Strong Ontario, Quebec summer storms led to $439M in insured damage: report

Powerful thunderstorms that swept through Ontario and Quebec during the final days of June and the beginning of July caused an estimated $439 million in insured damage, according to new industry estimates. The storms, which occurred between June 30 and July 3, brought strong winds, hail, torrential rain, and flash flooding to numerous communities across the two provinces.

Ottawa, in particular, suffered heavily, with 118 millimetres of rain falling on July 1 alone, shattering the daily rainfall record for the city. Streets and highways became inundated, and local authorities reported over 4,500 flooded basements in the aftermath of the storms. However, the total economic impact is likely to be far higher than this estimate, as it does not account for uninsured property damage and other indirect losses.

Maximilien Roy, vice-president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada, emphasized the need for greater investment in flood risk reduction and improved protection for Canadians against future losses. Canada experiences around $9.2 billion in total losses each year due to catastrophes, primarily from wildfires and extreme weather, according to a 2025 report from the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction.

These losses, both insured and uninsured, have been growing at an annual rate of approximately 9.4 percent since the 1980s, outpacing population growth, GDP, and construction spending.

Experts attribute this increase to climate change, driven by fossil fuel emissions, which is causing storms to become more frequent and intense. Other contributing factors include population growth in high-risk areas, higher reconstruction costs, aging sewer systems, and the presence of more finished basements. As insured damages continue to rise, so does the cost Canadians pay for insurance.

According to a recent Statistics Canada report, home and mortgage insurance premiums across the country increased by 45 percent between December 2019 and December 2025, more than doubling overall inflation.