The Resilient Homes Field Trials leverage the tiered framework (e.g., Good, Better, Best), prioritizing scalable, constructible, and cost-effective resilience options for low-rise residential construction in Canada. We are working with multiple builders in multiple Canadian regions to help evaluate practicality, availability, and cost for resilience measures in operationalizing resilience practices across staff, trades, and construction timeline for basement/urban flooding, wildfire, hail, and high wind.
The lessons from these trials will inform practical resources (e.g., checklists, visual guides, and construction documents) aimed at builders and insurers in order to address practical implementation barriers in the interest of carrying out wide-scale implementation in the future. It is the Task Force’s goal and intent that the outputs from this work potentially guide future updates to National Standards of Canada, focused on effective resilient home construction practices.
The ICLR/CHBA collaboration aims to continue mainstreaming resilience in residential construction, and where possible, expanding cross-sectoral partnerships and sustained builder engagement in 2026 and beyond.
New information will be posted periodically, so please be on the lookout for incoming updates!
Field Trial Reports & Documentation
Big Block Construction – Wildfire Resilience Field Trial
This report documents the Big Block Construction Corp. (BBC) Currie Creek wildfire resilience field trial, the first project initiated under the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) and Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) Resilient Homes Task Force (RHTF) initiative. The field trial involved a ten-building volumetric modular development on Fernie Alpine Resort lands in British Columbia, a site exposed to extreme wildland-urban interface fire threat.
Future-Proofing your Home Against Extreme Weather Events
What if, when we build a home, we think about how well-equipped it is to perform its key functions into the future, particularly in the context of more severe weather events? The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction studies and tests for the preventative measures that can be taken during a home’s construction.
Media
This pilot in southeast B.C. is building homes resistant to wildfire
A TD Insurance-supported pilot project in Fernie, B.C., is building townhomes with wildfire-resistant materials and designs
The project shows how builders can use practical choices, such as non-combustible exterior materials and ember-resistant details, to help reduce wildfire risk
From siding to shingles: How Calgary homes are being built to resist hail damage
Builders in Alberta are racing to adapt to increasingly harsh weather, with two new projects in the Calgary region testing hail- and wind-resistant construction materials.
Avalon pilots better ways to protect homes from wind and hail
Pilot project is one of four across the country to test ways to improve homes’ climate resilience from high wind, flooding and hail.
ICLR and CHBA Release Tiered Resilience Guidelines to Accelerate Climate Adaptation in Canadian Housing
Description: The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), in collaboration with the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA), has released Version 1 of a new suite of tiered resilience guidelines designed to support implementation of climate adaptation measures in Canadian residential construction.
L’IPSC et l’ACCH publient un cadre étagé sur la résilience pour impulser l’adaptation climatique des logements canadiens
Une collaboration pluriannuelle afin de mettre au point des solutions de résilience pratiques et avérées sur le terrain pour les habitations canadiennes
From siding to shingles: How Calgary homes are being built to resist hail damage
Builders in Alberta are racing to adapt to increasingly harsh weather, with two new projects in the Calgary region testing hail- and wind-resistant construction materials.
(News Article) – Pilot project takes aim at Calgary hail, wind damage
The project integrates hail resilience measures into new multifamily units in southern Calgary
(News Article) – Avalon Master Builder Leads New Project to Build Hail-Resilient Homes in Calgary
Aviva Canada wants to show how building better can help homes withstand extreme weather events, reducing insurance claims.
Avalon Master Builder Leads New Project to Build Hail-Resilient Homes in Calgary
Avalon Master Builder, in partnership with Aviva Canada, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss
Reduction (ICLR), and the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA), has launched a pilot project to integrate resilience
measures into new multi-family buildings in southern Calgary. The initiative will demonstrate practical ways to reduce hail and
wind damage—two of the most costly and frequent causes of property loss in Alberta.
