Temperature Rising: A Scoring Tool to Assess Extreme Heat Preparedness in Canadian Municipalities
By Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation
September 2026
The report, Temperature Rising: A Scoring Tool to Assess Extreme Heat Preparedness in Canadian Municipalities, highlights extreme heat as an increasingly urgent and potentially deadly climate risk in Canada, with heat waves becoming more frequent, longer, and more intense as the climate warms. Because municipalities are on the front lines of protecting residents, the report introduces an Extreme Heat Preparedness Scoring Tool to help municipalities assess their current level of preparedness, identify gaps, prioritize actions, and track progress over time. The tool evaluates preparedness across eight key areas: governance; assessing extreme heat health risk; heat alerts, communication and municipal employee protocols; community mobilization and response; green infrastructure; existing buildings; new buildings and properties; and urban design. The report emphasizes that effective heat resilience requires coordinated action across municipal departments, public health, governments, community organizations, housing providers, the private sector, and residents, with particular attention to populations most vulnerable to heat. Ultimately, the tool is intended to help municipalities move from awareness to proactive, coordinated, measurable, and equitable action to reduce heat exposure, protect health, and save lives.
PRESS RELEASE
Waterloo, Ontario
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Heat-Ready or Heat-Vulnerable? Canada’s Cities Face a Hotter Future
A new tool will score the preparedness of local governments to handle rising temperatures
Back-to-back heat waves across Canada are delivering a clear warning: as climate change drives more frequent and intense extreme heat, cities must be ready for record-breaking temperatures. At best, the consequences will include widespread discomfort and strain on infrastructure. At worst, they can be deadly: British Columbia’s 2021 heat dome resulted in 619 heat-related deaths, while at least 12,000 excess deaths were recorded across Europeduring the June 2026 heatwave. Failing to prepare is not an option.
Yet many Canadian municipalities lack a comprehensive picture of their readiness to protect residents. A new self-assessment tool will help them measure their progress, identify gaps and determine where action is most needed.Developed by the University of Waterloo’s Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, with support from the Standards Council of Canada and Sun Life, Temperature Rising: A Scoring Tool to Assess Extreme Heat Preparedness in Canadian Municipalities provides a practical framework to identify preparedness gaps and prioritize actions that can protect health and save lives.
Canada has experienced a punishing summer in 2026, with successive heat events affecting communities from the Prairies to Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Temperatures reached the mid- to high-30s in several cities, humidex values approached 50 in parts of the Prairies.
“Communities across Canada need practical tools to prepare for a hotter future,” said Chantal Guay, Chief Executive Officer, Standards Council of Canada. “Establishing consistent approaches to understanding and assessing heat risk is essential to protecting lives and strengthening community resilience. This scoring tool provides a consistent framework, supported by standards and guides, that municipalities can use to identify priorities, strengthen coordination and direct resources in taking action that protects people. We call on public and private sector partners to work together to accelerate the adoption of standards-based approaches that will help build safer, more climate-resilient communities across Canada.”
Inadequate preparation can be lethal. During British Columbia’s 2021 heat dome, 619 people died from heat-related causes. Had the heat dome coincided with prolonged power outages, heat-related mortality could have more than doubled, particularly among residents who relied on air conditioning, mechanical ventilation, elevators or other building systems to remain safe.
“Extreme heat is more than uncomfortable, it is potentially lethal, and the greatest danger is often inside people’s homes,” said Dr. Anabela Bonada, Managing Director, Climate Science at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation. “Municipalities may have strong measures in place, but it can be difficult to see how their plans, buildings, community services and urban design work together to protect residents. Developed with more than 80 subject-matter experts, from 45 organizations, this new assessment helps municipalities understand where they are well prepared, where gaps remain and what steps they can take to better protect residents.”
Responsibilities for managing extreme heat are often distributed across municipal departments, public health authorities, community organizations, social service agencies, housing providers and other partners. This decentralization can make it difficult to understand a municipality’s overall readiness or determine where action is most urgently required.
The new scoring tool brings these responsibilities together through eight assessment categories:
1.) Governance: Leadership, coordination, funding and accountability.
2.) Assessing Extreme Heat Health Risk: Local heat exposure and population vulnerability.
3.) Heat Alerts, Communication, and Municipal Employee Protocols: Public warnings, guidance and worker protection.
4.) Community Mobilization and Response: Coordinated supports during heat events.
5.) Green Infrastructure: Trees and nature-based cooling.
6.) Existing Buildings: Indoor cooling, resident protections and backup power.
7.) New Buildings and Properties: Heat-resilient design and construction.
8.) Urban Design: Shade, greenspace and cooler public spaces.
Each category includes predefined criteria that municipalities can use to calculate scores, identify policy and capacity gaps, and measure progress over time.
The next phase of the project will apply the tool to assess the extreme heat preparedness of 30 of Canada’s largest cities. The results will provide comparable preparedness scores, identify strengths and opportunities for improvement, and establish a practical roadmap for municipal action.
Extreme heat will affect every Canadian community. Preparing before temperatures rise is critical to protecting residents, reducing strain on health and emergency services, and preventing avoidable deaths.
The report and scoring tool are available to download here: Temperature Rising: A Scoring Tool to Assess Extreme Heat Preparedness in Canadian Municipalities
Media Contacts:
Pamela Smyth, Media Relations Manager
519-573-1663 | psmyth@uwaterloo.ca uwaterloo.ca/news
Kate Ksiadz, Marketing and Communications Manager Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, University of Waterloo
519-835-7131 | kksiadz@uwaterloo.ca
Annie Roy, Vice President & Chief Communications Officer Standards Council of Canada
613-277-1592 | annie.roy@scc.ca