The fifth anniversary of the deadliest weather event in Canada’s history—a heat dome leaving 619 dead, the town of Lytton razed and thousands suffering—has fallen when vast swathes of Europe are undergoing a similar crisis. 

150 million Europeans are expected to experience temperatures above 35 degrees C; hospitals are declaring critical incidents; electricity supplies are stretched due to gas and nuclear plants struggling in the heat; data centres are creating heat islands in communities; and governments across the continent are warning of impending wildfires. Examples abound closer to home, too. Already this year, 1 in 5 communities in Canada have experienced climate impacts. 

No wonder 80 percent of Canadians are concerned about climate change, or that hundreds of mayors and councillors across the country are calling for nation-building, not nation-burning policies from our government. Canadians see the consequences of climate-fuelled extreme weather in their own communities and those of our allies. 
 

At a time when we traditionally “lean back” from politics, turning to summer—the joys and the dangers—while the House is adjourned, we must instead be looking to the Fall. In particular, to the 2026 Budget which departments are already working on. Certainly, local elected leaders will be speaking with their MPs throughout the summer to underscore the need for federal policy that mitigates the worst of climate impacts yet to come while ensuring their—your, our—communities have the resources they need to support their members. 

Municipalities already collectively pay $9 billion a year for accelerated degradation of that infrastructure due to climate change — on top of Canada’s growing infrastructure deficit of $112 billion. As communities are given just a few weeks to apply for essential adaptation infrastructure funding, the federal government prepares to announce billions of dollars for unproven Carbon Capture Projects as part of its MOU with Alberta, and Premier Smith has been given months to put forward her government’s pipeline proposal which will cost Canadians billions. Local communities—coast to coast to coast—cannot be last to the table. 
 

Hundreds of local elected leaders are urging the federal government to ensure ample funding for climate-aligned municipal infrastructure — and to ensure that funding is not always connected to housing. And they are asking for the government to prioritise the National Adaptation Strategy to ensure climate-impacted communities have ample support, when they need it. 

These community leaders are underscoring that adaptation must not slide off the federal priorities list. Neither can recognition of why we need much of this adaptation: fossil fuels. The call for an excess profits tax on oil and gas companies continues to grow in popularity, with more than two-thirds of Canadians in support. The $40 billion raised from this—still leaving billions to the oil and gas industry—could be invested to shield communities from price shocks and support our country’s resilience and adaptation measures over the long term. 
 

Our health care practitioners, farmers and small businesses know intimately how the effects of climate inaction harm our loved ones and local economies. So do our local elected leaders. The reeves who see the impacts of heat on struggling families. The mayors who help their elderly neighbours install air conditioning to stay safe. The councillors who help to crunch increasingly challenging budgets. They each see, first hand, the impacts of inaction.
 

The federal government must not renege on its responsibility to support our communities at a crucial moment. If ever there was a time to prioritise both the prevention of further impacts while public dollars feed solutions, it’s now. Budget 2026 must reflect this. 

Merlin Blackwell, Mayor of Clearwater

Zoe Grams, Executive Director of Climate Caucus 

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