OTTAWA — The parliamentary budget officer says federal assistance to help Canadians recover from natural disasters could increase by more than $1 billion over the next 10 years.
The Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangement helps provinces and territories recover from and respond to natural disasters, including floods, wildfires and major storms.
In a report today, Parliament’s budget watchdog projected costs of the program will increase from about $881 million in the last fiscal year, to more than $1.8 billion by 2034.
The PBO modelling suggests the average number of wildfires and storms have increased over time, while the number of floods have remained constant.
The PBO also says the average cost for each disaster is much higher than it was 15 years ago, as storms get more powerful and the population has risen in high-risk areas.
The report says on average, disaster assistance will include about $1.2 billion per year for floods, $325 million for wildfires and $258 million for storms.
