Navigating Change Together
We are living through a time of rapid change that requires us to take climate action within a shifting political landscape while overcoming emerging challenges and the rise of misinformation. In times like these, local governments play a crucial role—not just in responding to immediate challenges, but in making decisions today that will define the future of our communities.
We have seen time and again that municipalities are adaptable, resourceful, and capable of leading through uncertainty. From navigating the complexities of the pandemic to advancing climate action even in the face of economic and political shifts, local governments continuously demonstrate resilience and innovation. Now more than ever, the people and organizations driving this work must be nimble, creative, and supported in their endeavours.
To help face the challenge, we’re launching the ICLEI Peer Network—a virtual space for municipal staff to connect and collaborate. We’re also bringing local leaders, practitioners, and partners from across Canada together at the 2025 Livable Cities Forum. In addition, this update highlights resources, events, and projects designed to support local governments in their work. As we move forward together, we remain committed to co-creating solutions to build thriving net-zero, resilient, and equitable communities.
Megan Meaney
Executive Director, ICLEI Canada
New Resources to Check Out
New Case Studies from ORCCA
Discover how different organizations are building resilience in the Great Lakes and throughout Ontario.
Throughout 2024 and 2025, the Ontario Resource Centre for Climate Adaptation (ORCCA) Staff Capacity Program supported local adaptation initiatives in communities across the Great Lakes and Ontario. Case studies were developed to highlight eight projects completed as part of this program. These showcase project activities, positive outcomes, key learnings, and offer insights that can help others looking to advance their own climate adaptation efforts.
New Resource on Our Misinformation Page
Municipal Matters: Building Capacity for Local Climate Conversations can help municipalities understand and respond to misinformation.
This new report from the University of British Columbia’s Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions examines the challenges of communication around local climate action—especially when local policies face the spread of false or misleading information. It describes the key narratives, actors, and impacts of the misleading narratives shaping climate discourse at the municipal level and recommends five key actions.
Climate Change, Health Equity, and the Built Environment
Get equipped with ready-to-share facts and tools needed to advance action at the intersection of climate change, health, and the built environment.
Authored by SHIFT Collaborative for ORCCA, this resource equips Ontario’s public health professionals with concise information and actionable tools to advance knowledge, communication, and action at the intersection of climate change, health equity, and the built environment. It is designed to support meaningful engagement, strengthen existing collaborations, foster knowledge-sharing, and promote the integration of climate change, health equity, and built environment considerations across all facets of public health operations.
Climate Change Adaptation Practice Guide
This new guide helps planners and related professionals integrate climate adaptation into practice.
Developed by the Ontario Professional Planners Institute and the Climate Risk Institute through ORCCA, this new resource serves as a reference for inspiration and ideas to help planners and related professionals integrate climate adaptation into practice. Using this guide, Ontario planners can draw valuable insights from climate actions undertaken elsewhere in the province while empowering communities to create interventions that resonate with their values and needs.
Building to Net-Zero (BNZ) Jurisdictional Scan
Explore the jurisdictional realities of high-performance and net-zero building energy frameworks across Canada.
Improving building energy performance offers important benefits for local communities, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions, long-term cost savings for residents, and better air quality and health. The BNZ Jurisdictional Scan shows that many local governments are eager to take action towards high performance buildings and are ready to implement those ambitions when empowered to do so.
Climate Communications Toolkit
Discover practical approaches, behavioural insights, and case stories designed to help you use communications to support local climate action.
The Climate Communications Toolkit is designed for local practitioners and community leaders looking to use communications to support the implementation of climate action and build better, more resilient communities. More specifically, it reflects the reality that it is not enough for people to know about climate change—they need to be inspired and motivated to take action.
Upcoming Events
Living With Water: Introducing a toolbox for flood-resilient construction
Join us virtually on Monday, March 31 for a pre-launch event to unveil the latest additions to the Living With Water Toolbox. Organized by Architecture Sans Frontières Québec as part of a $2.57 million CMHC-funded project, this event will bring together experts, municipal and government representatives, and key players in the field to discuss best practices in adapting buildings to flooding. Anne-Marie Legault, Quebec Office Manager, will present “What cities need to know” to share best municipal practices for supporting residents during floods during BLOCK 4, from 3:15 to 4:30 pm.
