A new pilot program associated with Canada’s climate change adaptation strategy will fund up to 25 demonstration projects along the Atlantic, Pacific and Northern coasts and in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence river basin. The request for proposals (RFP) seeks integrated planning exercises that will bring various disciplines together to consider engineered, nature-based and policy actions to improve resilience to climate-related risks in coastal areas.

Proponents can generally receive funding to cover 75 per cent of eligible costs (Territorial governments and Indigenous-led projects qualify for full funding) with the government’s minimum contribution threshold set at $300,000. A total of $30 million is available to underwrite the projects.

Projects will be expected to produce a replicable adaptation plan that identifies required measures and key delivery agents over a sustained period of time to respond to hazards such as coastal erosion, flooding and storm surge. These should address land-use policies, building codes and standards, nature-based adaptation, asset relocation/abandonment, infrastructure resilience, financing strategies and governance approaches.

The RFP will be open until December 13, 2023. Provincial/territorial/municipal governments and their related agencies, Indigenous communities and organizations, private business, community-based and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and industry, professional and research associations can apply.

The government has also released a new report outlining recommended practices for an integrated, multidisciplinary response to climate change in coastal regions to help guide the process. Chosen proponents can begin work on April 1, 2024 and must complete their projects by December 31, 2027.