ICLR Friday Forum: Building Resilience in Canada's Housing 🏗️

On July 11, 2025, ICLR hosted a Friday Forum webinar titled 'Enabling Resilience in Canada's Residential Construction Sector', led by ICLR's Dan Sandink, Director of Research and Tamara Mosqueda, Manager of Resilient Projects.

In 2024, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) and the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) launched the Resilient Homes Task Force. This initiative aims to build capacity within the homebuilding and insurance industries to adopt resilience practices for new and existing homes, focusing on urban flood, hail, high wind, and wildland fire. The work involves close collaboration with builders and insurers to co-develop resilience guidelines and support voluntary adoption through field testing and market research.

This presentation highlighted key outcomes of the market research component, particularly around willingness to pay for resilience features among homeowners and buyers. Quantitative survey findings indicate that owners and buyers in regions prone to wildfire, high wind, hail, and extreme rainfall flooding are willing to spend thousands of dollars to protect their homes. A related focus group study indicated that interest in resilience increases when participants have experienced or know someone who has experienced an extreme weather event. These findings provide guidance for messaging and engagement strategies to advance resilience in the housing market.

Dan Sandink is Director of Research at the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction. He has authored or co-authored over 60 technical reports and peer-reviewed articles on extreme weather and disaster resilience. Dan manages ICLR’s PIEVC Program and co-chairs Canada’s National Infrastructure and Buildings Working Group. He also contributes to numerous national, provincial, local, and industry initiatives focused on improving climate resilience for Canadian homes. Dan studied geography and land use planning at the University of Guelph, Western University, and the University of Toronto.

Tamara Mosqueda is Manager of Resilient Projects at ICLR, where she plays a pivotal role in supporting the Resilient Homes Task Force, dedicated to enhancing residential resilience for homeowners across Canada. With a specialization in Foresight, Strategy, and Systems Thinking, her works explore the intersections of resilience, both adaptation and mitigation, and spatial justice, applying a futures-oriented lens to support more equitable and sustainable approaches to risk and resilience.