PCP Community of Practice: How virtual energy assessment tools can accelerate home energy retrofits
Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) members have the chance to learn how to use virtual energy assessment tools to accelerate home energy retrofits next Thursday, April 3 from 1:00 to 2 :00 pm ET. Arman Mottaghi, CEO of Properate, will share insights from a pilot program in which an AI-powered home energy assessment tool provides homeowners with energy ratings, upgrade roadmaps, and personalized information to make their energy retrofits easier, faster, and more cost-effective.
DiscoverEE with Efficiency Canada & Friends: How to use Climate Insight to build low-carbon, resilient communities
Join us on Friday, April 4 from 12:00-1:00 pm ET for an online session organized by Efficiency Canada, to learn how to use Climate Insight to get actionable information that helps you build low-carbon, resilient communities. Climate Insight can be used by infrastructure and housing professionals in many different contexts. This is one of many events we are presenting at to train infrastructure and housing professionals on how to use the platform to build low-carbon, resilient communities.
Do Climate Communications Differently Webinar
Join us Wednesday, April 16 from 2:00 to 3:00 pm ET to learn how to approach climate communications in a way that motivates people with different backgrounds, values, and priorities to take action. Guest speakers will share practical strategies for more effective climate communications. Learn how to move beyond traditional communications, use research insights and behavioural strategies to support the roll-out of climate initiatives, and transform complex climate data into relatable narratives.
Building Partnerships and Buy-In: Engaging the building sector in sustainable development
Join the next BNZ Community of Practice (CoP) on Thursday, April 24 from 2:00 to 3:00 pm ET to explore how municipalities can build effective relationships and gain buy-in from the building sector to support sustainable development. Expert practitioners will share experiences and strategies for collaboration, and participants will engage in peer discussions to work through real-world challenges. The session will provide practical insights to help municipalities strengthen industry partnerships, navigate barriers, and advance sustainability goals.
First ICLEI Peer Network Meeting: Misinformation at the local level
Municipal and Indigenous community staff are invited to join the first ICLEI Peer Network meeting on Wednesday, April 30 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm ET. Join us to discuss the rise of climate misinformation at the local level, lend support to your peers experiencing it, and co-develop strategies to navigate it. The ICLEI Peer Network is a virtual space for local government staff to get in touch with peers from across Canada, openly discuss timely topics in a supportive environment, and get re-energized in their work.
2025 Livable Cities Forum: Acting on climate together
Registration is now open! Join us in Halifax, NS October 6-8 to explore practical ways to act on climate together through creative and ambitious partnerships. If you already know you would like to attend LCF this year, you can register now to take advantage of our largest early bird discount to date.
Upcoming Opportunities to Receive Personalized Climate Insight Training
You could learn more about Climate Insight at a number of upcoming events, including the NorthCAN Forum on April 28-30 in Prince George, BC, and the Manitoba Municipal Administrators Leadership Summit on May 9 in Winnipeg, MB. Sign up to the Climate Insight mailing list for more details and to learn about other upcoming training opportunities.
In Case You Missed It…
ICLEI Peer Network Q&A
The Peer Network offers a platform for candid discussions, peer-to-peer exchanges, and shared problem-solving. We are excited to make the Network available and free of charge, as a way to foster meaningful connections and advance local climate action. But why was the Peer Network created? And why now? Ahead of the first meeting, Megan Meaney, Ewa Jackson, and Karina Richters share their thoughts on this new initiative.
Webinar Replay: An Informational Session on the National Assessment Process Call for Authors
Do you have practical, on-the-ground expertise you would like to contribute to the next Canada in a Changing Climate report? Hear how ICLEI Canada’s work informed the previous National Assessment Process. As a Lead Author on the Cities and Towns Chapter, Ewa Jackson brought insights from our work with local practitioners to the Chapter’s content and key messages. Learn how you could also contribute your expertise to the impacts and adaptation assessment report. The Expression of Interest deadline for authors is April 8, 2025.
Recordings: Towards Inclusive Adaptation
Watch recordings of recent English- and French-language workshops to get equipped with actionable strategies and tools to integrate equity in climate adaptation. Whether you are seeking to initiate change or enhance existing practices, these workshop recordings and accompanying resources are full of invaluable insights and practical solutions to foster inclusive and resilient adaptation efforts.
