Climate Change Adaptation Background Report & Resilience Plan

Projected climate and environmental changes could have numerous impacts on Canmore, with consequences for municipal infrastructure and services, private property, the local economy and environment, and the health and lifestyle of citizens. In anticipation of the potential risks and opportunities presented by these changes, the Town of Canmore is taking steps to ensure a safe, prosperous and resilient future by developing a Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan.

Scope

Spatial scope – impacts within the Bow Valley Corridor encompassing the Town of Banff and the Town of Canmore, and potential actions within the municipal boundaries of the Town of Canmore only. Consideration was also given to external effects that impact the Towns, such as tourists originating from outside the region, and infrastructure that links the communities to elsewhere (e.g. roads, power lines, etc.).

Operational scope – community-wide impacts including impacts to municipal infrastructure, property and services, as well as impacts to private property, the local economy, the health and lifestyle of residents, and the natural environment

Risks

8 risks defined as priorities for action planning – Forest fire, Bow river flooding, Creek flooding, Stormwater system overwhelmed/localized flooding, Extreme wind, Water supply shortage, Heavy snowfall event/blizzard, Freeze-thaw cycles.

Opportunities

3 opportunities defined as priorities for action planning – Increase in summer season recreation opportunities, Increase in winter tourism competitive advantage, Extended construction season.

Actions

In addition to existing actions and commitments, 51 new actions identified.

Actions categorized as Research and monitoring, Early warning systems, Hazard information provision, Awareness raising, Operations and practices, Bylaws and plans, Technologies, Infrastructure (hard and soft), and Economic instruments.

Social Equity

Equitability one of the evaluation criteria for prioritizing actions.

Community Engagement

Workshops with Town staff and local stakeholders to identify, assess, and evaluate climate-related risks and opportunities.

Half day workshop in conjunction with Town of Banff, half day climate risk and opportunity assessment workshop, five meetings with Town of Canmore Staff and external stakeholders.

Implementation

Actions include implementation lead; investment cost; annual cost; timeframe; and if the action also supports mitigation of risks. Each action is given an overall assessment score.

Evaluation criteria for prioritizing actions, each scored from 1-4 – Effectiveness, Affordability, Feasibility, Acceptability, Equitability, Flexibility.