A University of Waterloo Research Centre
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From Risk To Readiness: Enhancing Alberta’s Wildfire Preparedness Through The FireSmart™ Scorecard
June 2025
Dr. Anabela Bonada, Enjulie Bedi, & Laura Stewart
Wildfires are an increasing threat in Alberta and across Canada, with their rising severity and frequency driven largely by climate change. A proactive approach to wildfire resilience is urgently needed to reduce risks and protect communities.
The Alberta FireSmart™ Community Scorecard — developed by the Intact Centre in partnership with FireSmart™ Alberta — is a practical, cost-effective tool that helps communities assess wildfire preparedness and identify areas for improvement.
Piloted across ten diverse Alberta communities, the Scorecard promotes a holistic, community-wide approach to wildfire resilience. It empowers residents, businesses, and all levels of government to take coordinated action — helping to build a more resilient and FireSmart™ Alberta.
About the Intact Centre
The Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation (Intact Centre) is an applied research centre with a national focus within the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. The Intact Centre works with homeowners, communities, governments and businesses to identify, and reduce, the impacts of extreme weather and climate change.
To this end, the centre is an incubator of new adaptation ideas, conducting research, knowledge mobilization and promoting initiatives aimed at de-risking the negative impacts of a changing climate and extreme weather, such as extreme heat, wildfire and flooding.
The establishment of the Intact Centre was made possible through the leadership, vision, and generosity of Intact Financial Corporation, a long-time partner and donor to the University of Waterloo particularly supporting climate adaptation. In November 2015, Intact announced a gift directed in support of the centre’s mission and goals.
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