifax Regional Municipality as part of the HalifACT climate action plan.
P4A contributes to Climate Insight's library of infrastructure options
P4A partnered with ICLEI Canada to refine and add to Climate Insight’s June 2025 release of infrastructure options for climate-resilient housing. This partnership integrates P4A’s foundational research and database on multi-hazard retrofits for climate adaptation with Climate Insight’s user-friendly platform.
Climate Insight, a project funded in part by the Government of Canada, is the go-to destination for relevant, actionable data and information on building low-carbon, resilient housing and infrastructure.
Visit ClimateInsight.ca to learn more about the platform and visit the library of new housing-related infrastructure options, tools, case studies, and codes, standards and guidelines.
Providing guidance on flood resilient home retrofits
In 2024, P4A partnered with Clean Foundation as part of their Resilient Home Retrofits pilot project, which supports homeowners in the Town of New Glasgow and Halifax Regional Municipality to improve their resiliency to overland flooding.
In partnership with Clean Foundation, P4A released the Flood Resilient Residential Retrofits Handbook in March 2025. The handbook is designed to support homeowners and contractors in understanding and implementing measures to enhance the flood resilience of single-family residential properties.
Sharing our work
Webinar: Climate Resilient Buildings: Tools and Insights for Municipalities
In July 2025, P4A Director Sharmalene Mendis-Millard presented P4A’s research on climate resilient retrofits during this webinar hosted by the Green Municipal Fund. Panelists shared tools and insights on how to strengthen buildings for climate resilience and support long-term adaptation. The webinar included a panel discussion and Q&A session.
Stay tuned for the webinar recording.
Webinar: Fraser Basin Council Climate Resilient Retrofits Learning Lab
On June 17th 2025, P4A presented at the First Nations Home Energy Save Program Learning Lab on Climate Resilient Retrofits. The webinar also featured guest speakers from the National Research Council of Canada and allowed viewers to see and explore the Multi-Hazard Resilient Retrofit Database.
BC Climate Resilience Summit
In March 2025, P4A Director Sharmalene Mendis-Millard presented at the BC Climate Resilience Summit in Vancouver, British Columbia as part of the Innovation Showcase, highlighting P4A’s work on Resilient Retrofits.
CatIQ Connect 2025
In February 2025, P4A researcher and University of Waterloo Doctoral Student, Herry Chen, presented as a student delegate at CatIQ Connect – an annual conference focused on Canadian Natural and Human-Made Catastrophes in Toronto, Ontario. Herry unveiled the Multi-Hazard Resilient Retrofit Database, providing details on its accessible and searchable interface that allows homeowners and contractors alike to find available retrofit options for their needs.
Building Resilient Communities Conference
In November 2024, P4A Director Sharmalene Mendis-Millard and research assistant Sumana Mitra attended the Building Resilient Communities Conference in Penticton, British Columbia. There, P4A had the opportunity to present its research on multi-hazard resilient retrofits.
Conference Paper
In 2024, P4A researchers published a Review of Climate Resilient Building Retrofits for Adaptation to Floods, Extreme Heat, Wildfire, and Wind. This conference paper presents common retrofits to four hazards: extreme heat, wildfires, flooding, and extreme wind events and examines each hazard in terms of its impacts on the built environment and provides potential retrofit strategies to mitigate those impacts.
Webinar: Climate Resilient Retrofits for Adaptation
In Fall 2023, as a part of a series of webinars on local resiliency, co-led by Climate Caucus and Partners for Action, P4A shared our approach to adapting buildings to be climate resilient. P4A researchers presented a framework for understanding how different building types can be adapted to better withstand coastal flooding, overland flooding, extreme precipitation, extreme wind, extreme heat, wildfires, drought, snow, and ice. The webinar provides examples of retrofits and incentive programs.
Sharmalene Mendis-Millard presenting at the 2025 BC Climate Resilience Summit.
Herry Chen presenting at CatIQ Connect.
P4A team members, Sheridan Hill, Herry Chen, and Tyler Hull
Cameron McGlade Gabriel promoting P4A at a local event.
Sharmalene Mendis-Millard and Sumana Mitra presenting at the 2024 Building Resilient Communities Conference.
Request a copy of the conference paper
