Find Your Place in the Adaptation Canada 2026 Program

Review the concurrent sessions to find those that align with your work.

Preparing Canadian communities for the future and worsening climate impacts requires a cross-sectoral approach where governments, businesses, nonprofits, communities, and individuals work together. Organizations and individuals who want to contribute to Canada’s conversation on climate adaptation—and address climate impacts through a whole-of-society approach—can apply to present at Adaptation Canada 2026.

Adaptation Canada 2026 is Canada’s national conference on climate adaptation. From September 22 to 24, 2026 people and organizations from across sectors and regions will come together in Toronto to exchange ideas, share solutions, and spark action on climate resilience. Speaking at Adaptation Canada 2026 is an opportunity to contribute to this national conversation while promoting your work and sharing practical solutions, local stories and innovative approaches.

Co-designed by adaptation experts from across Canada, the program showcases how Canadians are responding, innovating, collaborating, and leading across sectors. From Indigenous knowledge to digital tools, infrastructure to health, the program is designed to break down silos and trigger meaningful connections. Answer the call for speakers by November 30, 2025, to contribute to one of the 50+ conference sessions.

Learn more about Adaptation Canada and how to get involved.

Learn more

Find Your Place in the Program

Submitting a proposal to speak at Adaptation Canada is a straightforward process.

Download and review the speaker information guide
Identify a session you would like to be involved in
Submit an application online

There are several ways to explore sessions and find one (or more) where you can share your knowledge and expertise. Below, you will find the program’s preliminary concurrent sessions listed based on main conference themes, cross-cutting themes, and from a sector perspective to help you find your place in the program.

Explore Sessions by Main Theme

The Adaptation Canada 2026 program is developed around six interconnected themes to ground all discussions in real-world action, equity, and innovation. From systems change to on-the-ground solutions, these themes explore the complexity of climate risk and resilience in Canada while highlighting diverse leadership, bold ideas, and the partnerships needed to move adaptation forward across all sectors and communities. This list lets you see all preliminary sessions, organized based on main themes.

Navigating Complexity: Risks, Impact and Urgency

1-1. Climate Science and Beyond: Science and Data-Informed Decision-Making

1-2. From Risk Awareness to Risk Readiness: The Role of Understanding Risk in Implementing Adaptation

1-3. Costs and Benefits: Building the Economic Case for Adaptation

1-4. Health and Wellbeing in a Changing Climate: Challenges and Opportunities on the Road Ahead

1-5. Climate Grief and Mental Health: Supporting Mental and Emotional Wellbeing as Impacts Increase

1-6. On the Horizon: Emerging Issues in a Changing Climate

1-7. Testing Real-World Applications: Choosing the Right Data for the Right Decision

1-8. Messaging that Resonates: Effective Communications for Climate Resilience

1-9. Choosing the Right Tool for Climate Change Risk Assessment

Power in Partnerships: Co-creating Adaptation

2-1. Creative Partnerships: Innovative Approaches to Financing Adaptation

2-2. Solutions Beyond Municipal Borders: Advancing Adaptation through Regional Collaboration

2-3. From Voluntary Standards to Actionable Policies: Standards, Policies, and Regulatory Frameworks for Adaptation

2-4. The Future of Canadian Forests: Balancing Conservation, Wildfire Resilience, and the Forestry Sector

2-5. Progress in Canada’s Mining Sector: Integrating Adaptation into Sustainable Mining Practices

2-6. Feeding the Future: Cultivating Climate Resilient Food Systems

2-7. Working Together in the Face of Dual Crises: Biodiversity Loss and Ecosystem Resilience in a Changing Climate

2-8. Weaving Knowledge to Assess Risk: Integrating Western Climate Science and Indigenous Knowledge into Climate Change Risk Assessments

2-9. Partnerships for a Purpose: Building Bridges with Unlikely Allies

Designing Solutions: Adaptation in Practice

3-1. Built to Last: Mainstreaming Resilience across Housing and Infrastructure Projects in Canada

3-2. Who Benefits, Who Pays? Leveraging Private Capital for Climate Adaptation

3-3. Small Communities, Big Impact: Strengthening Rural Communities in a Changing Climate

3-4. Working with Nature: Implementing Nature-Based Solutions from Coast-to-Coast

3-5. Leveraging Asset Management for Climate Challenges: Towards a Strategy for Sustainable Resilience

3-6. From Coast to Coast: Coastal Resilience in Action

3-7. Navigating Supply Chain Challenges: Adaptation Strategies Across Sectors

3-8. (Re)Building for Good: Equitable, Evidence-Based Approaches to Climate-Resilient Housing

3-9. Perspective is Everything: Overcoming Real and Perceived Barriers to Action

Equity at the Centre: Just and Inclusive Adaptation

4-1. Addressing Root Causes of Vulnerability: Moving Towards Climate Resilience for All

4-2. Not Just Dollars and Cents: Understanding the Human Costs of Climate Change

4-3. No One Left Behind: Prioritizing Disability Justice in Adaptation

4-4. A Solution for Some: Challenges at the Intersection of Equity and Nature-Based Solutions

4-5. Equity at the Forefront: Integrating Equity into Infrastructure Projects

4-6. Ties that Bind and Build: Strengthening Resilience through Cultural and Social Infrastructure

4-7. No One-Size Fits All Solutions: Advancing Equitable Climate Adaptation

4-8. What Matters? Approaching Climate Adaptation through a Values-based Lens

Adaptive Leadership: Systems for Change

5-1. Building a Resilient North: Northern Leadership in the Face of Climate Change

5-2. Stories of Leadership: Indigenous Adaptation Across Turtle Island

5-3. Meaningful Metrics for Resilience: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

5-4. Failing Forward: Learning from Missteps and Mistakes

5-5. Building a Climate-Ready Workforce: Strengthening Adaptation Skills Across Sectors

5-6. Due Diligence: Factoring Legal and Regulatory Frameworks into Adaptation

5-7. Coming Together: A Sharing Space for Adaptation Specialists

5-8. Breaking Down Silos: Advancing Integrated Adaptation Action

Outside the Box: Innovative and Creative Approaches

6-1. AdapTech: Innovating for Resilience

6-2. The Future of Farming: Innovative Approaches to Agricultural Resilience

6-3. Preparing for the Worst: Rethinking Disaster Recovery in Canada

6-4. Promises and Pitfalls: Exploring the Role of AI in Adaptation

6-5. A Tale of Two Hazards: How to Prepare for Compounding Crises

6-6. Indigenous Innovation at the Forefront of Adaptation

6-7. Retreating to Move Forward: Learning from Stories of Managed Retreat

6-8. How We Tell the Story: Communicating Across Experience

6-9. Designing Belonging: Social Resilience, Health Equity, and the Built Environment

6-10. Arts for Adaptation: Climate Resilience through Creative Interventions

Visit the Adaptation Canada website to read the preliminary session descriptions.

Read now

Explore Sessions by Cross-Cutting Theme

Alongside the main themes, several cross-cutting themes are reflected across numerous program areas. The list below identifies some of the sessions where these are featured.