For over a decade, P4A has been a leader in Canadian flood resiliency research
Our strategic mission
Flood resiliency is a pathway forward toward climate action, climate adaptation, and climate justice, and it is evident that inclusive resilience must be at the heart of flood awareness, preparedness, and response. This is why Partners for Action (P4A) has enhanced its focus on research and tools that can help to inform and catalyze equitable, inclusive, and multi-benefit climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction at the community level and beyond.
From 2015 to 2025, P4A has worked with a diverse network of stakeholders, students, faculty and researchers across the country to conduct original research with the goal of influencing flood risk preparedness at the individual and collective levels. P4A researchers have been leading work on equity-informed flood risk assessments, property buyouts for managed retreat, and climate-resilient retrofits. Thanks to partnerships with governments and organizations across Canada, and ongoing funding support from the Co-operators group and Farm Mutual Re, P4A’s research has supported community-engaged flood risk awareness, preparedness and adaptation, and contributed to policy development, flood resiliency planning and foresight.
Guided by the strategic vision and leadership of P4A's early directors, Shawna Peddle (2015-2018) and Anna Ziolecki (2018-2020), P4A earned itself a reputation for excellence in applied research, leading the national conversation on Canadian flood resilience and strengthening partnerships across industry, academia, government, and society. In more recent years, under the leadership of Julie Wright (2020-2023) and Sharmalene Mendis-Millard (2023-2025) with Faculty Lead Jason Thistlethwaite, and with teams of students, faculty and collaborators, P4A built momentum in the following strategic areas, with partnerships central to its approach:
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Climate action: community-engaged risk awareness and preparedness (e.g., inclusive risk communications)
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Climate adaptation: partnering for adaptation (e.g., managed retreat, multi-hazard resilient retrofits, nature-based solutions)
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Climate justice: flood resilience foresight and planning with an equity lens (e.g., mapping flood risk using a social vulnerability index)
Explore our research and resources
Climate Resilient Retrofts
Making our infrastructure future-ready calls for homes and buildings to be more resilient to natural hazards. Collaboratively, we developed decision-support tools – like a multi-hazard database, guidebook, and infrastructure options cards – to help Canadians adapt existing homes and buildings to better withstand floods, fires, extreme wind, extreme heat, ice, and snow.
Strategic Relocation
In Canada, many communities are facing recurrent flooding and displacement, threatening the long-term viability of neighbourhoods located in flood-prone areas. For some, the difficult decision to relocate from at-risk areas may be the best option to reduce these rising risks. Our work on strategic relocation explores best practices for equitable and just managed retreat programs.
Climate Equity & Risk Analysis
To reduce underlying vulnerabilities and create resilient communities, we must first identify who is the most disproportionately at-risk, why, and where they are located. P4A has advanced innovations in equity-informed risk mapping, inclusive risk communications, and decision-making tools to help communities invest in the programs, policies, and resources that will help those most at-risk.
Risk Awareness & Communication
Effective flood risk communication is key to achieving flood resilience in Canada. Through applied research on public risk perceptions and targeted messaging strategies, as well as the development of educational campaigns and communications toolkits, P4A has been a leader in shaping best practices and advancing national flood risk awareness among Canadians.
Flood Risk Preparedness
P4A's research has shaped the national conversation on whole-of-society flood risk management, identifying areas for improvement, including gaps and goals for more effective, collaborative flood risk management. Findings provide recommendations for effective flood risk management across Canada and to continue towards a shared goal of building more resilient communities.
Flood Insurance
The viability of flood insurance is often debated among insurers, consumers and government flood management authorities in the aftermath of major flood events. Through research and dialogue with diverse stakeholders, P4A provided recommendations for a means to de-risk the Canadian residential property market from the increasingly negative impacts of overland flooding.
Community-engaged Flood Mapping
P4A contributed applied research and recommendations to Natural Resource Canada's Federal Floodplain Mapping Guideline Series in 2018 and again in 2025. This research examined the critical role that flood maps serve in advancing flood risk awareness, and provided guidelines for how to facilitate equitable and participatory community engagement throughout the flood mapping process.
FloodSmart Resources
Through applied research projects, social media campaigns, and the stewardship of FloodSmartCanada.ca, P4A has developed various communications tools, visualizations, and educational resources aimed at broadening public flood risk awareness and understanding. Browse our publicly available lesson plans, social media toolkit, and assorted graphics.
Educational Resources
P4A's site is currently under construction and will be updated shortly