Highlights from LCF 2024
Last year, LCF explored how to build net-zero, resilient, and equitable communities through through a multisolving lens. Program themes were designed to help communities leverage multisolving to reach climate goals, access innovative financing, and address equity priorities. Read the Highlights Report to learn more and get a glimpse of what LCF is all about.
Project Updates
Adaptation Implementation Training Initiative (AITI)
AITI is a training and collaboration program designed to help local/regional governments, Indigenous Communities, and partner organizations overcome implementation challenges.
The application period to join AITI closed in mid-March and we will soon begin to work with municipalities, Indigenous communities, conservation, and health authorities to get their adaptation actions implementation-ready.
Building to Net-Zero (BNZ)
BNZ is a four-year training and capacity-building project designed to support municipalities in the adoption of building energy performance frameworks.
Our work with municipalities participating in the BNZ Cohort is well underway. We also recently published the BNZ Jurisdictional Scan, launched the BNZ CoP, and are finalizing a BNZ Database which will be announced soon.
Climate Insight
Climate Insight provides a centralized source for communities to find the tools and data they need to advance low-carbon, resilient housing and infrastructure initiatives in their communities.
Climate Insight is continuously updated to better serve communities as they confront the growing challenges of climate change. New features are coming to Climate Insight on April 24, 2025, to improve the platform’s functionality.
Pacific North Shore and Sunshine Coast Collaborative (Pacific Collaborative)
The Pacific Collaborative brings together local authorities to co-define, prioritize, and develop shared resilience actions and strategies, all while sharing knowledge and resources across jurisdictions.
Work to co-define and prioritize climate-related risks and develop shared priorities for coordinated action across jurisdictions is underway. We held a successful workshop in Vancouver earlier this month that will inform the next steps for this project.
Economic Tools to Advance Adaptation
Through the ETAA project, municipalities, stakeholders, and industry experts are using innovative economic tools and instruments to advance adaptation.
We are working with participating municipalities to apply economic tools and instruments to address risks specific to their communities, identify gaps in knowledge and tools, and scope out new solutions to address these gaps.
Living With Water
The Living With Water project encourages widespread adoption of flood-resilient building practices across Canada through training programs and decision-support tools.
We are currently finalizing a resource developed specifically for local governments that will be part of the Living With Water Toolbox. Stay tuned and join us online for a pre-launch event on March 31, 2025.
Local Climate Partnerships
This project aims to create cross-sectoral collaborations to accelerate local climate action across Canada by building foundations for local climate partnerships.
We have been working with participating municipalities to explore options best suited to their communities over the past year and are now supporting them to define the next steps to establish unique local climate partnerships.
Net-Zero Action Partnership (N-ZAP)
N-ZAP was established to support Canadian municipalities in monitoring, measuring, and achieving their GHG mitigation goals.
Five working groups are collaborating on distinct objectives and sharing findings from research activities. To date, this includes a report and database on The State of Climate Action in Canadian Municipalities with more resources on Climate Budgeting and Climate-Related Financial Disclosures coming soon.
Welcome to the team!
Nathan Schaper, Mitigation Lead
In his role as Mitigation Lead, Nathan supports both the Mitigation team and the Climate Insight team. He brings a wide array of experience having worked across Canada in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Throughout his career, Nathan has overseen and contributed to several projects and programs, including the implementation of property assessed clean energy (PACE) programs, transportation programs, detailed infrastructure projects (i.e., electric vehicle chargers, solar, and fleet upgrades), energy conservation measures, waste management programs, and greenhouse gas reduction action plans. He uses a data-driven, evidence-based approach to find solutions, manage projects and collaborate with municipalities across Canada.
Joey Mckinstry, Intern
As an Intern, Joey supports the Pacific North Shore and Sunshine Coast Climate Collaborative project. More specifically, she is conducting a gap analysis that will help enhance municipal climate resilience strategies. Joey is currently completing a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University, specializing in environmental planning. She has previously worked on municipal policy research and stakeholder collaboration in Ontario. Joey is passionate about sustainable urban development and is dedicated to bridging the gap between policy and implementation to create resilient and equitable communities.
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