Summer storms across the Canadian Prairies caused over $1.8bn in insured losses: CatIQ

Ten extreme weather events impacted the Canadian Prairies this summer, causing widespread damage and over $1.8 billion in insured losses, according to initial estimates from CatIQ. This surge in claims has prompted the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) to urge governments to take immediate action to help reduce the country’s exposure to extreme weather events.

Insurance Bureau of Canada noted that while wind, hailstorms and wildfires typically drive the highest costs in the Prairies over the summer months, 2026 has been considerably different, with heavy rain and flooding causing the majority of damage across the three provinces.

In particular, Edmonton, Alberta, was hit especially hard, as the city saw record rainfall in June and July.

In Mid-May, strong wind gusts created a dust storm across southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba with wind causing extensive damage to homes and businesses, driving over $40 million in insured losses across the two provinces.

At the end of the month and leading into early June, central Alberta was impacted by a prolonged rainfall event that resulted in significant flooding in the region. The city of Edmonton was hit the hardest, receiving more than a month’s worth of rainfall in just a few days that flooded basements, roads and public spaces, which has so far caused over $80 million in insured losses.

June was a particularly busy month for flood, hail and wind events. Between June 9th and 10th over $900 million in insured losses in Saskatchewan and Manitoba were caused by a series of severe storms that brought tornadoes, hail, damaging winds, torrential rain and flash flooding to communities across both provinces.

Between June 20th and 21st, prolonged rainfall caused extensive flooding in Edmonton and the surrounding area, which caused over $160 million in insured losses, While between the 26th and 30th, all three provinces were impacted by a slow-moving storm which moved across the Prairies, causing extensive flooding with Canmore and Kananaskis County, Alberta declaring local states of emergency. In total, this event has so far caused over $160 million in insured losses.

All three provinces were then hit by a further three severe weather outbreaks in July, with the most significant one taking place between July 4th and 6th, which saw a series of strong thunderstorms impact a wide region from Alberta to Ontario, causing over $270 million in insured losses.

A further two events in August also caused nearly $110 million in insured losses.

On August 11th, severe thunderstorms produced significant amounts of rainfall and very large hailstones over southern Alberta, affecting the communities of Claresholm, Lethbridge, Didsbury and Coaldale, causing nearly $70 million in losses.

While on August 23rd, large hailstones struck communities across central Alberta, with Springbrook, south of Red Deer, particularly hit hard, where the hail shredded siding, smashed windows and dented vehicles, The event has so far caused nearly $40 million in insured losses.

“Over the last decade, insured losses from extreme weather in Canada have averaged $3.7 billion annually, up from annual losses of $1.4 billion in the previous decade and $883 million in the decade before that. Annual losses have increased by approximately 320% since the late 1990s and early 2000s, after accounting for inflation. In 2024, Canada experienced its costliest year on record, with insured losses from extreme weather exceeding $9.4 billion. Households, businesses, governments and communities across the country are increasingly affected by these escalating costs,” IBC explained.

Aaron Sutherland, Vice-President, Pacific and Western, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), commented: “Once again, the Canadian Prairies have been hit hard by extreme weather, with floods, hailstorms and tornadoes causing extensive damage to homes and businesses.”

“The growing frequency, severity, and financial cost of these events demands that we rethink how we can better protect communities moving forward and increase investment in resilience now,” Sutherland added.

As the frequency and severity of extreme weather events continues to grow across Canada, The IBC has called for all orders of government to take immediate steps to help reduce the country’s exposure to extreme weather events.

Amongst the immediate steps, IBC is calling for new homes to be built away from high-risk flood and wildfire zones by strengthening land use planning and restricting development in areas at highest risk, as well as providing incentives for homeowners to invest in practical, affordable measures that reduce extreme weather damage and recovery costs

The IBC is also calling on the government to require cost-effective, community-level mitigation measures such as flood protection infrastructure and measures recommended by the FireSmart program to help reduce the risk of wildfire damage, when building in high-risk areas is deemed unavoidable.

As well as this, IBC has also called for the government to invest in resilient infrastructure to protect communities from extreme weather risks, such as flooding.

Additionally, the organisation has recommended the enhancement of building codes and construction standards to guarantee that new homes are built with resilient features that align with both present and anticipated climatic conditions.

The IBC has also emphasised the importance of equipping property owners, renters and business owners with clear and accessible information to facilitate informed decision-making and enable them to implement practical measures for risk reduction.