Ottawa’s climate is changing and our strategy needs your input

It’s hard not to notice that dangerous weather events are happening more often in Ottawa – events like floods, ice storms, wildfire smoke, tornados, derechos and extreme heat. Indeed, our climate is changing. In anticipation, the City of Ottawa is developing a climate resiliency strategy, ‘Climate Ready Ottawa’. We’re hosting a series of open houses on the draft strategy to share it with residents and seek their input. Resiliency is the ability to cope with change. The resiliency strategy is designed to guide action and investment to help secure a more resilient future for our entire city. It includes actions at all stages of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. A small sample of the topics include:

• Protection against extreme heat and humidity, especially for more vulnerable residents, like those without air conditioning or having pre-existing health conditions or who work outside
• Preparing for flooding caused by heavy rains or rivers overflowing
• Preparing for and responding to extended power outages caused by extreme weather events, especially for those residents disproportionately impacted or less able to prepare or respond
• Protecting critical infrastructure, like drinking water and wastewater systems, from flooding and extreme weather
• Managing weather-worsened diseases, such as Lyme disease carried by ticks that are no longer killed off by cold winters
• Protecting forests and natural ecosystems from the increased impact of pests and diseases
• Embedding climate preparedness into all City policies, plans and program

At the in-person open houses, staff will be on hand to discuss the Climate Ready Ottawa strategy. Drop in at any of these locations and times:

• Thursday, June 12
  • Nepean Sportsplex, 1701 Woodroffe Avenue, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm
• Saturday, June 14
  • City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West, from 10 am to 12 pm
• Monday, June 16
  • Ray Friel Recreation Complex, 1585 Tenth Line Rd, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm

The online open house will begin with a staff presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session:

• Thursday, June 19
  • From 6:30 to 8:30 pm
  • Please register in advance using this Zoom link to join

Our thanks to everyone who completed the 2024 survey. We are integrating those ideas and welcome your further input before we finalize the strategy. Developing a climate resilient city is a shared responsibility – the City, residents, businesses and other levels of government all have important roles to play. Visit Engage Ottawa to learn more about the open houses, how climate change could impact you and what steps you can take to be prepared.  Interested in regular updates on the work of the Climate Change and Resiliency Service? Sign up for our Climate Change newsletter.  For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca, call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) or 613-580-2400 to contact the City using Canada Video Relay Service. You can also connect with us through Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky and Instagram.